ReadWriteWeb

With all the discussions about information overload and the need for filtering, it looks like we're going to finally start getting some relief. This month, two companies made announcements about updates to their RSS readers which will now provide their users with built-in filtering technologies. Those two companies are illumio and Newsgator Online. However, each company has taken a different approach in doing so. Which one will succeed?

When it comes to staying up-to-date on the news, RSS is the best thing that could have ever happened to the web. You've probably subscribed to a ton of feeds by now through services such as Google Reader or software like FeedDemon. Instead of waiting impatiently for these services to give you the news you need immediately, why not try out Anothr from iNeZha.

Earlier this year, we reported on the new OPML sharing and matching service called Toluu, giving you "10 Reasons Why You're Going to Love Toluu." For anyone who remembers the now defunct site, ShareYourOPML, Toluu is a big improvement, providing you with a much easier way to discover new feeds. Since we last covered Toluu there have been several improvements to the service, and more have just launched today.

As you may have heard, we're big fans of RSS here at ReadWriteWeb. We've covered many RSS readers, aggregators, sites, and services in the past and have provided RSS tips in posts like "Seven Tips for Making the Most of Your RSS Reader" and "6 Ways to Filter Your RSS Feeds." We also like reading feeds and sharing some of our favorites with our readers. Over the past year or so, we've provided access to many RSS feeds and OPML files we thought our readers would enjoy. However, until now, those files have been spread out amongst our archived posts. Today, you can get access to all the RSS resources we've shared with you right here.

Snackr is a new Adobe AIR app that lets you display items in your RSS feeds in a beautiful scrolling ticker on any edge of your screen. I am absolutely giddy about it after only a few minutes of use. Snackr is something you'd supplement your existing reader with, not a replacement. It is not for the faint of heart or information averse, either.

If you've ever fantasized about having the river of news flow straight into your brain, this is the closest I've seen yet. I've uploaded a small OPML file of my top priority feeds, limited Snackr to displaying items from within the last 5 days and am in heaven. Read on for screenshots and some critique.

Allen Stern points out that RSS filtering service AideRSS has added Twitter to its PostRank algorithm. AideRSS works by measuring social media interaction with blog posts, and then comparing them to what's normal for that blog. The service then algorithmically applies a ranking to each post allowing users to filter out only the best posts based on the theory that people will only bother interacting with the most interesting or worthwhile content.

The RSS Aggregation niche has been very busy this week. Numerous changes and enhancements were recently made to RSS aggregator RSSmeme.

However, another service that was once exclusively for Google Reader users is expanding to give users a more accurate analysis of what's popular on the web. Today, ReadBurner announced a partnership with the personalized homepage service Netvibes.

Benjamin Golub has been busy. He runs the site RSSmeme, an RSS aggregator that displays the top Shared Items items from Google Reader users. For a brief time, RSSmeme was the only Google Reader aggregator in town after ReadBurner closed up shop. But not too much later, ReadBurner was purchased and relaunched (our coverage), putting the two sites in competition once again. However, it looks like Golub has no plans to slow down with RSSmeme's development. He has recently released an RSSmeme API, which allows for all kinds of new filtering options, a mobile web site, and much more.

Here are some of the highlights from the week's Web Tech action on ReadWriteWeb. On the product side: this week we took a look at our readers' favorite web apps, we covered the social news space in depth (including posts on digg, Mixx and a new app called BlogRize), we brought you the latest news from Facebook, Adobe and YouTube. On the trends side: Bernard Lunn wrote a 'must read' 3-part series on the new Web, we analyzed Tim O'Reilly's recent call for 'big ideas' on the Web, we celebrated RSS Day, and we interviewed a top Microsoft exec about Live Mesh.

RSS development powerhouse Volodymyr Danylyuk emailed users of his nearly 3 year old AJAX feed reader NewsAlloy today to let them know that he's closing up shop. While offering to sell the property at a bargain basement price, Danylyuk told users of the once groundbreaking service that it was time to export their OPML files and go home.

NewsAlloy is a story of one plucky engineer coming up with something smart, widely praised by leading figures in the blogosphere and ultimately doomed when Google better executed on a similar vision.