In my 4 April post I touched briefly on the aggregator. Essentially, an aggregator provides a consolidated view of content in a single browser display or desktop application, and in its simplest form draws that content from RSS (see my 4 April post -- Harnessing Collective Intelligence -- for more on RSS).
What does that mean in English? Well, if in your daily web routine you visit a number of different web sites for news, sports, entertainment, politics, blogs, etc. for your information fix, an aggregator can simplify this process for you. The aggregator allows you to "subscribe" to the content you want to receive and than consolidates that content in a user-friendly format. The below video is an okay tutorial on RSS and aggregators...
Different Types of Aggregators: Web Based or Client Software?
In my brief experience with aggregators I have found that most have similar features. They allow you to organize your subscribed content -- much like you would your email inbox, provide a headline and the first few sentences of each individual item, link you to the original content if you want to read the entire item, and allow you to "tag" the content for future reference.
The biggest decision you will make associated with an aggregator is web or client. A web based aggregator is just that; it's accessible through a browser. If you have Internet access and a browser, and use a web based aggregator, you can access your aggregator from any PC. I am a web based aggregator user. I use Google Reader, but there are many others (see the Wikipedia link above). Below is a shot of Google Reader.
In contrast, a client based aggregator is software installed on your PC. In order to view your aggregator you must access it through your PC. A good client based aggregator I have used is FeedReader. Below is a shot of FeedReader.
Both versions of aggregators have their pluses and minuses. However, for me, being able to access my aggregator from anywhere is a big plus. Some will tell you that client based aggregators are faster than web based -- and thus more efficient -- but I have just not found this to be true. I started with Google Reader, tried FeedReader, and went back to Google Reader because I actually found FeedReader to be slower. Maybe it's my clunky HP laptop...
Additionally, another feature to look for is offline access. Most client based aggregators have this feature and I know that Google Reader has offline access, this may not be the case with all web based aggregators, though.
At the end of the day, even for the casual web surfer, the aggregator is a must for efficiently accessing, receiving and organizing content from myriad web sites. For me it's a keystone for effectively managing my web experience.
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