Google Reader adds comments for sharing

March 12th, 2009 •
Tags: comment, comments, conversation, friendfeed, google reader, sharing, Social Web

This is a big deal for social web addicts. One of the first articles posted to this site was about the inadequacies of Google Reader as a sharing platform when compared to FriendFeed. Yesterday, one of FriendFeed‘s advantages over Google’s sharing platform was mitigated as Google unveiled comments for shared items. Google Reader makes it easy to share stories with friends, but it hasn’t fostered conversation around shared content. The best you could do is to either e-mail the sharer or re-share the item with a note containing your own comments. This new feature is a real breakthrough, and it’s something I know for a fact I will use every day. Now, if Google will only copy Gmail’s new label management system right on over to Google Reader…

Tumblr: more than a Tweet, less than a blog post

February 12th, 2009 •
Tags: Blog, microblogging, sharing, Social Web, Tumblelog, tumblr, twitter

Occasionally, I would like to post a quick thought or idea, but I can’t really fit it into Twitter’s 140 characters. It also doesn’t justify the trouble of making a blog post or it otherwise doesn’t really fit there. Tumblr is a microblogging service that may fill the gap between a tweet and a full-fledged blog post.

The service has been around for a while, and I have heard of it before. It just didn’t entice me to try it. Now that I’m signed up and have my tumblelog setup, I’m really liking it’s unique featureset. It has support for a number of different post types which will embed content directly into your posts. Instead of having to link to every piece of media you’d like to share, you can embed them directly into your tumblelog.

E-mail posting is supported. Once you register at Tumblr, you are given a unique e-mail address for posting directly to your tumblelog. This e-mail address can even be used to post media including photos, MP3s, and videos. Add this e-mail to your mobile device to allow for posting on the go.

Users have a lot of flexibility in the design of their tumblelogs. There are a number of themes provided, and users may also write custom HTML and CSS to style the blog themselves.

The service is very accessible. It’s easy for users to get up and running with a quick blog, and this may be a viable platform for your blog if you don’t need a robust blogging engine. It also offers a few power features like the aforementioned custom CSS, the ability to import your own blog and/or RSS feeds, and the ability to embed the tumblelog elsewhere on the web.

For someone like me who already blogs, tumblr might be a good place for posting unrelated things or stuff that doesn’t warrant a full post, but only time will tell if it will become a part of my daily workflow. I plan to give this and another similar service, Posterous, some airtime to see if they are services I want to use regularly. Check back tomorrow for a quick overview of Posterous. After I have had an opportunity to try both of the services a bit, I will post a comparison of the two services.

If you are on tumblr, please follow me. I would also love to see comments from anyone who has used both of the services on which they prefer and why. If you use only tumblr, post a comment telling how you use it and how it fits in with the rest of the social web services you use on a regular basis.

Share the net with FriendFeed

January 20th, 2009 •
Tags: friendfeed, google reader, sharing, Social Web

Reposted from me.raddevon.com.

Google Reader is a fantastic app. It is the perfect way to wrangle all those cool web sites your following into one easy location. I am able to take in far more information much more quickly and efficiently than I could by visiting each individual site. Google Reader also offers a sharing feature that allows user to easily broadcast their favorite items to other Reader users in their Gmail contacts list. Recently, Google added the ability to provide notes making the sharing even more robust. However, I now find myself re-sharing friends items with replies to their notes or my own notes or even e-mailing them a story they originally shared to give my two cents. As is the way of the web, there is a better way to carry on a conversation surrounding web content… and you don’t even have to ditch Google Reader to get there!

It’s called FriendFeed. It’s intended purpose is as an aggregator for the many social sites typical addicts (like you and I) participate in on a daily basis. That’s flickr, twitter, Netflix, Disqus, digg, reddit, YouTube, brightkite, del.icio.us, last.fm, Facebook, and LinkedIn, among others. However, the most important supported service for the purposes of this post is Google Reader.

For many of it’s supported services, FriendFeed is very selective in the content it chooses to add to your feed. In Google Reader, only your shared items will make it to the feed. It would be a bit overwhelming if all of everyone’s items were posted. Since only shared items make it, you will get only the best of your friends feed items.

Once you have configured FriendFeed to link to your Google Reader account, FriendFeed will periodically check for shared items and add them to your FriendFeed. You and your FriendFeed subscribers (Unlike twitter, when you add a FriendFeed user, you have “subscribed” to them.) will have the opportunity to interact with shared items in a number of ways: by commenting on them, liking them, or re-sharing them. The comment system is really where it’s at. In Google Reader, sharing is a one-way affair; I share an item (with a note if I so choose) and you look at it. In FriendFeed, I may share an item which can then foster an entire discussion around it by way of the comments. The commenting isn’t over after the initial posting. This is really a groundbreaking new facet of sharing Internet content.

FriendFeed has features that foster community. When you first get started, your page will be barren, but you will soon start to find friends as with other social networks. You can use the friend recommendation page to quickly find like-minded people to connect with. You may also browse the rooms which are spaces where users may share items with others with similar interests. You will find a room for Apple-loves, for gamers, social media buffs, and just about any other group you can think of. Feel free to create rooms around your own interests and start sharing.

On its surface, FriendFeed appears to be a very focused feed reader that delivers only your friends’ activities online. However, it is a fantastic community built around the wealth of content published daily on the Internet. Jump in and start talking! Also, be sure to subscribe to me!