Like many other things, FriendFeed is a wide-open spigot that needs some careful consideration. I think if it's well-managed it can be a valuable early warning radar for journalists.
Pete Delucchi
· 1 year ago
Here's what I just noticed, and I'm pretty new to the whole scene so take my opinion for what it's worth. Last week, during the early evening news casts, sometime between 6-7pm, my brother was flipping through the stations on the tube. I had my laptop in front of me. Summize tracked nearly perfectly with the day's headlines, but Friendfeed wasn't even close. Hurricane Dolly? All over the TV news and Twitter, but nowhere in my FF. Obama visiting Europe? On every newscast, top story. Barely touched at all with Friendfeed. Either the people I'm following on FF just have more widely varied interests, or the banality of every day life that comes out of this experience is just more captivating than all the "news" the networks choose to let us see.
sd
· 1 year ago
I subscribe to Robert Scoble's friendfeed feed several months ago. A lot of other people decided to sign up for the service but I have to say there's just too much information to sort through. What I need is search on Twitter and Friendfeed. Search I can subscribe to. There's too much information. I follow 86 blogs, I don't need to know when someone decides to go for a run or enjoys his coffee. It's not that I don't care if they are friends of mine, but I just don't like looking for all the information I need to know. And that's a problem on blogs as well. I think it's time for a consolidation. Twitter and Friendfeed go the other way, and it makes matters worse. I just don't have the time to go look for information.
Will King
· 1 year ago
sd said, "What I need is search on Twitter and Friendfeed. Search I can subscribe to."
This can be done on both Twitter and FriendFeed.
On FriendFeed, do a search (advanced search will let you narrow your options). At the bottom of the search results is an RSS link you can subscribe to.
At Twitter, use search.twitter.com (or summize.com still works, too - same thing). Once you get your results, look to the upper right of the results page. There's an RSS feed link for the results. There are also advanced options available.
Hope this helps.
Phil
· 1 year ago
Good advice for newer members. The mixed metaphor was close: it is a firehose, which makes pouring that cup so hard for some. You need a bucket.
Unlike Twitter, I think the conversations are more focused and clustered. That's good conversation, but it's also useful archival information if you show up late to the party.
Just like Twitter was "hard to get at first", FriendFeed (FF) has hidden benefits. FF can be used in very creative ways. I'm sure you'll post about those in the future (Rooms, search, how to use FF as a bookmarking tool, etc.).
FriendFeed can be overwhelming but rewarding. I have found that to get the most of FF, you just have to plunge into those remarkable conversations over there. It's free!
Rob Williams
· 1 year ago
I like FriendFeed for aggregating all my stuff into one place. I'm divided over the idea that people comment on FF as opposed to on the original content (like this blog post). But what makes it tough for me to really like is I can't find a way to be notified of comments on FF.
One thing I love about gReader is I am notified of new content and comments. I feel like if I step away from FF (or Twitter for that matter) I miss a lot. gReader lets me catch up.
filsa
· 1 year ago
I agree, it is a useful tool and the aggregation of all the other social media networks you are part of, helps to keep some sort of overview. But at the same time I have to say, that there are already copies of friendfeed like Plurk or Plaxo and they are good too. So which of them shall I use to aggregate my stories in the internet?
Michelle Wolverton
· 1 year ago
I am not loving Friendfeed. Yesterday I finally got fed up enough to ask where I could filter out twitter streams from it.
As much as I love the conversational aspects, it's just another huge feed to process of EVERYTHING that everyone is doing. If you have some specific useful way of using it, I'd love to hear it.
Who has the time to listen to everything?
Imran Hussain
· 1 year ago
Thanks for the post :) I'm new on FriendFeed and that really helped me out!
Maria Reyes-McDavis
· 1 year ago
FriendFeed definitely has some serious potential for a deeper conversation online. Great tips!
The initial reaction from many people is that of redundancy -because they see some content twice. There are ways to tweak and filter, but that comes with immersing.
The best value of FriendFeed for me so far is the rooms feature. We have an NPTECH room - they are like online forums from mid-1990s - but what is nice - is that you have to intentionally share something. So, a nice way to sip some tea.
Like everything else -you can't set up a profile and it let stream - if your goal is conversation. You have to comment on other people's streams, etc.
Gary S. Walter
· 1 year ago
I have trouble getting into FF for many of the reasons mentioned above - the primary one being the firehouse quality of the stream. Twitter remains my #1 source of quality info.
I have carefully selected who I follow on Twitter (mostly folks from Portland, OR - and a host of others) Through this stream I"m kept informed of the news I can use. I find out about new posts, tools, sites, and even breaking "real life" news comes to me faster through Twitter than any other tool.
Twhirl brings FF into the realm of real time, but unless I see the Fail Whale, even identica's superior tool can't usurp Twitter.
James Williams
· 1 year ago
I find FriendFeed to be a good place to graduate to if I'm following someone on Twitter. FriendFeed, in my opinion, is more focused on getting the firehose from who you already think are interesting. I don't automatically add everyone to FriendFeed that I follow on Twitter. There are some that I've added for a bit then removed because they were trying to be get attention by cross-posting everything but it wasn't substantive for others to comment. Be it one or many, I never consider a conversation to be noise, ideas are being passed back and forth. The noise is the people with all their 'look at me posts and tweets.' My goal when I check Summize,err...search.twitter.com, is to see what EVERYONE things about a certain topic or issue. On FriendFeed, I want to see what my friends are thinking about.
thaumata
· 1 year ago
I'm new to friendfeed, and although my initial reaction was, "this is useful and cool," it was only an hour or so before I realized I was probably flooding people with content. I post often, on many sites, and the fact is that some people just don't care what I did on my family vacation.
In the end, I created a Tumblr account and only that goes through FF. Instead of feeding every little stream in there automatically, I curate it by hand, bringing people the best I have to offer, with links to find more if they are so inclined.
I kind of wish everyone would do this. I understand that you really do find a gem in the mess sometimes, but mostly I think we'd all do better to work to reduce the feedback-echo that currently exists on the web.
Gary S. Walter
· 1 year ago
Great idea @thaumata - I think doing what you're doing, with the addition of your Twitter stream and maybe the feed from your primary blog might be a nice touch too.
There are plenty of tools (greasemonkey scripts and FF addons) out there that others can use to limit your stream (see http://internetductape.com).
ChangeForge | Ken Stewart
· 1 year ago
FriendFeed is great for me to create 1 stream for everything I do, as that "everything" grows. However, I am presently in a mode of expunging some of my less than necessary feeds. For instance, I had really enjoyed Plurk, but have found that to be just another conversation to "keep up with" so the fun aspect went out the door.
My next goal is fine-tuning and exploring FriendFeed to more quickly get to the "gems" would be nice.
Additionally, I am beginning to wonder about tracking views on my profile and what people are interested in within my stream. This would be wonderful feedback as to where content may or may not be seeing some pick-up...
If anyone has any tips in that area, I would most certainly welcome them...
chrisbrogan
· 1 year ago
And of course, you can see below these comments that FriendFeed folks are talking about it too, right?
Roger Kondrat
· 1 year ago
Hi Chris
I wrote a related article but I focused more on where FF was going. Perhaps it adds value to your discussion.
I started a discussion with colleagues in FriendFeed to help me understand. My fave space there is the rooms, where we can have a conversation without having to follow each other as on Twitter. They pointed out other features not readily apparent to me, such as the ability to hide types of posts of others, and the "best of day/week/month" in the top right corner. All helpful.
I love twitter, but it is real-time (synchronous) discussion. FriendFeed is asynchronous (allows you to post in the same conversation at different times, as with a forum) so this helps manage your time better, you don't have to always have it "on".
I'm still learning my way around, but interested in what distinguished FriendFeed from the others.
Cheers, Connie
Training An Older Dog
· 4 months ago
One thing I love about gReader is I am notified of new content and comments. I feel like if I step away from FF (or Twitter for that matter) I miss a lot. gReader lets me catch up.
All Comments
A lot of other people decided to sign up for the service but I have to say there's just too much information to sort through.
What I need is search on Twitter and Friendfeed. Search I can subscribe to.
There's too much information.
I follow 86 blogs, I don't need to know when someone decides to go for a run or enjoys his coffee. It's not that I don't care if they are friends of mine, but I just don't like looking for all the information I need to know.
And that's a problem on blogs as well. I think it's time for a consolidation.
Twitter and Friendfeed go the other way, and it makes matters worse.
I just don't have the time to go look for information.
This can be done on both Twitter and FriendFeed.
On FriendFeed, do a search (advanced search will let you narrow your options). At the bottom of the search results is an RSS link you can subscribe to.
At Twitter, use search.twitter.com (or summize.com still works, too - same thing). Once you get your results, look to the upper right of the results page. There's an RSS feed link for the results. There are also advanced options available.
Hope this helps.
Unlike Twitter, I think the conversations are more focused and clustered. That's good conversation, but it's also useful archival information if you show up late to the party.
Just like Twitter was "hard to get at first", FriendFeed (FF) has hidden benefits. FF can be used in very creative ways. I'm sure you'll post about those in the future (Rooms, search, how to use FF as a bookmarking tool, etc.).
FriendFeed can be overwhelming but rewarding. I have found that to get the most of FF, you just have to plunge into those remarkable conversations over there. It's free!
One thing I love about gReader is I am notified of new content and comments. I feel like if I step away from FF (or Twitter for that matter) I miss a lot. gReader lets me catch up.
But at the same time I have to say, that there are already copies of friendfeed like Plurk or Plaxo and they are good too. So which of them shall I use to aggregate my stories in the internet?
As much as I love the conversational aspects, it's just another huge feed to process of EVERYTHING that everyone is doing. If you have some specific useful way of using it, I'd love to hear it.
Who has the time to listen to everything?
I'm new on FriendFeed and that really helped me out!
Maria Reyes-McDavis
http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/friendfeed/
The initial reaction from many people is that of redundancy -because they see some content twice. There are ways to tweak and filter, but that comes with immersing.
The best value of FriendFeed for me so far is the rooms feature. We have an NPTECH room - they are like online forums from mid-1990s - but what is nice - is that you have to intentionally share something. So, a nice way to sip some tea.
Like everything else -you can't set up a profile and it let stream - if your goal is conversation. You have to comment on other people's streams, etc.
I have carefully selected who I follow on Twitter (mostly folks from Portland, OR - and a host of others) Through this stream I"m kept informed of the news I can use. I find out about new posts, tools, sites, and even breaking "real life" news comes to me faster through Twitter than any other tool.
Twhirl brings FF into the realm of real time, but unless I see the Fail Whale, even identica's superior tool can't usurp Twitter.
My goal when I check Summize,err...search.twitter.com, is to see what EVERYONE things about a certain topic or issue. On FriendFeed, I want to see what my friends are thinking about.
In the end, I created a Tumblr account and only that goes through FF. Instead of feeding every little stream in there automatically, I curate it by hand, bringing people the best I have to offer, with links to find more if they are so inclined.
I kind of wish everyone would do this. I understand that you really do find a gem in the mess sometimes, but mostly I think we'd all do better to work to reduce the feedback-echo that currently exists on the web.
There are plenty of tools (greasemonkey scripts and FF addons) out there that others can use to limit your stream (see http://internetductape.com).
My next goal is fine-tuning and exploring FriendFeed to more quickly get to the "gems" would be nice.
Additionally, I am beginning to wonder about tracking views on my profile and what people are interested in within my stream. This would be wonderful feedback as to where content may or may not be seeing some pick-up...
If anyone has any tips in that area, I would most certainly welcome them...
I wrote a related article but I focused more on where FF was going. Perhaps it adds value to your discussion.
http://tinyurl.com/5l6c2s
I love twitter, but it is real-time (synchronous) discussion. FriendFeed is asynchronous (allows you to post in the same conversation at different times, as with a forum) so this helps manage your time better, you don't have to always have it "on".
I'm still learning my way around, but interested in what distinguished FriendFeed from the others.
Cheers,
Connie