NetVibes - Track your blogs, read your emails and news all in the one place

I have tried several feed readers in the past few months. Googles feed reader was ok buti didnt take to it. I came across an article by Matt Coddington on NetBusinessBlog called ‘A Feed Reader That I Actually Like‘.

In the article matt recommends NetVibes - a web based feed reader. When i first gave it a try i thought that it was a pretty good website. However, after using it a few days im starting to think that its the most useful website i’ve found in the last few years.

NetVibes

When you load up the site for the first time the site comes across as kinda basic. You’ve get a column down the left hand side of the page and the main content area is split up into 3 columns as well.

Heres an example of the default screen :

The initial screen as the latest news from bbc, youtube and the weather amongst other things. Get rid of the crap you dont want and start building the page you want. Add the fees you want, add the news sites you read and add your email.

The page can be changed in a lot of ways. You can change the colors, change the number of columns on a page and seperate different topics via tabs. So you can place all your favourite feeds in a tab called feeds and all the news sites you read in the news tabs.

Here is my home page spiced up with the Halloween theme. Ooooo scary!

There is so many things you can add to your page. Plus you can add to do lists. You do not have to register but id strongly recommend it. All you need is your email address and password and you will ensure that your page is not only saved but can be accessed anywhere in the world.

Why are you so excited about this?

Your average internet user will find NetVibes handy but for a blogger or anyone who works full time on the web its a godsend. Over the years my daily routine has changed a little but for the most part my working day usually goes something like : Shower, Breakfast whilst catching up on emails, read latest forum and blog posts on sites i run and read, start working on something (eg write article or whatever). Everyones different but id guess that most bloggers want to read up on comments and the latest news before they start writing on their blog. NetVibes cuts the time to do all this by allowing you to quickly see the latest posts and articles on your favourite sites.

The ability to access your pop emails is a huge benefit for me. As most of you will know, im from the UK. However, i have been travelling since November 2006 and i am currently living in New Zealand. In 3 weeks time we will be moving from Auckland in the North Island to Christchurch in the south island. We will be stopping a lot of places along the way so it will be 2-3 weeks before we settle. Now the timestamp feature will save my ass as i can write articles and post them at a later date but i will still want to check my emails. Experience has taught me that there are still very few net cafes on the road (hostels etc) that let you hook up your laptop. Before heading back to the UK near the end of the year we will be spending 2-3 months in south america and a month in the usa so i will be able to check emails and the latest feed posts all in one place.

Summary

I’ve only tried 3 or 4 other feed readers but for me NetVibes is the one i have found which does what i need. I strongly encourage you all to give NetVibes a try and I’d love to hear from readers opinion on NetVibes who currently use a different feed reader. There is more info on the NetVibes Blog. Again, kudos to Matt Coddington for bringing the site to my attention.