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Finally Aggregating

Oct 30, 2003 3:50 PM
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update Robert Scoble sums up my thoughts: "I can watch 600 blogs today in 30 minutes. You try doing that with a web browser. It's impossible. But, with an RSS News Aggregator, not only is it possible, it becomes explosively productive."

After years of clicking on one link after another to keep up with the many websites I read, I've finally caved in and started using an aggregator.

Basically an aggregator is software that lets you read the latest updates from various websites into one location. Some are desktop applications; some are web-based. I chose one of the latter called Bloglines. Here's a screenshot to show you what I'm talking about.

Why now? There are a huge number of sites (from the BBC to Dilbert) that now have RSS feeds (an XML format that summarizes your latest updates). Most bloggers update irregularly and you never know when they'll have an update; it's annoying to keep checking their site in the interim. Lastly, Bloglines is works cross-browser and cross-OS (I use Windows XP at home and Red Hat Linux at work) and is very usable and well-written.

Why didn't I do this sooner? I'm conscious of design and seeing just plain-text updates removes an enjoyable element of web browsing — the eye candy. Plus, I want to see posts in their original style and context.

However, the scales have tipped, and I've updated my links in the sidebar, accordingly.

The updated rules: If you link to me, I'll link you back. If you have an RSS feed I like, I read you through Bloglines. If you have no feed, and I still read your site, I'll link to it for lack of a better way to bookmark it.

If you're interested in reading JoeGrossberg.com through that format, you can use this button to add me to your Bloglines subscriptions:

Subscribe with Bloglines

If you haven't used Bloglines yet, and want my Blogs as a starting point, they're easily downloaded and imported from OPML format.


Comments: Finally Aggregating

Welcome to aggregation.

Personally I rolled my own aggregator right into my website. It's free and it looks great on my T-Mobile Sidekick...

Posted by: David Kearns on October 30, 2003 8:18 PM | permalink

Yeah, sometimes I like to roll my own solutions (hell, it's what I do all day).

Sometimes I like to improve on others' work, e.g. my recursive grep and cvs update scripts that output in color.

Sometimes it's just nice to see that someone else has already done a great job, and to just use their software, e.g. Movable Type and Bloglines.

And, after one day of use, I can't believe I ever did things differently. It's just great.

Posted by: Joe Grossberg on October 30, 2003 9:44 PM | permalink

No more comments! Either someone has violated Godwin's Law, I'm tired of the discussion or, most likely, the ten-week window has closed. You can, however, contact me through email.