Library clips

sharing ideas thoughts and feedback

October 5, 2006

ZapTXT revamped

Filed under: rss, tools, opml

ZapTXT is not only a great service, but the interface looks clean and it is easy to use…I posted about it a while back, and now it’s back for the big market.

I find half the problem with take up of new web 2.0 services are that some are too feature packed, and the presentation isn’t up to scratch…unless the service is really unique people will skip it.

Even though I use Rasasa, which is well presented and easy to use also, I can’t help having a go at ZapTXT, especially that is has some social features.

It’s basic to use:
- enter some keyword search terms (incl. boolean operators)
- enter a feed or website (it will auto discover the feed URL)…you can keep entering feeds
OR you can click “Advanced” to enter an OPML URL (a batch of feeds)
- receive content by email, IM, or SMS
- then you give your new task a title and describe it with tags
- set frequency of updates

Then you can look at the list of your Zap tasks (each as the latest 3 posts)
- each task shows an icon for method of delivery for that task
- see results by task, time, or by inactive tasks

I like the time view (river of news), but it lacks a feed…and what about a spliced feed for each task.

- you can re-edit your task, turn it off, or export it

“Export” means each task has its own dynamic OPML Reading List

Now my question is will the feeds in this exported Reading List be filtered?

…as mentioned before it lacks a spliced feed for each task and an overall feed, but I assume if there was one, it would be include the filtering.

What about a mother OPML for your whole account, where each task is an OPML inclusion?

Anyway, there is a keyword cloud (Explore Zaptasks) to find feeds people have tagged when they created their tasks, cool idea
…do I get my own cloud, gee I drive a hard bargain!

Another section called Quick Zaptasks are some inhouse built versions of the Explore Zaptasks.

Also see the buttons page and more.

Related:
Feed Rinse: dynamic OPML

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