Earlier this year Google ended Google Reader. I was bummed and confused. I’m an information junkie and like content from wide variety of topics and creators. Why would a company discontinue such a useful service? Apparently there wasn’t enough people using the service and Google couldn’t justify the investment on its end for such a small audience.

On my Android Device I have Google Now and I can see how this is the future of news and content for “Push verses Syndication” and shows where Google wants to focus their developers. I have yet to really dive into Now and use it beyond stocks, weather, and traffic. For my digital, qigong, and UofM football news interests, these are no longer coming across via a Google product. As a substitute I have been using Feedly which I can’t speak highly enough of. I was able to transfer all my feeds via Google Reader exporter and incorporate into Feedly. If you haven’t done that you are too late, the exporter is no longer available. The  Feedly ipad and Android app are superior to the previous Google Reader experience so, for me, all is right with the world.

Push Verses Syndication

And now Twitter is stepping up its game as we anticipate and watch for the upcoming IPO. Twitter is presenting an onslaught of new features and ad platforms namely it’s integration with Nielsen in SocialGuide which will likely revolutionize the way TV is analyzed…. and purchased. However, there is an “experiment” that has received modest press on Mashable and All Things Digital. These are the Twitter handles @Magic Recs and @Event Parrot.

It is hard to differentiate exactly what the difference is in that they both say they will send followers Direct Messages. @MagicRecs alludes it will send things based off your user/follower habits and @EventParrot may be more of a news source. I have only received messages from @EventParrot and these were primarily instant updates for breaking news around the government shutdown. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and appreciated the interaction. Like most I was concerned and interested in the shutdown but totally consumed in my own life and work. Going to CNN.com, or whatever news source, was not top of mind. To use a pathetic excuse “I didn’t have time to go and look“. With @EventParrot, Bam! my phone vibrated with Boehner’s or Obama’s latest press conference with a short description and a link to CNN. This was a great user experience and greatly appreciated.

Twitter has been relatively quiet about all this and I’m sure they understand the implications and sensitivity with sending DMs to its users. It could easily fall into Spam territory and so far in my eyes they have not. When I received that message I immediately thought of the old Google Reader.

What if @EventParrot could send me notices in an acceptable frequency for articles and content that I think I should read?

Now that is cool.