Google has just announced a new My Yahoo-like portal page, which they are calling a Personalized Google Homepage. It will be one place for users to access their Google search, news, Gmail, weather, stocks, driving directions, movies - and more. In the Google 'Factory Tour' webcast, Product Manager Marissa Mayer said they'll offer "Universal RSS support" for the Personalized Homepage within 1-2 months, meaning users will be able to add any RSS feed onto it.
Interesting that this comes out at the same time as Microsoft confirming it will integrate RSS across its MSN online services throughout the year. eWeek reports that in 2-3 weeks time MSN will release "a third version of Start, its Web-based aggregator prototype". This is a quote from Kyle Von Haden, an MSN program manager:
"This could easily be a home page, and you would not need to touch it".
Indeed... more updates on the Google and Microsoft stories as they develop.
One thing: why are all the bigco's so intent on building portals, when users are more and more using RSS Aggregators as their central means of access to Web content ('homepages' in Web 1.0 parlance)? The answer may be that the portal products of Google, MSN and Yahoo are, over time, turning into RSS Aggregators. Certainly MSN's start.com is heading in this direction - it remains to be seen whether Google's "personalized homepage" will do the same.
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Hey Richard! Not sure if you caught it, but Marissa mentioned Universal RSS support for MyGoogle (or whatever we're all going to call it) a couple of times; once initially, then again in reply to Steve Gilmour.
Here's my cut, FWIW:
http://www.buzzhit.com/2005/05/google-launches-mygoogle.html
Posted by: Tony Gentile | May 20, 2005 11:27 AM
Thanks Tony, I've updated that quote from Marissa from "full RSS support" to "Universal RSS support".
Posted by: Richard MacManus | May 20, 2005 12:12 PM
I did not see the factory tour thing, but my main request in my review posted here:
http://thecommunityengine.com/home/
archives/2005/05/review_of_googl.html
was for RSS.
As for your remark about sites becoming RSS aggregators, think really Web 2.0: RSS is just one enabling technology. Search, tagging, and various lightweight xml standards to tie these services together are others.
Posted by: Bud Gibson | May 21, 2005 8:23 AM
Yes exactly, as I wrote when start.com came out - Microsoft looks to be integrating RSS with its search platform. I expect Google to do the same. Yahoo is more of a traditional portal play, but they'll cover their bases with search etc.
ps RSS is coming to Google Homepage in 1-2 mths.
Posted by: Richard MacManus | May 21, 2005 8:42 AM