September 30, 2009

Feedburner Goes All Permanent on Their URL Redirects

If you've ever clicked on a link in your RSS reader and that link is associated with a site that uses Feedburner, you've probably noticed that the initial URL to appear in your browser's address bar was related to the feed and not the final URL. That's because Feedburner uses the URL to track the click.

The redirect was a 302, a temporary redirect. But now Feedburner is updating the URLs to be permanent 301 redirects.

Feedburner, which is owned by Google, says that the reason for the change was that some search engines index the feeds, which affects the popularity of a site.

If you use Feedburner, you don't have to do anything special. The update is automatic.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 19, 2007

Google's Feed Indexing Policy

The official Google Webmaster Central blog has a post on it titled Taking feeds out of our web search results.

With this post Google defines a precise policy regarding the indexing or no-indexing of feeds. In summary, Google is officially not going to index any feeds, with the exception of multimedia feeds such as Podcast feeds.

The most interesting part of this to me was the rationale - it turns out that the majority of non-multimedia feeds represent content already on HTML web pages, and many times these pages contain additional content beyond what is in the feed itself. When Google sees a scenario like this, the web page with the content, and the feed with the content are pretty much duplicate content for each other. Given that the HTML page has a strong chance of being the superior solution.

This happens less frequently with multimedia feeds such as Podcasts. For that reason, Google will continue to index Podcast feeds. Publishers who want their Podcast feed Noindexed can do so can follow the Yahoo Guidelines, or if they use Feedburner they can easily set this up within Feedburner.

I think it's great that Google has defined a clear policy for this. Now webmasters know exactly what they are dealing with. Of course, there will be some webmasters who want their (non-multimedia) feed indexed, and that have relied on that traditionally. However, this is no longer an option, and it behooves such webmasters to figure out how to get that content rendered on an HTML web page which is crawlable by Google.

Posted by at 9:53 AM | Permalink

July 3, 2007

Google Gives Away FeedBurner Services

Following its usual pattern of acquiring a company and then making its services available for free in the hopes of bringing in more advertising dollars, Google is now giving away TotalStats and MyBrand, which were previously only available with a FeedBurner Pro subscription.

Existing Pro users will not be charged for June or any month after, and new users need to sign up to access the services in their FeedBurner Accounts.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 1:47 PM | Permalink

December 27, 2005

Google Feed API Coming

Run or building a feed reader? Google's planning a feed reader API, confirms Technorati's Niall Kennedy. He's got more details in Exclusive: Google to offer feed API. It's not clear to me whether this means tapping into data used for Google Blog Search or data that Google Reader develops for its own use or some combination of them both. But I'm sure more details will emerge.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 10:12 AM | Permalink

November 21, 2005

Add To Google & Save To Yahoo My Web Buttons Out

Nick at Threadwatch discovers a new Add To Google button, while I'm also overdue to discuss the new Save To My Web button that Yahoo kindly rolled out last month. Let's jump in!

The new Add To Google button is easy to implement. Fill out the form at Google, then you get the appropriate HTML. Insert the button on your home page, then when people click, they are directed to add your feed to either their personalized edition of the Google homepage or Google Reader. Adding it to Google Sidebar, sadly, isn't a third option. That should be supported as well. Hopefully, we'll see it come.

As for the new Yahoo button, Yahoo announced it at the end of last month. In fact, I'd been asking them for one publicly, so they came back in that post and specifically called me out to say "Here it is!" But I was on vacation at the time, hence me playing catch-up!

It's very welcomed. My Web is the future of where search is heading at Yahoo, as A Search Marketer's Look At Yahoo My Web 2.0 covers in more depth. Getting your pages added and part of the trust networks that My Webbians are building over there is important. This button makes it easy to encourage that type of saving.

To get the button, there's no form to fill out. You just grab JavaScript code from here. That puts a little button on your site. When people push it, your page title will be grabbed, along with the URL and some suggested tags for saving the page under.

Nick at Threadwatch has gone a step further. He's used the code to make a link-text only version of the save to my web feature. He discusses it more here, and the code is here.

Why not just use the button? By using Nick's code, you can custom the text of the link, in case you want to give people more instructions. For example, look over in our left-hand navigation area. I've used both the button plus Nick's code underneath, altering it to stress that this is "Yahoo" My Web, something the button doesn't say.

Down the line, I want to move that type of code over to the bottom of posts, to help encourage people to save them. Having that as a textual link makes it a bit easier. And if you're going to do it for My Web, why not for bookmarking service Del.icio.us? That's easily done through this code spotted via Threadwatch.

Are all these buttons worthwhile? I still can't tell if they are driving that many sign-ups, but I've fallen into the "learn to love them" category. While having one unified sign-up system might be better, if having an Add To Google or Add To Yahoo button means I'm going to get some additional visitors who recognize what that means, I'm going for it.

Want to love buttons yourself? See Getting Add To & Subscribe Buttons For Feeds, which I've posted for Search Engine Watch members. It takes you to the forms for popular services, so that you can merrily make your own badges.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 9:34 AM | Permalink

October 7, 2005

New Google Reader For Feed Reading

Continuing its push into the universe of blogs and feeds, Google has launched a feed reader application. Google Reader is a browser-based application that works with virtually all popular browsers on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms.

Google Reader is "the most comprehensive feed finder available," said Jason Shellen, the Google product manager who spearheaded the development of the program. Comprehensive, yes, but Reader also adheres to Google's trademark simple, easy-to-use design philosophy. "We're trying to find an easier find and subscribe model for feeds," said Shellen.

The program features a Google search box at the top which allows you to search for feeds or do an entire web search. Like most other feed readers out there, Google reader has two panes. The left side displays your reading list and the feeds you've subscribed to, and a preview pane on the right allows you to read feed content.

Content can be displayed by relevance or date. Reader also employs algorithms that learn your content preferences and prioritizes content accordingly. This is similar to the auto-discovery feature for news that's part of the Google Sidebar.

Built-in sharing capabilities allow you to email feeds through your Gmail account, or post content to a blog (currently this only works on Google's Blogger-powered blogs). Don't have a Gmail account yet? If you're in the U.S. and have a SMS capable phone, you can sign up for an account by following these instructions.

Google allows you to import your feed subscriptions from other readers, and provide an export mechanism so you can move your Reader subscriptions to another feed reader.

Google just announced the Reader at the Web 2.0 conference, so I haven't had a chance to play around with it yet. I did get a demo of the program last August when I visited Google, and was impressed with what I saw at the time—particularly with the auto-discovery feature that recommended feed content based on what you read. Findory offers a similar service for feeds.

To get Google Reader, visit google.com/reader.

Gary is busy playing with Reader and will post his comments on the program shortly.

Posted by Chris Sherman at 1:30 PM | Permalink

September 23, 2005

Yes, Google Does Alert You To New Blog Finds

ZDNet's David Berlind rants that Google Alerts don't include blogs, so he can't get an email update on news found via the new Google Blog Search service. David, you can have an RSS feed of anything you want on blog search. I explain that here. It's not even that hard. There are links to keyword-based feeds at the bottom of each page. So you want the latest from blogs via Google -- there you go.

Want to get huffy about something? Stick to the bigger problem that for the blog RSS alerts I get, there's still a ton of spam and off-topic material, not to mention it misses stuff because it's not an full-text index of actual blog posts yet. Of course, it's only been out for less than two weeks, so I'll cut them a little slack for now.

Berlind's just flat wrong when he goes into this part:

I can understand if Google feels as though the blogosphere isn't a part of "news."  But isn't the blogosphere part of the Web? Or is the blogosphere not the Web?  This problem with Google Alerts is nothing new.  For example, Yahoo!'s Jeremy Zawodny made hay about the exclusion over two years ago.

Google, of course, does index blogs as part of its web index. In fact, anyone who has half an ear to the blogosphere knows the conventional wisdom that blogs have supernatural ranking powers that can push ordinary web pages aside in Google web search.

It's not quite like that, but blogs can, do and have existed in Google web search. So if you have a Google Alert to monitor the web, and a new blog page shows up in the top rankings, you'll get that alert. The real problem with watching web search is that it's not really time sensitive. If the top results don't change a lot -- and they really generally shouldn't -- then there's nothing to alert you to. News search, blog search -- these change often, since new material is purposely flowing in and given a deliberate relevancy boost, as it makes sense for that content.

As for what Jeremy was making hay about, let's be clear. It wasn't an exclusion of blogs from web search. It was the exclusion of blogs as part of NEWS search. Not web search, got it? Blogs have always been part of web search.

This part is fun:

I'd do a fact check with Google to find out why the Blog Search isn't included as a new type in Google Alerts (doesn't it make sense for Google to do this?), but, as an employee of CNET Networks, I'm included in Google CEO Eric Schmidt's blackout.

Yeah, that sucks. They're stupid for doing that to News.com. Bad, bad Google -- and example of why this will keep blowing up in their face as well as why it hurts the communication process. Of course, Berlind probably wouldn't be so ticked it he hadn't been banned. More to the point, he can certainly fact check in other ways. Hmm, maybe even by reading the FAQ.

Postscript: Dave Winer says I'm wrong and unfair in my post above:

Google doesn't include blogs in Google News, or at least that's what they claim. However, a lot of the supposed non-blogs they include are in every way blogs.

Yes, Dave -- I know that. David wasn't writing about how Google keeps blogs out of news search. He acknowledges in the story that blogs aren't part of news search -- as I wrote in my summary. In fact, he even says he "understands" why Google doesn't include blogs in news search.

Where David was wrong, and what I was correcting, was his suggestion that blogs aren't in WEB search. Blogs, of course, are in web search.

Postscript 2: And now David Berlind's not happy and STILL incorrect again. Since he feels so taken to task that he wants to take me to task, I'll answer what he said:

First things first. Sullivan never bothered to call me before questioning the integrity of my coverage when, in referring to Google's blacklisting of journalists that work for CNET Networks, he wrote "Of course, Berlind probably wouldn't be so ticked it he hadn't been banned. " Had you called Mr. Sullivan, or if you've read anything I've written in my 15 years as a hi-tech journalist, you'd know that I've never and will never take vendors' personal treatment of me into consideration when writing about them. This is true in both respects. My coverage cannot be swayed to the positive by currying favor, nor can it be swayed to the negative by treating me negatively.

OK, first, I didn't need to call you because the key fact in your story about blogs not being in web search was wrong. I could see that. It would be like calling you up and saying, "David, you said 2+2=5. I disagree with this. How are you doing the math." What were you going to explain to me? How further wrong they were?

Question whether you were ticked at Google? Of course you were. You should be. They have a stupid policy of not talking to CNET, and it means you can't get direct answers from them, when you should. Could you verify the facts another way, if you really cared. Of course you could. You didn't. And did that ticked tone come through in your story? It did from where I sit. Rather than using the standard CNET line that all your collegues I talk with regularly with at News.com about having tried to ask for a response and not getting one, you went with a brand new "I'm on the blacklist" tone.

As for Sullivan's explanation of why I was wrong about Google Alerts, I think the fact that he provides a workaround instead of factual evidence that I am wrong to ask the question I asked actually supports my position. Instead of discussing Google Alerts, as I did, he discusses Google's new blog search and how to set it up to satisfy my needs. So, let me fall back to the original facts, and the original question.

It's not a workaround. You want to be alerted to new blog finds. RSS feeds at Google give you this. You want it fast? RSS is faster than web alerts. You can't get it via email, no. The Google Alerts may not be working right. But the point is, you want blog content from Google, but you with "15 years as a hi-tech journalist" don't seem to know that Google's new blog search offers exactly what you want. Did you read any of the coverage of Google's blog search launch last week? This type of alert is what you want. Numerous people including myself mentioned it exists. It's right on the blog search result pages. Is there some additional road map you need?

And back to the original incorrect fact, you were wrong before and you're yet WRONG again:

Google Alert says it can watch for me: News and the Web. Not that I agree (it's the subject of huge debate), but I understand the reasons that a search engine company might fall on the side of saying blogs are not news. But, there's just no way anyone can say that they're not part of the Web.

No one is saying that. Google isn't saying that. They've never, ever said blogs aren't part of the web. In fact, they said the exact OPPOSITE when some people worried that blogs might get pulled from web search back in 2003. From my story then:

By the way, one thing NOT in the cards for future index changes are any plans to pull blog content out of Google's regular search results. Google made a special point of stressing that blogs are staying, during my interview with them last week.

Google offers you a web search alert. Blogs, as I wrote before, are part of web search. Here, do this search for your name. Plenty of blogs there for your name. Go sign up for a Google web alert to that, and if some new blog (or anything) in web search shows up, you'll see it. Suggesting that because it doesn't say "web & blogs" is like saying you aren't getting oxygen because the canister of air doesn't say "air & oxygen" on it. There's oxygen in the air. There are blogs in web search.

I don't know how else to say it. Blogs are in web search. They ARE in web search. You get a web search alert, you get blogs in there. If you JUST want blogs, then you have to do something else. That's what you want, I know. But you're wrong to suggest that blogs aren't already in web search results. They are.

I don't know much about ranking algorithms. But, I have a difficult time understanding how I can be alerted to something "as it happens" if that something has to get ranked by an algorithm first. In Sullivan's words, some blogs "have supernatural ranking powers that can push ordinary web pages aside in Google web search." Thanks but no thanks. I'm not looking for the bloggers that have figured out how to manipulate search engines. I'm looking for the ones with the most interesting things to say about Vista (including ones that work at Microsoft). So, the pages I actually want to see are probably the unranked ones. At the very least, this should be a configurable item (like a checkbox that says "filter results based on Google's rankings").

This isn't about knowing ranking algorithms. It's about understanding the basics of search. What does the search engine include, and how does it sort things.

Google web search includes content from across the web, including blogs. Scoring is done by relevancy, rather than currency/freshness. IE, just because you are the newest site doesn't mean you'll be the site at the top.

So you want bloggers that seem to be most relevant for Windows Vista over time. Web search helps there. You want the very latest things being posted? You have to use a blog search engine where the default sort is on currency.

Over at Google's blog search, you can do both. The default is on relevancy overall, but you can switch to getting the most recent. The underlying results so far aren't that great either way, to me.

Overall, sorry you wrote a column where you made a major factual error about what's in Google's web search. Sorry you were upset I felt like I had to comment on a piece written by a major IT journalist who thinks blogs aren't part of WEB search. But that's what you said, and it was wrong.

Postscript 3: Just in case there is any confusion, I wholehearted apologize to David for giving any impression that he somehow wrote a slanted article because of the policy of Google not talking to CNET. I did feel the tone of his piece seemed upset at Google, but upset doesn't mean you can't be fair. In short, I really wasn't trying to imply he was unfair. I can't apologize for the fact that he made a factual error in saying blogs aren't part of web search or that he could have fact checked this in ways other than contacting Google.

Postscript 4: One more wholehearted and unreserved apology. I certainly could have written my critique of his piece without it being so personal or in a better tone.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 6:19 AM | Permalink

August 22, 2005

Google Desktop Search 2 Offers New Sidebar Widgets, Outlook Integration & More

Google has released a new version of its desktop search tool. Now in beta, Google Desktop Search 2 offers features such as integration with Outlook, indexing of email at Gmail, a sidebar with nifty widgets to display photos, headlines, RSS feed and a virtual scratch pad. The changes will likely have folks at Microsoft and Yahoo nervous but Google users pleased. Some of the changes will also no doubt kick off another round of speculation that a Google OS may be coming.

Everything Google Desktop Search has offered -- the ability to find and locate things on your computer -- remains. Here's a closer look at what's new in the latest release.

Installation

If you're already a user of Google Desktop Search, you're going to have to download the application and reindex your hard drive. Your current version of GDS will not automatically update with this beta release. If you want an auto-update, it's likely you'll have to wait until the program leaves beta. Also, another question you might be asking, is if GDS 2 available for Mac users? The answer is no. Also, at this point its is only available in English.

The download is still very small and installation is point, check, and click. After beginning the installation process you'll see a page asking you to set your preferences (which can be changed at any time). By the way, note the option to change the default search engine in IE to Google. (-:

Options include being able to search your desktop and Google's Gmail with the Google Deskbar, a floating deskbar, or the new Google Sidebar that stays on desktop when minimized. It provides quick access to not only a search box but to other services from Google and on your hard drive.

Google Sidebar

The Google Sidebar is is the most important "new" part of this beta release and will not only get people talking but also get developers developing.

The Google Sidebar can be placed anywhere on your desktop and offers several new widget/tools within easy virtual reach. However, Google Desktop Search must be running for the sidebar to work. You can't just have only the sidebar part if you want, unfortunately. Google says the sidebar is too dependent on personalizing itself based on GDS activity for this.

The sidebar remains visible unless you minimize it in most Windows applications. Just like we've seen with the Google Deskbar, you can now Google from just about anywhere in Windows.

The Google Sidebar I used last week came pre-loaded with eight panes or panels, each customizable. All eight panels can also be minimized or removed. They also automatically update with new info. The 8 panels offer access to:  

• E-Mail: This option allows you to see and read new Gmail without having to go to the Gmail site. Your Gmail is also indexed and made searchable via GDS2. The email "window" of the Google Sidebar will also works with Outlook. Take that Microsoft.  
• News: News headlines from a variety of sources. If you allow Google to know what stories you're clicking on your news headlines headlines will be personalized over time based on what articles you've looked at in the past.  
• Web Clips: Web Clips is the Google name for RSS feeds. In other words, the sidebar can also function as an RSS or ATOM aggregator. Web Clips also offers an autodiscover function. Say you visit a bunch of sites that have feeds but can't find the feed. Simply click and add them to your list of feeds. Note to Google: It would be nice to have an option to view full text feeds directly from the sidebar.  
• Scratch Pad: Type and save quick notes.  
• Photos: Images from whatever folder(s) you store images in are accessible. In fact, you can also view all/some of your photos as a slide show. You can also display photos from an online photo album.  
• Quick View: Provides access to frequently used web pages and files. The sidebar also offers a new feature called QuickFind that allows you the chance to open any program by just typing a few keystrokes into the search box. For example, you can type the letters WOR to open MS Word. Also, all of the custom search shortcuts that you might have created with Google Desktop Search 1 will be available here.  
• What's Hot: A combination of different sources to let you know what people are talking about. How something makes the "hot" box is unknown but Google did tell us that presently material comes from blog/RSS engines Technorati and DayPop. I'm wondering if some day certain advertisers or products might make it into the "hot" panel.  
• Stocks: Current stock prices, customizable  
• Weather: Current temperatures and a one day forecast for places you set.  
• Search: At the very bottom of the default sidebar is a search box. By the way, sidebar boxes can be reordered by simply dragging and dropping.

Are sidebars and similar tools a new idea? No. IE has had an "Explorer" bar for years and Firefox offers numerous sidebar plugins like the PubSub sidebar I use regularly. Of course, don't forget the very popular Mac Dashboard. Nevertheless, since Google is now releasing one, the whole sidebar "concept" will likely gain a new audience.

No doubt the Google Sidebar will appeal to Google fans and tech geeks (see below) alike. However, I wonder if all of these bells and whistles, although potentially useful, are just too much for the typical user. Do they really want or need all of these cool services? Of course, one wonders if the typical user knows about or uses a desktop search app in the first place? Sorry for being just a bit cynical. I wish Google and others would spend 1/10 of the time they spend developing new services and use it to teach people how to become better searchers and better consumers of information.

What else does the Google Sidebar do? It gives Google some serious real estate on the desktop. Although there presently isn't a panel that shows keyword advertising, it's easy to envision panels with contextual and local advertising in them. What about sponsored panels for new movies, TV programs, new products, etc. For the record, Google says it has "no plans" on the advertising front.

Google Sidebar API

Google is also opening up the sidebar to developers with an API. I'm sure developers will have a field day developing new panels. The sidebar and the panels available today and those likely be available soon, remind me of what Yahoo now offers with their acquisition Konfabulator and Apple offers with their application. Not familiar with Yaho Konfabulator? Check out Chris Sherman's recent article that looks at all the widgets that Konfabulator brings to Yahoo: Why Yahoo Bought Konfabulator.

Will today's release start a war for who offers the most sidebar apps or Konfabulator widgets? My guess is yes, it will. I'm looking forward to seeing the plug-ins that combine the sidebar with Google Maps and satellite imagery. Kind of killing two birds with one stone for the Google developer.

New File Types

Along with the 14 file types indexed with GDS, GDS2 will now index:

• Gmail
• MSN Messenger Chats
• Outlook Contacts
• Outlook Appointments
• Outlook Tasks
• Outlook Notes
• Outlook Journal

Outlook Integration

Here's another one for that I'm sure Microsofto will love -- not. Yes, it's the debut of the Google Toolbar for Outlook. If you're an MS Outlook user, look for this box that points you to where the Google's Toolbar for Outlook was placed. On my computer, the toolbar sits next to the MSN Toolbar! In addition to searching your Outlook email, you can also use it to search Outlook You can Outlook Contacts, Appointments, Tasks, Notes, and Journal.

Other Features

Along with what I've mentioned above, the GDS2 beta also offers:

• Password Protection / Index Encryption (available on the GDS2 preferences page)  
• Improved Filtering of Results (depending on document type)  
• One new feature allows you to see a timeline of everything that Google Desktop Searched cached. In other words, at 8:23 PM cached MS Word Doc xxx, at 7:31 cached AIM Chat. Got to tell you, this is very useful.  
• Options to Search Network Drives

Bottom Line?

For Google Desktop Search fans, it's Christmas (or choose other holiday) in August! This is some cool stuff and yes, Virginia, Google now has an RSS aggregator. I'm sure developers will also be busy building new ones. By the way, if you don't want to use Google Desktop Search to search your desktop, the sidebar is still completely usable. For developers? More Google toys to play with.

Finally, if you're a GDS fanatic and want to let others know about your fanaticism, the GoogleStore began selling a Google Desktop Search Baseball Jersey last week.

Posted by Gary Price at 7:04 AM | Permalink

July 26, 2005

RSS Search & Add Option Now Available For Google Personalized Home Page

In the past few days, Google has unveiled a new "look-and-feel" along with a couple of new features to their personalized homepage including the ability to add RSS feeds to the page.

To make a feed visible on your Google Personalized home page, enter the url into the box located under the "create a section" header. If you don't know a feed's url or want Google Personalized to suggest feeds of possible interest, simply enter a feed's title or subject into the box.

Once a feed appears is added to your Google Personalized home page, only titles/headlines are visible. You'll need to click again to view the full text. It's also possible to change the number of headlines/titles visible (default is three) by clicking the edit button. Up to nine headlines/titles can be viewed on the page.

The Google Personalized Home Page went live in May. Here's Danny's overview article.

Another new Google Personalized feature offers an option to list important bookmarks on your page.

The option to add RSS feeds to Yahoo's My Yahoo service has been available since Fall 2004.

Postscript: I noted above that you could search for RSS content using the new feature, but it's worth stressing this significant change. The ability to search effectively gives Google a rudimentary feed discovery service, as Nathan points out, similar that offered by Yahoo and MSN Search, not to mention Ask Jeeves-owned Bloglines.

Postscript 2 (from Danny): After scratching my head wondering why the darn thing wasn't working for me, I came across Brad Hill's post that the CustomizeGoogle extension sadly is the problem. Sure enough, when I got rid of that, the page worked for me.

Posted by Gary Price at 11:51 AM | Permalink

May 19, 2005

Google AdWords & Other Feeds Offered

Spotted via Jensense, there's a new Inside AdWords blog from Google. And from Dirson, an entire list of current Google feeds, such as from Blogger and Picasa. Not listed are the Google News feeds I wrote about earlier -- but you can currently only get them within Gmail. Google Orkut Media also offers feeds.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 11:49 AM | Permalink

May 2, 2005

Gmail Web Clips: More On Google's Feed Aggregator, Plus Feeds From Google News

Checking my Gmail account today, I discovered that I'm apparently now one of the few with access to the new Gmail "web clips" feed reading feature I mentioned earlier. Here's how it works and some more details.

You'll see feed headlines shown at the top of the Gmail page, above all the messages in your Inbox, when viewing an email or anything within Gmail. Here's a screenshot:

In that example, "Reuters: Oddly Enough" is the title of the feed currently being viewed. Next to it is a headline from that feed, the hyperlink taking you to the article or post. Next to that is the time the article was posted.

See the words "Web Clip" and the little < > arrows next to it? Those let you move forward or backwards through headlines in the feeds you've subscribed to.

That's it -- a rudimentary feed reader, to say the least. Unless I'm missing something, that's all you can do to view your feeds. You can't click on anything to see all headlines from a particular feed. You can't see a single page with headlines from all sources -- much less headlines and descriptions. All you can do is keep clicking the little arrows.

Odd? Yeah, but I'm sure we'll see it develop. So far, it really seems designed as a serendipitous thing. As you read different email messages, the headlines keep changing -- so it's an easy way to read mail and also perhaps spot a new news item. Or ads! That's because AdSense ads sometimes appear in that area, as well.

Google's Default & Suggested Feeds

By default, you're already subscribed to three feeds:

• Ask Yahoo
• Engadget
• Reuters: Oddly Enough

Why these three? All Google will say is that they were hand-picked with a focus on a good user experience and high quality content.

Want more? Use the Settings option in Gmail, then the Web Clips option. Look below your subscribed feeds, and there's an "Add more clips" link. In turn, that lets you pick from choices in News, Business, Lifestyle, Fun, Tech and Sports categories.

How did the 10 or so feeds featured in each category -- such as ABC News, NPR, Slashdot and Yahoo News: Most Emailed -- get such favored status? Again, Google said only that the choices were hand picked with a focus on user experience.

Google News Gains Feeds

By the way, Google News has some of its own feeds in there:

• Google News - World
• Google News - Business
• Google News - Entertainment
• Google News - Health
• Google News - Sports

Yes, that's right. You can actually get Google News content through a feed without having to resort to workarounds. But bad news, non-Gmail folks. These feeds only work for those within Gmail. I can't find a published address for them. That's kept hidden within Gmail.

You can get Google News alerts for any keyword you wish to track, of course -- but that's sent via email. In contrast, Yahoo News offers actual news feeds to the public right now, as described more here: Yahoo Gains Financial Feeds; A Revisit To Yahoo News Feeds

Also noteworthy is that the feed reader functionality changes slightly when viewing a Google News feed. A new "related articles" link appears next to the posting time and the "Web Clip" text next to the arrows changes to Google News, as shown below:

Add Any Feed & When's This Coming To Everyone?

What if you want something beyond the feeds Google recommends? No problem. You can easily add any feed you like using the Custom Clips option. Just enter the URL of the feed, and away you go.

So I'm lucky in that my Gmail account is enabled -- how about everyone else? Google says it's just a small randomly selected test right now and there's no clear timing on when it will be rolled out to more people. In the meantime, the clipless such as Steve Rubel will have to read about web clips via the Google help pages that he spotted:

• What is 'Clips'?
• What are RSS and Atom feeds?
• Can I read news, blogs, and RSS feeds in Gmail?

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 9:49 PM | Permalink

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