Remember when you got just a few emails a day, and each one was like a little gift, waiting to be unwrapped? Now even personal messages feel like work, and dealing with your inbox is a chore. The same thing is happening with blogs and other frequently updated sites we like to--or must--keep up with. There are simply too many of them to manage effectively.
Everyone's saying that RSS is the answer, and I don't disagree. But RSS in and of itself doesn't do a thing for me--I need an aggregator or a news reader to put it to use. I've had a Bloglines account for a few months, but I haven't used it much. It was recommended by my friend Hunter Walk, one of the smartest people I know, so I had high hopes at first. But I don't like it. It's ugly and boring. Most of the sites I frequent are well-designed, or at least interesting to look at. Not Bloglines. Sure, it's more efficient than clicking around from site to site, and it's reasonably easy to use. But it's not visually stimulating, and it's not much fun, so I don't use it--I just visit the sites I'm interested in on an almost random basis. But that's not going to work for much longer.
I need something better--something that's as, uh, stylish (see below) as the sites I'm visiting.
UPDATE: Hunter's comment spurred me to give Bloglines a fair shake and try to use it more effectively. I'm still not 100% satisfied, but in fairness, it is a tool that works better when you're a better user. Score one for Mr. Walk.
3 Responses
Ahh, RSS and design. Two comments:
1. If right now one must tradeoff between aesthetic and simplicity with the former being associated with client side software and the latter web services, I'm taking web, solely for ease of login across multiple PCs.
2. RSS in general is a design killer, right? Because it ignores the source website and just eats the feed. In fact, your very desire for a "stylish" reader means that you are willing to re-skin the sites you used to visit (and commend for their 'stylishness'). What incentive is there for a site to remain stylish if no one visits?
your smart friend Hunter
I understand why you side with web services and simplicity, Hunter--but in the not-too-long run, people are going to resent being forced to choose at all. They want efficiency AND pleasing design, and why not? Those twin demands are being met everywhere else.
To your second point, I don't want my aggregator to "re-skin" (great word) the sites I visit. I want it to be stylish, aesthetically pleasing--customizeable?--in and of itself. If an aggregator is going to earn the right to be one of my primary interfaces with the world, if I am going to invest significant time with that application, it damn well better look good.
Are you on a Mac? If so, NetNewsWire offers you an opportunity create custom style sheets and so make your RSS feeds pleasing to look at. At least, I think I'm right. I might not be. I like disco. What do I know about style/taste/design?
I used bloglines but felt hampered by, of all things, the browser. I've switched to FeedDemon and love it. No, it doesn't import the design of the blog and, particularly for sites that I just plan enjoy, I miss that. However, I use RSS as tool for getting at information and for that, well, I want efficiency in my design and not much else.