Better Google Reader

Better GReader is a Firefox extension by Gina Trapani of Lifehacker. This Firefox extension combines many Google Reader Greasemonkey extensions into one easy installable package.

I updated to the newest version 0.2.5 that includes a Greasemonkey script with enhancement to the feed icons.

The addon uses each sites favicon as the feed icon. Pretty cool. You can download the Greasemonkey script only here.

Finally here is a link to the Lifehacker post about Better GReader.

FriendFeed Noise Solutions

I read a post today titled “Proposal to Clean Up the FriendFeed Clutter” by Hutch Carpenter. It clearly outlines some of the noise problems with FriendFeed.

I have seen the need for change to the FriendFeed stream for weeks now. The problem in a nutshell is that the same link appears over and over as it is submitted to multiple services by multiple users. One destination but many entries in my stream.

The stream is noisy. Some may like it noisy but I would like it to be quieter.

I first discussed the multiple link problem in conjunction with what I called ‘The FriendFeed Disjointed Comments Problem.” The same links clog the stream over and over. My point was that many different places for comments existed. Every entry that existed had the potential for comments and conversation. But comments are a different issue. For more on the comments problem see Comments Floating in the Blogosphere.

Mr. Carpenter gives 2 possibilities for how the data could be presented to eliminate noise in the stream.

  1. Person-centric: if a user has the same feed more than once, the same-link feeds are aggregated together under a common link for the user
  2. Link-centric: all same-link feeds for all friends appear under a common link

I am in favor of the Link-centric approach. This has already been coined the “techmeme way.” Some including Corvida are against it.

Bret Taylor of FriendFeed has already commented on Mr. Carpenter’s post saying:

“Great ideas… We have been thinking through these issues as well, and it is great to see such detail and mockups.”

I agree Mr. Carpenter’s article certainly gives food for thought.

My point is let the user decide. The data being presented can be displayed in several different ways. How about giving the user several different ways to customize their stream. Person-centric, Link-centric, the current approach, and many other ways could be developed.

It would be great for FriendFeed to implement several and let the user decide how they want to view their stream.

Toluu Invites

Toluu the new beta RSS sharing site is currently in private beta. Never heard of it? Check out this ReadWriteWeb article. I have some invites if interested. Leave a comment with your email if you want one.

Update 06/13/2008: Toluu is gaining alot of momentum. The latest enhancements are great. For more about the founder Caleb Elston go here. I have 25 invites. Leave a comment if you want one.