The Basics of Aggregator Websites
Aggregators bring together information from various sources into one place.
Some of them are customizable, others are not.
Some allow you to include a sidebar or add-on to your current browser, while others can only be accessed through their own URL.
Aggregators are as diverse as the Internet, so here is a taste of the different kinds of aggregators as you search for one that fits your needs.
· Spezify.
com Spezify.
com works like a search engine; you put in your topic of choice and it produces images, articles, videos, music, or comments about that topic.
Its display can take some getting used to - imagine an infinitely large desktop you can scroll across to see different results - but it can be fun.
· My.
Yahoo.
com, iGoogle.
com Yahoo and Google both have customizable pages which can bring together your various e-mail accounts, news, weather, notes, stock quotes and pretty much anything else.
Each topic is displayed through a widget - a box on the screen - and is automatically updated with new information.
· Guzzle.
it Guzzle.
it lets you select categories to aggregate.
These categories can be as specific or as broad as you wish, and the site also allows you to customize some of how the content is displayed.
Each topic will post 10 or articles which are each linked to.
· Netvibes.
com Netvibes.
com is a great way to find a large amount of information on one topic.
Like Guzzle.
it, you can select a category and Netvibes.
com will provide images, news, videos, commentary, and much more about that specific topic, organized by source.
You can create several dashboards for various topics, each of which is highly customizable.
· Alltop.
com This is a searchable aggregator which has content for thousands of different (rather broad) categories.
By selecting a category, the user has access to articles and images from dozens of different sources.
· Popurls.
com This site displays links on various topics and can be viewed by category, by source, or chronologically.
It will also take into account which articles you read and share in order to produce recommended links.
· JimmyR.
com This aggregator is divided by topic - news, pictures, videos, etc.
- and allows the user to chose the top links from a specific source - Digg, Reddit, the Onion, YouTube, etc.
There are plenty of other aggregators online.
Most of them are fairly customizable, but you'll have to sign up for an account to do so.
Try a few out, see what you like, and you'll be wondering how you ever got by on the Intnernet before experiencing the ease and convenience of aggregators.
Some of them are customizable, others are not.
Some allow you to include a sidebar or add-on to your current browser, while others can only be accessed through their own URL.
Aggregators are as diverse as the Internet, so here is a taste of the different kinds of aggregators as you search for one that fits your needs.
· Spezify.
com Spezify.
com works like a search engine; you put in your topic of choice and it produces images, articles, videos, music, or comments about that topic.
Its display can take some getting used to - imagine an infinitely large desktop you can scroll across to see different results - but it can be fun.
· My.
Yahoo.
com, iGoogle.
com Yahoo and Google both have customizable pages which can bring together your various e-mail accounts, news, weather, notes, stock quotes and pretty much anything else.
Each topic is displayed through a widget - a box on the screen - and is automatically updated with new information.
· Guzzle.
it Guzzle.
it lets you select categories to aggregate.
These categories can be as specific or as broad as you wish, and the site also allows you to customize some of how the content is displayed.
Each topic will post 10 or articles which are each linked to.
· Netvibes.
com Netvibes.
com is a great way to find a large amount of information on one topic.
Like Guzzle.
it, you can select a category and Netvibes.
com will provide images, news, videos, commentary, and much more about that specific topic, organized by source.
You can create several dashboards for various topics, each of which is highly customizable.
· Alltop.
com This is a searchable aggregator which has content for thousands of different (rather broad) categories.
By selecting a category, the user has access to articles and images from dozens of different sources.
· Popurls.
com This site displays links on various topics and can be viewed by category, by source, or chronologically.
It will also take into account which articles you read and share in order to produce recommended links.
· JimmyR.
com This aggregator is divided by topic - news, pictures, videos, etc.
- and allows the user to chose the top links from a specific source - Digg, Reddit, the Onion, YouTube, etc.
There are plenty of other aggregators online.
Most of them are fairly customizable, but you'll have to sign up for an account to do so.
Try a few out, see what you like, and you'll be wondering how you ever got by on the Intnernet before experiencing the ease and convenience of aggregators.