Andrew Shuttleworth Web HQ

Very Useful Tech Newsletter

One useful newsletter I've been mention for ages is What's New Now. They always pack in a mix of the latest news, critical commentary, articles and tips and tricks in an entertaining and easily digestible format.

I'm currently going unsubscribing from lots of none critical newsletters in a bid to reduce the volume of incoming email, but this definitely one I'm going to stick with. They also have RSS and Podcast versions if you prefer.

The latest edition includes a useful article on Must Have Firefox Extensions.

43 Things - An original social networking site

I read a brief eMarkerter article on how advertising agencies are investing in social networking sites (SNS). I went through and visited most of the 23 top visited SNS sites listed in the article that I hadn't already visited. The majority feel in to two categories - social (i.e. make friends) or media (video/photo) sharing and weren't really compelling. We'll see a fallout at some point. Bolt.com was the only site that really stood out as usable of the sites in this category.

The 43 Things site really impressed me though. In addition to a very original idea (an SNS service based on goals you want to achieve, it was also super, super usable. I had registered almost before I new it and glided through the initial setup and adding my goals effortlessly. The site makes great use of tagging and doesn't pressure you to fill in every bit of your profile right from the start. You do this almost unwittingly while browsing and enjoying the site. This is a site I'll actually look forward to using - useful and fun.

The same company also has 43 Places (places you've been or want to visit), 43 People (who you want to meet), AllConsuming (what you consume) and List of Bests which I will check out in a minute. The people behing the sites also run a blog of course. If I was developing a new web service these are certainly the type of people I would want to help with it.

Although I'm no expert, I think looking at what we do in our everyday lives and finding a way to do it with the internet, rather than coming up with a completely new concept, is the best recipe for success for an internet business.

Sell or Publish in Seconds - Google Base

If you ever need a place to sell something or post some brief info up on the web temporarily, take a look at Google Base. I just posted about it on one of my other sites, The Google Watch.

My Customized News Dreamworld & Newsgator Technologies

Back in January 2004, after an earlier post about which RSS reader to use I posted about my purchase of Newsgator Outlook Edition. Looking back this was an excellent purchase. I tried a lot of different news readers and services, but I've got to say in my none  expert opinion Newsgator seems to be way, way ahead and is just getting more so.

Why so? The company has a great vision. They want users to be able to read customized, synchronized content on any type of device. Their existing service already enables this. I can read on-line, in a dedicated newsreader, get posts delivered by email, or load them directly into Outlook. I can even create customized feeds for plugging into my own web sites. Which feeds I receive through each medium is fully customizable. The Windows Mobile/Pocket PC version, now in BETA, is the real icing on the cake.

Unchanged from 2004, the company is still developing at a fast pace. Although their service is great, there is still so much more that can be done. The company's founder, Greg Reinacker, has posted his latest road-map here. I really look forward to the improvements in Newsgator online. I'm sure they can make this a best of breed tool, although it's already very acceptable.

My Customized News Dreamworld

I envision my home of the future where I have portable flat screen panels in every room. Whether I'm cooking, just out of bed or in bed, showering or wondering from one room or another I'll verbally be able to tell the screens to give me some news on a certain topic. I'll get a blend of customized news and intelligently selected related news, just to keep me on my toes. I'll be able to flick through the pages of my customized, digital 'newspaper'. With natural language verbal commands hand gestures across the screen I'll be able to trash stories I don't like, archive those I do, or mark them to appear on the top page of customized 'newspaper' on my mobile device(s), so I can check them when I have a spare few minutes. Of course audio and video content will all be a part of this too.

I'm sure this vision is not too far off, and I think there's a strong chance future Newsgator technology will be powering a large part of it.