The ReadBurner web app and Google Reader Shared Items Aggregator (here’s mine), has launched with a bang! Here’s a run down of what’s new and why it’s awesomesauce approved!
New Design
ReadBurner has a brand new design that is 10 times better then it’s previous interface. First off, I think the color scheme is stunning! It really brings the best content to your attention first. So kudos to the design team of ReadBurner for their awesome efforts!
GOOGLE READER INTEGRATION!
This has to be the biggest feature that ReadBurner has released today: Google Reader RSS feed reader is now integrated directly into ReadBurner! Feed your GReader addiction right from ReadBurner! No sense in having two tabs open now (unless you need more space). Then again, I didn’t have a problem at all with the spacing at all and haven’t gotten a horizontal scrollbar yet!
Enough said, but you should definitely read the rest of this post.
Sections
ReadBurner now breaks down the items into sections. The categorization of each item is pretty accurate, though you may experience a few hiccups here and there. This is a great addition for those who go to the website looking for a specific niche of items. Even more, it’s essential since a search feature has yet to be implemented (see more search below).
Disqus Integration
Disqus, an awesomesauce social commenting system and web service that you should be using, has also been integrated into ReadBurner! If you click on the "view item" button, you’ll be taken to an item’s page that will feature comments made by users of ReadBurner. Yes I know, more conversation fragmentation, but Ostrow has assured me that they are working with the Disqus team and looking into finding ways to push these comments back to the item’s original page. I suggest you start installing Disqus on your blogs now!
Author and Source Pages
I love the author and source pages! On these pages you can see a run down of the items that have been shared coming from each individual author and their respective source.
What I love the most about these pages is that you can view related items for each individual item (if found). It’s a great way to see other opinions on an item that you happened to enjoy.There’s also a handy link off to the far right to visit an author or site’s link!
Popular This Week
Off to the far right is a "Popular This Week" box. Here, you’ll see items that were shared the most through Google Reader this week. Keep an eye on this box because there are plans to have it change to reflect which items are the most popular this week for each section that you are browsing through and possibly each source and author page.
What’s Missing?
One of the most important features ever is missing from ReadBurner: Search. There’s no way to search for anything. Why it’s missing? Who knows, but I’m guessing it’s due to time constraints. After speaking with Adam Ostrow, one of the new owners of ReadBurner, he has stated that this feature is in fact on the to-do list for future ReadBurner integrations.
Another missing feature I’m looking forward to is Tags! Where are the Tags guys?!
There’s also no way to change the display for items like in version 1 of ReadBurner. For example, there’s no list view or visual view anymore. Everything is partially expanded, which I’m partially prone to not liking. It takes up too much space (personally) and I like to read things based on headlines, not necessarily the first few lines of an article, which never really say anything to me.
Also missing from version 1 is the RSS feed wizard (see picture to the right). This this little widget I manipulated what what items were shown based on how many items you wanted to see and how many people needed to share it. Please bring it back guys!
Nevertheless, there are many more features and enhancements that propel ReadBurner into the Awesomesauce Approved stratosphere, so I’d advise you to head over there and give it a twirl!
