Newsblur Friends? March 16, 2013 6:35 PM   Subscribe

Since a great deal of us have joined Newsblur, let's get connected to each other.

I am muneer78 on there. I'm still trying to figure out how to follow people, so someone please point us to directions if they exist.
posted by reenum to MetaFilter-Related at 6:35 PM (61 comments total) 10 users marked this as a favorite

I'm Strass. Haven't finished importing all my reader feeds yet...
posted by Strass at 6:41 PM on March 16, 2013


Method 1:
1. Click the gear in the lower left-hand corner
2. Click "Friends and followers"
3. Scroll down to where you can enter a name
4. Wait a moment
5. Scroll down and pick the "follow" or "preview" button

Method 2:
1. Go to https://[name].newsblur.com
2. Click "follow [name]"

Having followed either of these instructions, when you re-load your main page the new person you're following will appear under "All shared stories", at least if they've ever shared anything.

I'm "jepler" there.
posted by jepler at 6:47 PM on March 16, 2013


And it's worth noting that anyone can follow your shared stories regardless of what rss aggregator they use. On the https://[name].newsblur.com page is the right meta tag to make it a subscribable page, e.g., by going to "page info" then "rss" tab in firefox, or probably by just entering the url in that service's "subscribe" form.
posted by jepler at 6:49 PM on March 16, 2013


I'm "taffy". I'm an early adopter. So early in fact, that I don't actually even understand what this is. But I reckon I'll find out soon enough now.

Or die in the attempt.
posted by taff at 8:41 PM on March 16, 2013


I'm "subbes" and I can't wait to meet y'all.
posted by subbes at 9:27 PM on March 16, 2013


Wow. It charges money. Maybe later.
posted by SPrintF at 9:36 PM on March 16, 2013


There are usually free accounts with ~64 feed limit, but the lone dev who created NewsBlur turned off the creation of free accounts so as to stem the giant wave of signups that was pushing the site under. Word from his twitter is that he'll re-enable free signups soon.

(Though... I remember LJ used a similar technique to slow site growth, and it backfired by permanently turning off possible new users at an important stage of the community's growth.)
posted by subbes at 9:45 PM on March 16, 2013


It wouldn't be so bad if I could pay $9 and get a three month account. $24 is a little much for me right now just to try out the full service even if it is for a year.
posted by Talez at 9:54 PM on March 16, 2013


I'm "angelchrys" on there and I have missed the sharing feature from Google Reader, so it's nice to have this feature in NewsBlur.
posted by angelchrys at 10:11 PM on March 16, 2013


I spent the money because a) I've had a taste or two of that awful/wonderful feeling when suddenly you have a thousand times as many users and it feels good to support people who are dealing with it, and B) it's actually open source. I didn't expect to be able to use it for weeks, but it seems to be (mostly) working now.

I have a gripe or two about the interface, but I was pleasantly surprised to see people I follow elsewhere already subscribed. I think it's growing on me. I'm brennen.

(Does anybody know how to turn off the #@$%ing arrow-key-jumps-to-next-article binding?)
posted by brennen at 12:09 AM on March 17, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'm phirephoenix, but I haven't quite decided yet which of the four RSS services I'm testing out will make the final cut.
posted by Phire at 12:20 AM on March 17, 2013


I'm happy to pay for the service, since I'd rather pay to keep a service going than move to another free service that might disappear overnight.

And, again, fuck you Google!
posted by crossoverman at 3:08 AM on March 17, 2013 [3 favorites]


I'm clicking through and "doing the needful" as they say and I should be on as infini unless there's a sock grabbing my hotspot...

Also, it seems like that 'lone dev' is a mefite from what I can make out in the Google Illiterate thread
posted by infini at 4:09 AM on March 17, 2013


Fed the dog.
posted by infini at 4:42 AM on March 17, 2013 [1 favorite]


Does NewsBlur qualify to be listed in our profiles on MetaFilter?
posted by infini at 4:43 AM on March 17, 2013


Also, it seems like that 'lone dev' is a mefite from what I can make out in the Google Illiterate thread

On the trial page the top blog listed is the Best of MetaFilter. Cool.

Also, I'm NedG on there, I've never used an RSS feed before but all of this fuss about Google Reader is making me think I should check it out.
posted by Ned G at 5:59 AM on March 17, 2013


I'm phirephoenix, but I haven't quite decided yet which of the four RSS services I'm testing out will make the final cut.

TOR, NewsBlur, Feedly and...?
posted by griphus at 8:06 AM on March 17, 2013


...we broke it....ooops....
posted by infini at 8:23 AM on March 17, 2013


Netvibes. Takes more fiddling to set up to work as an RSS reader but I'm liking it so far.
posted by Phire at 8:37 AM on March 17, 2013 [2 favorites]


I think that I have a NewsBlur account but I can't seem to log into it now.
posted by octothorpe at 8:57 AM on March 17, 2013


I'm "polpo".
posted by zsazsa at 8:58 AM on March 17, 2013


infini: I think it does, because they have publicly available profile pages.
posted by zsazsa at 8:58 AM on March 17, 2013


I will find you after that lone dev has fixed the dog and fed the site.....oh never mind the edit window
posted by infini at 9:15 AM on March 17, 2013


OK, it's working for me now and while it works, I'm impressed with it. My username is the same as my gmail account which is visible in my profile here.
posted by octothorpe at 9:50 AM on March 17, 2013


I'm philipy there are as well.

Somehow infini already found me there, which is how I discovered there were any mefites there, and suspected a thread here.

I hadn't decided if Newsblur was the way to go, but was giving it a good try and liking it. If a lot of Mefites go there, that'll likely clinch it.

One thing I noticed on the support & suggestion forum is that a lot of people seem to be having problems upgrading to premium, and even end up being charged without getting upgraded. So holding off on that for now.
posted by philipy at 10:36 AM on March 17, 2013


So far I haven't had any luck finding something that I can use with IFTTT and Evernote the way I used Google Reader. I could star something in GR and IFTTT would send it to a specific Evernote notebook. Plus NewsBlur charges for more than 12 feeds, and doesn't seem impressive enough to make that worthwhile, especially with so many free options. TOR is okay so far. Netvibes was my home page forever until I recently switched to Google Reader for the IFTTT functionality. Sigh.
posted by booksherpa at 10:52 AM on March 17, 2013


I am jadepearl or epinard on oldreader, net vibes, newsblur and feedly. I am checking out all the options before I do a true migration. I am cracking back into systems that I have not accessed in years. The main thing, is I need to sync myself on mutIple platforms and systems and reconfigure the whole workflow.

On first pass, feedly is on the google app engine (how long that lasts, who know?) and their ipad version is magazine like, which is not my flavor while the desktop version is my preferred text model. Newsblur is pretty clean but his servers are taking a beating. Oldreader is also clean but they too are taking a beating and the UI is not as slickas newsblur If, that is helpful. Feedly has the bigger design team and it shows.

I am debating how to get my saved/starred items into my zotero or devonthink databases so that I don't have archive issues in case one of the services blows up.
posted by jadepearl at 11:03 AM on March 17, 2013


Currently unmodified IFTTT recipes for Reader work with feedly, and they've promised a seemless transition provided you sync your Reader account before July 1st. I find it encouraging that they've been working on the new Normandy backend since before the official announcement from Google. Still too soon to tell, but it's been the most responsive of the three for me so far.
posted by Lorin at 11:07 AM on March 17, 2013


It wouldn't be so bad if I could pay $9 and get a three month account. $24 is a little much for me right now just to try out the full service even if it is for a year.

Talez, you don't have to pay $24. There's a slider that lets you choose $12, $24 or $36 for a year. So if you can afford $9 for three months, I bet you can afford $12 for a year.
posted by michaelh at 11:08 AM on March 17, 2013


What is the FeedHQ interface like?

I signed up for a paid account on NewsBlur figuring that no matter what, I was thrilled with the concept and could afford to help someone out. Call it karma.

Yeah, philipy, you showed up somehow and then I stumbled onto mathowie's list
posted by infini at 11:08 AM on March 17, 2013


Talez, you don't have to pay $24

The $12 option is gone for the moment as a way to keep the server load down.

In fact the free option is theoretically gone as well, but due to glitches in the sign up process you might end up with a free account.

Apparently the normal limit for free accounts was 64 feeds, which is not too bad, but it's all been cut back to help reduce the load.
posted by philipy at 11:21 AM on March 17, 2013


If interested in the ups / downs / changes, watch the guy's Twitter.
posted by philipy at 11:23 AM on March 17, 2013


So far my big feedly issues are that there's a "save" button that you can click that apparently saves an article... somewhere? There's absolutely no indication of where, and help seems to be limited to a GetSatisfaction board that's ignored, and a 6 minute video.

I'd be happy to try NewsBlur, except I don't want to pay for anything right now until I figure out which is the right solution.

Damn you, Google. I just switched to Reader a few weeks ago, and had gotten it working the way I liked.
posted by booksherpa at 11:24 AM on March 17, 2013


The $12 option is gone for the moment as a way to keep the server load down.

Ah, never mind then. It was there when I looked a couple days ago. Hopefully it'll return.
posted by michaelh at 11:25 AM on March 17, 2013


*goes back to Draco's Tavern*
posted by infini at 11:26 AM on March 17, 2013


free option is theoretically gone as well, but due to glitches in the sign up process

From what the guy tweeted, the Paywall is leaky on purpose and you can still easily get a free account. I think just go for the premium and skip giving any payment info.
posted by philipy at 11:31 AM on March 17, 2013


That explains why I didn't receive the usual sms from the bank.
posted by infini at 12:18 PM on March 17, 2013


I want to use Newsblur but it is so ugly it makes ugly look pretty.
posted by jewzilla at 12:19 PM on March 17, 2013


I'm happy to pay for the service, since I'd rather pay to keep a service going than move to another free service that might disappear overnight.

I keep seeing this strange magical thinking on this topic. Because no pay service ever went under, or something?

That said, Feedly sux and I've gone back to Reader until I check out some other options.
posted by Squeak Attack at 12:56 PM on March 17, 2013 [3 favorites]


I'm 'skorgu' there and I <3 newsblur.
posted by Skorgu at 1:01 PM on March 17, 2013


Ok I have the 64 site free account now instead of 12 so at least my feeds now work. I'll try it out and if I like it I'll pay for the $24. It's setup under talezmb for those who are interested.
posted by Talez at 4:26 PM on March 17, 2013


I am holding off as well, until the Pinboard of RSS readers comes along. I would much rather pay a one time fee. Also check out dev.newsblur.com if you'd like to preview the new interface of it -- I'd say it's pretty sweet.
posted by cihan at 4:41 PM on March 17, 2013 [2 favorites]


I'm bibliogrrl (here and just about everywhere, including Newsblur).

I missed the social aspect of reader SO MUCH. I hope Newsblur is close to what Reader used to be.
posted by bibliogrrl at 5:23 PM on March 17, 2013


I can't alter the order of my feeds? Alphabetical feeds then alphabetical folders only?
posted by Talez at 5:50 PM on March 17, 2013


You can't manually change the order. There is an option to have the most frequently read ones at the top instead of having them all in alphabetical order.

Being able to change the order would be on my wish list as well.
posted by philipy at 5:53 PM on March 17, 2013


I'm trying it out right now. Same name there as here.
posted by brundlefly at 5:54 PM on March 17, 2013


Been trying out the NewsBlur Android App. I like the interface and it works pretty well but there are a few glitches here and there. On the other hand, the first few iterations of Reader on Android were just terrible.
posted by octothorpe at 6:26 PM on March 17, 2013


I'm iridesce.
posted by myelin sheath at 6:35 PM on March 17, 2013


And I'm ook.
posted by ook at 9:39 PM on March 17, 2013


and you're ook.
posted by infini at 9:56 PM on March 17, 2013


and so's my wife
posted by maqsarian at 10:31 PM on March 17, 2013


I started to make an Ask about this, but I'm afraid it's too chatfiltery. Basically, does anyone have any suggestions about how to get RSS to work for me? The one time I tried to set up a newsreader and use it (a few years ago), I was overwhelmed with the number of things that came through and felt like I couldn't read it as effectively as simply going to the site. Also, it seemed like I wasn't really discovering anything new to read.

Halp :( someone describe to me how they use RSS so I can try and shoehorn it into my life; I feel like I'm not using the web as best I could!
posted by barnacles at 10:57 PM on March 17, 2013


Rule #1 - Do not feel you *must* read a feed's new stuff, or that you can't pick and choose or even simply mark as "all read"

The rest is simply treating it like a hose pipe gushing water where you stick your mug in for a sip or two whenever you feel the need for a few mins at the watercooler.

The biggest difference is that instead of going through ALL your bookmarks, select a few where you like the site (I never RSS Metafilter for eg) and the rest are in the reader... that's more for me to remember the sites I want to track and then I don't need to go there.
Also useful for badly designed websites and those that change content according to what their system thinks is your physical location.
posted by infini at 3:16 AM on March 18, 2013


barnacles, there are 2 types of things I follow in an RSS reader:

1. Tasting from the Hose of Too Much Information

Things I want a regular taste of, things that make the phrase "I'm almost done reading the Internet" a hilarious joke because they are ever-expanding at a pace which the human brain simply cannot encompass.

Included here:
  • Lifehacker and other best-of sites
  • Houzz and other forum/interest based sites
  • MeFi (You can get the RSS for specific tags! I recommend this more than using the Big RSS Feed, which is Altogether Too Much.)
  • random Tumblrs
  • A List Apart and other tech blogs where I'm only interested in a few of their topics
  • Give Me Something To Read (but I'm not interested in reading it ALL)
  • Flickr feeds and Urban Sketchers and other photography/art/craft/illustration/design blogs that are fun to skim for pretty things
These feeds are for skimming, starring, and sharing. I could conceivably replace this aspect of Reader with Twitter/FB/Instapaper.

Use Mark All As Read liberally here to keep your RSS reader subscriptions manageable.

2. Pikachu Edition: Gotta Catch Em All

This is a much smaller set, but this is the set that made me panic about losing Google Reader.

Some Internet things must be read completely and in order. Often these items are not published in a predictable or frequent way.

Maybe there is a blog that you follow that is updated every 4-6 months but when it is, it's freaking amazing and you MUST read it. But they have no email list, you miss their posts on Twitter (another Hose of TMI), and maybe you only remember its existence in moments when you don't actually have time to sit down and give it your full attention.

Sometimes these items are serialized and the order is incredibly important. I speak here in particular of serialized webcomics.

Here is a good example that meets all 3 criteria: Teahouse (NSFW) is gorgeous and funny and I don't want to miss a single strip. It is a serialized strip, so I can't just read a random one and expect to know what's going on. Its schedule is also wildly unpredictable, given that it is an intensive side project of busy people.

RSS gives me a complete list of Teahouse comics whenever they publish (I don't need to remember to go looking), in order.

Included here:
  • so many webcomics
  • personal blogs by certain people (e.g. your family, good friends)
  • stories
  • rarely published amazing things
  • projects you're keeping an eye on (e.g. I want to be notified when the next episode of WormWorld Saga is finished, so I subscribe to Daniel Lieske's RSS)
  • local yearly festivals who only use their blog to remind you the festival is coming up
You know a feed belongs in this category when you are never overwhelmed and tempted to Mark All As Read!

A side note on discovery: This will become much better if we all move to something like NewsBlur where sharing is integrated and easy. It used to be awesome on Google Reader — I could see what my contacts were starring and commenting on very easily and I discovered a lot of cool stuff that way. I've been exploring Feedly as well and they have a nice recommendation engine similar to Amazon's "other people who bought this also bought that" engine.
posted by heatherann at 7:07 AM on March 18, 2013 [7 favorites]


[sidebar request]
posted by infini at 7:31 AM on March 18, 2013


[sidebar request]

Maybe hold off on this until they offer free accounts again. I didn't get in before the free was suspended.
posted by inturnaround at 7:41 AM on March 18, 2013


Sorry should have clarified - for heatherann's fantastic overview of how to manage the overflowing feed pipe any RSS reader will give you. I flagged the comment as fantastic.
posted by infini at 7:53 AM on March 18, 2013


I'm Bistle. I was able to get a free account through the leaky paywall. When it asked for payment information I just submitted an empty form, clicked back to the home of the site and I was in. I like it so far and will be happy to feed the dog.
posted by Bistle at 8:07 AM on March 18, 2013 [1 favorite]


I was able to get a free account through the leaky paywall. When it asked for payment information I just submitted an empty form, clicked back to the home of the site and I was in.

I abandoned my attempt to register when I hit the paywall, but after reading comments here went back to the site and discovered that my account had been created anyway.

I'm so far not liking it nearly as much as NetNewsWire, but that may be because I've been using NNW for umptybillion years and anything else is just going to feel weird for a while. I'm intrigued by the whole sharing and discovery thing, which is the main reason I'm trying this out (which suggests I ought to get around to, you know, following some people. or something.)

And I'm still ook. Maqsarian, buy some milk on the way home ok honey thanks
posted by ook at 10:12 AM on March 18, 2013 [1 favorite]


Man, it's been like moving house for me for the past two hours; weeded out a lot of inactive/dead feeds lord knows from what era. Finally feeds organised, new home set, kettle on: I'm cihan.

And yeah, in this very thread I said I wasn't in a hurry to migrate, but I couldn't just wait. Reader didn't feel like home anymore. :(
posted by cihan at 6:10 PM on March 18, 2013


heatherann: "barnacles, there are 2 types of things I follow in an RSS reader:"

heatherann, thank you very very much. Brilliant answer! I'm going to take your approach and see about taking a few steps into the world of RSS tonight.

And just to show you how much I appreciate you answer? I visited and read a bit of Teahouse, from work. Oh, yeah. Take that, NSFW!
posted by barnacles at 11:41 PM on March 19, 2013 [1 favorite]


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