Closed for Holydays, I will be back April 6

FriendFeed aggregates your own and your friends' various Social Networks feeds (also Netvibes) :4*/5

It is a few days that I am using FriendFeed a new service that aggregates in one page your own and your friends' various Social Networks feeds and updates

For example, you can see what songs your friends are listening to on last.fm, what video they enjoyed on YouTube, their last blog or Twitter post or see the new photos they have published to Picasa. And you will show the same!

Currently, FriendFeed supports 33 different services :

News

Digg

Google Reader

Reddit

Bookmarking

del.icio.us

Furl

Google Shared Stuff

Ma.gnolia

StumbleUpon

Status

Gmail/Google Talk

Jaiku

Pownce

Twitter

Video

Seesmic

Vimeo

YouTube

Books

Goodreads

LibraryThing

Photos

Flickr

Picasa Web Albums

SmugMug

Zooomr

Blogging

Blog

Tumblr

Music

iLike

Last.fm

Pandora

Miscellaneous

Amazon Wishlists

Disqus

LinkedIn

Netflix Queue

SlideShare

Upcoming

Yelp

You choose the ones you want to share with others, you set the user/pass, and then if your page is public (open to all) or private (you must grant authorization).

Then you check for your Friends. When you click on them you see the services they share and the people they have suscribed to.

Netvibes as such is not already listed, but what you can do is to get the RSS FEED of your own public Activities on Netvibes ( In own your profile, close to "edit profile", the orange icon Feed) and insert it as ... BLOG. That way, even your "Not yet Netvibes" friends will see your Netvibes updates (but not the Star it!)

With FriendFeed you can also check people that are not already using FriendFeed by creating an "Imaginary Friend". Then, you get your friend's Twitter, Facebook,blog, Netvibes Activity, ... Feeds and by placing the Feed as a ... Blog you will be able to follow them.

But it is not just following that you can do.

With FriendFeed you can also:
Comment by leaving a short note
Like by choosing an emoticon
More by linking the entry.

You can also leave links and psot a FF status. You can also see comments from Friends of Friends, pictures and captures....

I like this service and I have created in my Netvibes page a full tab dedicated to it with the WEB PAGE widget (add content/essential widgets/Web page).
This way I check my most interesting friends in more "complete way" not, as before, service by service but activity by activity. Thanks FriendFeed !

My public FriendFeed is : http://friendfeed.com/netex and I publish there my Twetter, Blog, Netvibes Activity, Facebook updates.


NetEx Rating: 4****/5

Friendfeed is a very powerful service to aggregate your Social networks feeds and Updates.
It is the most advanced service toward my Single Social Interface dream.

The 4* means that the service is not already "finished": the search was just added a few days ago.
Friendfeed should also add Netvibes as a basic service ;)

To get FriendFeed go here

For some reading : TechCrunch

New Friend category is emerging in Social Networks: the Best Friends

As mentionned in this post from Inside Facebook blog, the new Facebook Privacy rules changes are increasing the role of the Friend Lists.

Facebook, as one of the largest Social Networks is also leading the trend. And "Starting last week, Facebook elevated Friend Lists to central status within the Facebook user experience by making it the basis around which users can specifically limit access to certain information for certain friends."

A new Friend category is, in my view, emerging: the Best Friends.

Since now you had just a 1 choice : all of your Friends(as Netvibes , Facebook, FriendFeed ...) or Following (in Twitter, ...) were the same: could read and follow you the same. Now that will change to reflect better the real life.

Your Best Friends will the only one with whom you will share all your "limited" public data.

If Netvibes was to get soon in that breach, that could give birth to "private Universes" with restricted access only to selected Best Friends.

Italian Netvibes users link each others

The small Italian Netvibes community has started to regroup by linking each other from the Fiuz Universe tab: http://www.netvibes.com/fiuz#Italian_Members.

It is another approach to the Content Directory that I was writing about some days ago.

NetEx Tip: Drag your friends icon on your Netvibes page

NetEx Tip:

Did you know that by dragging the icon of any of your Friends (from Contacts) on to your page, you are installing your Friends' My Community public widget ?

This Public version of the widget shows: the friends and followers of your Friend and his public activities.

Many users, create a Friends Tab on their Netvibes universe to check all their best friends activity one by one.

PS: I just discovered it ...

iGoogle users survey lists Netvibes as alternative.

Just checked an iGoogle users survey and in page 2 (see image) they mention Netvibes as one of the 5 alternatives to iGoogle as a "personalized homepage website".

March Updated list of Ze Best Netvibes Universe by NetEx

The new March UPDATED LIST of BEST UNIVERSES by NetEx with links. No specific order.

1. Best Layout 5*****: KARINE: Another new Universe : even better !
2. Ze Digital Video Universe 4*: by xamcec, a creative Universe. Check it ! Very Heavy Loading !
3. 37 Tabs of Interesting Content: many varied fields (gardening, in a creative way by Jadlat
4. A very Good almost official City Content: for Grenoble, France
5. The (Official ?) Finacial Times Universe: the FT on Netvibes
6. Medical Feeds (mainly in Spanish) : if you are interested in the field
7. The European Union (UnOfficial) Universe: very good and complete.
   

OLDER LINKS OF PREVIOUS SELECTIONS

1. National Content: GERMANY by Novesia: stylish with humour. Very good Tab title and content . I want more like this ;)
2. National Content: The Netherlands : a stilish and complete Universe by Rotvibes
3. Nice Layout: CROUSTIGLAM: nice, fresh, would like to have an empty Tab just to look at the wallpaper ;)
4. Content Web Design, Fints, CSS, layouts ... by Me So Horny: hundreds of feeds...
   
5. Content Web2.0, Mktg, Management,... : complete
6. Content Local Community Universe: a premium Universe for a small community. We need them !
7. Content: FIDIS Consortium (Future of Identity in the Information Society) with LSE, INSEAD, IBM...
8. Content: French Juridiacal Database Universe: if you need it...
9. Good French only Feeds by Founder of Wikio : all feeds with picture: I like
10. Nice Brazilian Food TAB: miam miam
    
11. NetEX07 Award for Best Serious Layout: will have to improve to maintain title ...
12. NetEx07 Award for Best Unserious Layout: very good, could perhaps add some cartoons
13. NetEx07 Award for Best Headline Picture: New York, New York...
14. Nice Layout: I like dark background ;)
15. Swedish Content:
    
16. NetExp07 Award for Best Arty Page ***: I just liked it
17. Miss Netvibes: Verenice (and she can sing too) !
18. Content: Medical Library Toolbox: a very good job and professional !!
19. Best Commercial site: Jajah
20. Content: News and Blogs on the European Union: if you are interested
21. Content US PRESIDENTIAL Elections ***: Best content so far by a pro
22. Content: Web Entrepreneur: we all know one ;)
23. Content: All on Netvibes: Yes, my universe, but at the moment is the best ;)
24. Content: Official Netvibes Universe: check and compare with mine ;)
25. Content: First Sex Universe: check it if you have your parents permission ;)

After the success of the last BEST UNIVERSES 2007 Awards I decided to share with everyone my preferred Public NetvibesUniverses so here my New tab: "Best Universes by NetEx".

It is just a personnal choice to show other users work, taste, efforts and findings.

I am still looking for good and rich content (not just copy/paste or just feeds) coupled with nice, original design. Everybody is still "under construction" and I am sure we will have interesting discoveries.

I have a Message Board for you to drop me an Universe URL (yours or one you liked) or your comments and I will check it... But wait untill you have something solid to show.

Go check the Best Netvibes Universe Layout and get inspired ! 5*/5

Look at this Universe ! It is just superb ! The right colours, the right pictures, the right background pictures, the right proportions, the right content ! A pleasure !

Go check the just out of print "Grand Bleu" Universe of Karine , one tab at the time, take your time, enjoy it and after that you will want to quit your "normal" universe. (I do ;))

Just imagine Karine's work with a "free floating" Netvibes page and not those boring columns ...


NetEx rating: Best Universe Layout: 5*****/5

I have added it to my best Universes tab in my own Universe.

Amis de Netvibes: installez le widget THE WALL pour qu'on puisse vous laisser un message !

Amis de Netvibes, si vous voulez que vos amis et abonnées puissent vous laisser un message, un conseil, un compliment sur votre Univers, il faut installer le Widget MY WALL ("le mur") de Netvibes.

Pour installer le Widget il suffit de cliquer ici:



Conseil de NetEx: si vous installez une copie du même MY WALL dans votre page privée netvibes, vous pourrez lire et répondre aux messages sans aller dans vôtre Univers ;)

Amici / Friends Italiani di Netvibes: aggiungete il Widget MY WALL !

Se volete che i vostri amici e/o followers possano lasciarvi un messaggio, un consiglio, un complimento sul vostro Netvibes Universo aggiungete il Widget MY WALL("il muro") (di Netvibes).

Questo Widget lo trovate cliccando qui:



Trucco 1 di NetEx :
* Fatevi una copia del widget e mette quindi lo stesso mY WALL nella vostra pagina privata di Netvibes. Potrete leggere i messaggi e rispondere senza andare sul vostro Universo ;)

Trucco 2 di NetEx:
** Se volete una messaggeria diretta tra pochi copiate tutti lo stesso MY WALL nelle vostre pagine private. Potrete scambiarvi i messaggi direttamente. Non è immediato perché Netvibes non rinfresca più di tanto...

Per concludere se non siete ancora "iscritti sul sito degli Italiani su Netvibes" andate a farlo sul Muro di Fiuz. ;)

To all Netvibes Friends: add the MY WALL to your Universe !

I travel in the Netvibes Universes ;) and I see a majority of Universes where there is no MY WALL Widget !

So there is no way for your visitors to leave you a message, a suggestion, a compliment ...

So, please, ADD A MY WALL to your Universe !! NOW !!


NetEx Tip: add the same MY WALL Widget also in your Private page. That way you will be able to follow who is writing to you and to answer it, without going on your own Universe.


You can find it

* on my my Really ESSENTIAL WIDGETS tab in my Universe where you can get it by "SEND TO MY PRIVATE PAGE" option

or

* by clicking here:

I want a Netvibes Directory of Content

The most frustrating thing when you have a powerful tool is not to have enough material to use it.

Imagine your super new full HD Tv 16/9 screen just showing only '60 B/W 4/3 sitcoms or your super flat super light Mac Air just for typing your expenses notes: A Nightmare !

Now, you have this Netvibes Ginger, ZE Social Homepage, with powerful tools: ALL FEEDS, REMIXED FEED READER, STAR IT ! , MY WALL, MY UNIVERSE, MY COMMUNITY and using it just for reading your Friends Twitters, the BBC World news, TechCrunch feeds and a few friends' blog : what a waste !

Where is the discovery ? Where is the all Web ? Where is the All Netvibes Community ? What I am missing ? What is the new content that you were looking for but without knowing it ?

Well, all of that could/should be in a Netvibes DIRECTORY of CONTENT.

The 2 Mln different RSS feeds that Netvibes users have found should be "offered" to other users in many forms:

• most read
• by language
• by country
• by subject

It is not easy to do it and at first a "handmade" version would probably be necessary. But a lot Netviber users, I am sure, would be interested to be part of this action ;)

We could start with a DMOZ structure, the one at the source of the first Google Page Ranking, that Netvibes users, in a Wiki style, could use to rate Feeds and Universe

Mean while you can check sites like: AllTop and a copy/clone for SouthAmerica Notilat and imagine the same page but with a little green sign with a white cross at the side of each feed source meaning : add it to my Netvibes page.

Netvibes' Contacts (black) Board review

Just a few lines to present my view on the Contacts board of Netvibes in the Ginger upgrade (but why not everybody is in Ginger ?).

Well, the background ... is black but as you will see also the My Followers that are also my Friends are highlighed ... in a blackcard, but in a ... darker black AND with a green sign on the right side. The Followers that are not (already ? ;)) my friends are just ... in black with no other sign. The "My Friends" option works in the same way.

As a general impression I would say that for my small screen a lot of space is lost ... in black as only my friends/followers are presented by groups of 8.

At the same time the "My Followers"/"My Friends" sign is repeated twice: in the left menu and in the Contact board. And also a lot of space is lost under the cards. With out those lost spaces a third row of contacts could be arranged, if needed.

Some Friends/Followers are presented with Name AND Firstname on 1 row others on 2 : it could be easier to have all on 2 rows. The 3rd row is the country one when declared.

On the practical side, Netvibes should do better than other Social Networks, by giving better ways to:

• display friends (not only date of subscription),
  
• browse between friends in the 2 directions (first/last),
• offering funny applications to visualize relationship between friends...
• create groups of interest ...
  

I know, I know that all that will come, but I am so impatient ...