It's no secret, we here at ReadWriteWeb are fans of RSS. Still, we have to admit that the format has its benefits and its drawbacks. In a world of RSS feeds, the syndication of content is a foregone conclusion - for readers. But as we all know, any number of sites have cropped up that take RSS content, publish it to another page, and wrap that page in ads. They've been around for years and they don't show any sign of going away. But wouldn't you - at the very least - like to know who is repurposing your content? Of course you would. That's what makes CopyGator - a site that helps you find the sites that are copying your content wholesale - so interesting.
We're starting a new series here on ReadWriteWeb about recommendation engines. We identified recommendations as one of 5 trends to watch at the start of 2008; and that's even more so at the beginning of 2009. We also have a page dedicated to recommendation technologies in our stock presentation entitled What's Next on the Web?. In this post we look at Netflix; and in particular update you on the $1 million challenge that Netflix set in order to find 'the next big thing' in recommendations.
Let's say you like RSS feeds. Let's say you're looking for some more good ones to subscribe to so you don't miss good stuff. There are a number of ways to accomplish this, but this week New York based developer Jonathan Christopher built a nice simple new one. Give his app SuggestRSS just a few minutes of your time and it will give you some cool new feeds to subscribe to.
Years after the untimely demise of Share Your OPML and available now, unlike the super feature rich but frozen in private beta service Toluu, Jonathan Christopher's SuggestRSS is easily worth the minimal effort it will take you to try out.
The most extreme developers may find themselves left out in the cold.
Twitter watchers know that a large part of the service's use comes through its Application Programming Interface (API) and that's been a big part of what helped the young service grow. Now that the company has Britney Spears, CNN and Barack Obama among its ranks of users, though, developers seeking to push the limits of that API may soon find themselves no longer welcome.
Apple's App Store within the iTunes store has revolutionized the way users expect to find and install applications on their mobile phones, but it is also a bit of a resource hog and it often takes quite a while before pages finally load.
Now, however, thanks to an online version of the App Store which scrapes the content of the store in iTunes, you can quickly browse for applications, read reviews, and see screenshots from any computer that has access to the Internet without ever having to open iTunes.
From branchnext, the same company that delivered the personal web scout service Yotify (our coverage), there comes a new B2B alerts service called LetMeKnow. As with Yotify, LetMeKnow lets you track any number of changes that happen on the web - from price changes to new blog posts or comments and much more. However, unlike Yotify's consumer-facing service, LetMeKnow is designed for use by web publishers instead.
A pretty blonde woman nervously stares at the camera and begins speaking. "I'm not a stalker, I'm not crazy," she says. She then earnestly tells a story about meeting a guy in a cafe and chatting him up before he took off - leaving his jacket behind. She then apparently decided to use YouTube to help her track down her modern-day Prince Charming. A heartwarming story? Sure. Except for one problem: it was all a hoax.
As the eyes of the world were focused on the pomp and circumstance of Barack Obama moving into a new role as President of the United States, Obama's Web team was hard at work - with far less fanfare - moving their Web property to a new address: whitehouse.gov, the official Web site for the President. And while, at first blush, the site may appear similar to Obama's President-elect site, change.gov, it is strikingly different than the predecessors who have occupied whitehouse.gov over the past 12 years. How different? Let's take a look.
For many, the ability to share presentations online has changed the way they design their slides, present material, and interact with their audience long after the presentation has passed. But when it comes right down to it, a presentation - regardless of the artistic rendering of the materials - is only as good as the presenter.
SlideShare, the largest presentation-sharing community on the Web, has continued to introduce functionality that helps bring presentations to life. But they've never allowed a presenter to embed themselves. Until now. Introducing YouTube embedding in SlideShare.
In 2002, PubSub released an interesting and useful product that provided a real-time search engine for RSS feeds, flight information, Usenet posts, and even earthquake updates. Sadly, PubSub closed its doors in 2007 and its assets were bought by Something Simpler. Today, however, we received an email from Something Simpler, stating that PubSub will relaunch within the next 90 days. We also get a chance to get a sneak peek at the new PubSub, which received a complete facelift, but still provides a great real-time search experience.
