Now, every feed page on Toluu will show a "Tags" tab. This tab displays all the tags other users have already attached to the feed, as well as a text box to immediately start entering tags. Toluu also suggests tags based on a user's previous behavior on the site. The experience is reminiscent of tagging bookmarks in delicious, where the Ajax interface also makes adding suggested tags as easy as clicking on the keyword.

Besides this, Toluu has gone out of its way to expose these new features in as many places as possible. When browsing through a list of feeds, for example, a little '+' sign appears next to every feed you mouse over, which then exposes an inline tagging interface.

Searching Tags

Because tags are now available on Toluu, the developers have also added the ability to search the complete index of all feeds in Toluu for a specific tag, which is a great way to discover new and interesting feeds to subscribe to.

Overall, we think Toluu did a great job in adding this new feature and making it easily accessible throughout the site. As the tagging feature is still pretty new, only a select few feeds actually have tags attached to them, but as more users start tagging feeds, this will surely become one of the most popular features on Toluu.

Devised by myself and Phil Glockner of Scribkin, we recently talked for a few hours about the overflow of feeds and the repetition of certain topics and sites. With so much more out there to see, there were only a limited amount of ways to get to them without jeopardizing what was already amounting to information overload. This is where RSS Reset Month comes in. Here's the plan and list of rules:

1. Keep feeds that track web site buzz (business-impacting).
2. Allow feeds such as Disqus, Intense Debate or other low-volume feeds that are necessary for timely work decisions.
3. Allow adding as many Google Reader Shared Items feeds as needed.
4. Allow adding of aggregate, smart or keyword-filtered feeds such as RSSmeme FriendFeed Friends or TechMeme.
5. Allow adding smaller site feeds. We set the upper limit for a small site to be 200 at the time of adding. This can be re-visited if the number is too small.
6. Allowance process: If a site feed is so unique that it is not being covered by the processes defined above, an allowance will be made to subscribe to a direct feed to any site. The number of allowances can not exceed 10.

RSS Reset will be in effect for an entire month. Be sure to back up your original OPML file just in case you want to give it a try and decide not to continue at some point. Meanwhile, you can check out what Phil and I are adding on Toluu (Corvida, Phil). All the feeds added will also be conveniently "retweeted" on Twitter.

What's the Point?

Finding new content is hard enough. Finding new subscriptions while keeping up with your current subscriptions can be even tougher. Subscribing to more aggregation sites and smaller quality blogs will allow you to venture into unexplored territories, while giving the "little guys" a chance to be heard.

If you'd like to sign up for Toluu and join in on the fun, leave a comment down below.

Since that time, Toluu's creator has not been idle, having added new features like RSS feeds for you and your contacts' activity on the site, feed reader integration, a personalized daily digest, an extended Activity page, the addition of a feedback page, hCard-enabled profiles, and more. Additionally, last week, 60,000 duplicate feeds were removed from the service and measures were put into place to make sure that duplicate feed issues would now be handled during the feed importation processes.

Today, Toluu gets more updates which include an improved UI for the Activity page, an easy way for non-Toluu members to get invited to the service, Twitter integration, and a new tab and feed for "Everyone."

The improved UI for the Activity page aims to make seeing the information on that page easier. Avatars are bumped up in size and some additional alignment and legibility changes have also been made, and not just on the Activity page, but site-wide. However, the bigger news here is the addition of the "Everyone" tab to the Activity page, which helps you to see all the activity that is occurring across Toluu, not just the activity of you and your contacts. This is especially important for new Toluu users who are looking for people they may be interested in adding as contacts. Of course, this activity tab, like the others, also offers an RSS feed.

Another feature designed with new users in mind is the landing page for non-logged in users. If someone who is not a member of Toluu clicks a link to see a feed's page, the page displays just as it would for anyone except for the addition of an "invite box" at the top. A quick one-sentence explanation of Toluu is provided as is a button for getting an invite to the service. (Need an invite? I hear Louis Gray has some, as does jeffisageek and Corvida).

And if you're wondering just why someone might be clicking links that go to Toluu in the first place, the answer lies in the last of today's updates: Twitter integration.

You can now have Toluu post to Twitter whenever you add a feed on the service. You can even customize the message to make it more personal and have it say something like "check out this great new feed," for example. This new ability is sure to bring even more interest to Toluu's service, as any app that finds a way to appeal to the Twitter crowd seems to have a better shot at early adopter appeal (just ask Brightkite about this).

The addition of these new features on top of the slew of others that have been added over the past couple of months show that Toluu is continuously working towards becoming the best service of its kind.

So why does this feed sharing service have so many other bloggers talking? And why should you bother with yet another RSS service? Here are 10 good reasons why you should give Toluu a look:

1. You can sign up with OpenID: Toluu starts out on the right foot by letting you sign up for the service with your OpenID. You can also choose to save yourself some typing by letting them import your profile using the hCard microformat on your profile at flickr, twitter, Technorati, Last.FM, or Upcoming. Not into OpenID yet? A regular sign-up form is still provided.
2. It's Easy: There's not a whole lot to it. Sign up, login, and upload your OPML. You don't have to find your friends or fill out a big user profile.
3. You don't have to do anything: Besides uploading your OPML, there isn't anything else you have to do to benefit from the service. Although you can go through your feeds and mark your favorites, those of us with hundreds of feeds won't take the time and we don't have to. Toluu can make recommendations based on your feed list alone.
4. Collaborative filtering helps Toluu learn: As activity on Toluu increases, what you and your friends read and tag as favorites will help you discover new feeds that you may enjoy reading. The recommendation engine is right on target. It shows your matches, what percentage compatibility you have with them, what feeds you have in common, and which ones you like. This is much better than anything ShareYourOPML ever offered.
5. You won't be recommended "one-hit wonder" blogs: Remember that one guy who wrote that one post that one time? The one that hit Techmeme and then you never heard of him since? That feed wouldn't be recommended to you, unless you showed interest in actively reading the rest of his feed on a regular basis.
6. The Toluu bookmarklet helps you add new feeds with ease: Because re-importing your OPML after ever new feed added would be a pain, Toluu offers a bookmarklet that lets you add a feed to both Toluu and your preferred feed reader which will first add the feed to Toluu before continuing on to add it to your RSS reader.
7. It's not trying to replace your RSS Reader: If you wanted to, you could use it as an RSS reader, but that's not what it's designed to do. So it's not a matter of you having to switch readers to enjoy using this service.
8. The Feeds! No matter how many feeds you currently subscribe to, you're bound to find more that you didn't know existed. Plus, you can spy on the shared feeds of anyone, provided you know their username, which is a great way to find out what people read.
9. The Activity Stream: The Toluu activity page gives you a quick glance at what your friends have been reading and doing on the Toluu service.
10. The Potential: Granted, this, like most services today rely on having a decent userbase to find success. However, based on ShareYourOPML's former popularity, Toluu has a great shot at filling the void that was left behind when that site disappeared.

A Toluu Profile Page

All that being said, the site still needs a bit of work before it can really take off, but since it's still in private beta, they have the time to work out the kinks and maybe even add a couple more features, too.

For example, a search feature to find other Toluu users would be a big help, especially as they grow. Also, the notification preferences are all switched on by default, which means you'll get emails whenever someone adds you as a contact, adds or removes a feed, or recommends a feed, and you're automatically subscribed to the newsletter. That's a bit much.

If you're interested in joining Toluu, you can request a beta invite or you can comment here. I have seven to give away, so first come, first serve.

UPDATE! There are 100 invites available now. Comment here for yours!