Earthlink doesn’t conjure up images of cutting edge new web apps. In fact, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Earthlink is my old dial-up ISP account that took me forever to cancel. And on more than one occasion I’ve asked Steve Gillmor, who boasts Earthlink as a sponsor on his influential tech show Gillmor Gang, if any of his listeners (early adopter types) would ever actually use Earthlink products.
The last couple of months there’ve been a couple of noteworthy Earthlink newsbits - they integrated Pandora (a new web music service) into their ancient portal, and they are testing retail stores in Seattle and San Francisco. They also communicate well with the world through their blog, written by Dave Coustan. All good signs.
Today we got more. Out of nowhere Earthlink launched a Bloglines style RSS reader and a del.icio.us style social bookmarking site. Steve Rubel noticed the sites in his referrer logs and checked it out.
Neither are cutting edge, but the’ve done a good job grabbing the important features that a large audience might want. More importantly, the services are fast.
The RSS reader allows for OPML imports and has a good selection of recommended content. It doesn’t have the advanced features that Rojo and others are coming out with like tagging, content prioritization based on reading habits, etc. (see this overview for other online RSS readers), but it certainly covers the basics well. It also renders HTML and CSS nearly perfectly, something I rant about periodically.
The Bookmarking site, like del.icio.us and others, has a browser button for easy bookmarking, and allows tagging. The interface is clean.
What excites me most about these launches is that a large new audience will be exposed to newish Web 2.0 ideas. About 12 million people visit Earthlink properties each month, generating nearly a billion page views (MyEarthlink alone has about 2 million uniques and 115 million page views) (source: Comscore).
Mike, I adore you, but you’re wrong when you say “Neither are cutting edge.” The feed reader has the essential feature all others (except mine) are missing. They show you the new stuff first. You can’t see how important that is with just one use. Go ahead and import your OPML and go back tomorrow, and the day after, and you’ll see what a huge difference it makes to have the computer figure out what’s new for you.
hmm…ok I’ll check it out.
Add another one to the stack of unlimited numbers of bookmarking sites. I might as well build one myself to get the features I’m actually interested in, instead of being limited to the “me too!” services.
Hey Michael,
You guys usually link up the logo of the site - and that’s how I click usually land up on the site. I think you missed it out for myEarthLink. Thought would let you know.
No Comment…
While we don’t necessarily have every Web 2.0 feature in myReader, I think this simplified way of aggregation makes the product feel less like a mail client. And of course, many features are coming. It may not be for everyone, but I think many people will appreciate the simple UI.
Don, I’ll concede that myFavorites as it stands may be a ‘me too’ product. However, the future of myFavorites is much more than a simple del.icio.us clone.
I think they should go for the full-on Web 2.0 effect. Launch Earthlink 2.0 (in beta, of course), dump the “old 1.0-style” ISP business and just have the Web browser and portal. Sure, they won’t have that pesky old “income source,” but they will still have RSS and social bookmarking, and one day, that’ll turn into money.
There will also be peace in the middle East and I’ll be a Top 10 Technorati blogger, so rest assured, it’s in the future.
I hate the stores here in Seattle. Earthlink reps hound me every day as I trek to work, offering me useless flyers and trying to direct me into their store.
No, I don’t need any more internet: leave me alone, Earthlink!
This is rather dumb, there’s nothing actually news-worthy here. If the public launch of the service has nothing new compared to services it imitates it most likely will always stay behind, because it’s just an immitation and will always be, unless something else happens. THAT something else might be news, not “Earthlink releases another unimaginative remake of the same service”.
Earthlink have not become cool. You only need to see the length of their sign up form for that.
Michael I agree with you 100%. 5 Million plus customers will be exposed to features they would otherwise not know anything about. It’s pushing the internet into the right direction, more people using this stuff means more need to come out with better features.
Seems Earthlink took notice of the move Netscape made a month or so ago in upgrading its portal. And to everyone who says this isn’t really news because there aren’t any new features… I doubt Earthlink really wants to add a bunch of new exciting features for a readership which isn’t tech saavy as it is. I mean look at what is currently being bookmarked.
Josh Kleinpeter, by all means, if the company can pull off what you suggest then you’ve got my backing, but most of the other companies say the exact same thing, months later promoting the exact same product as day one.
While I am sure that the EarthLink customer base has become somewhat a bit like mainstream America, I think this list is underestimating their abilities. If things have not changed to much in the past few years, most of them would be considered technically advanced when compared to Internet users as a whole.
Some time ago EarthLink made a decision that it wanted to be the “telecommunications company of the future.” Doing this required open access to broadband pipes. Gaining this open access was and remains a challenge. It is why they are playing in the muni Wi-Fi space.
Back in the day there was some internal debate about becoming the telecommunications company of the future. Some thought that the company needed to become more of an Internet application company so that its core services would not be commoditized. However, creating Internet apps was not a core competency.
EarthLink, in addition to lots of other things, is going to try and morph into what they call a “next generation ISP.” My bet is that this will include more and more Web 2.0 like apps as other more access related services become less important.
Um, you forgot the most important reason why Earthlink was setting up offices in SF. They’re going to be the providers of citywide WiFi in SF with Google, remember? The new Earthlink retail space right next to the Montgomery BART will serve as the hub to purchase WiFi service, market their other services, and provide Earthlink signage. I expect they’ll have a bunch of Earthlink terminals there pulling the WiFi from the air (instead of thru Ethernet) as a demo. Think Apple Store-type promotion.
I got Earthlink Reader link from my StatTraq too, interesting! Long-time-no-see name..lol.my first memory of Earthlink was more than six years ago when I was still in high school:)
don’t forget weblife (weblife.earthlink.net) - it is quite possibly the best solution for personal online backup - it’s $30/yr for 1gb which is perfect for auto or spontaneous backups of important files and photos, it’s a great deal, and BOTH the online AND offline interface are EXCELLENT (something I’ve found lacking in basically every other service). I’m actually surprised you haven’t reviewed it yet Michael.
I took Dave Winers suggestion above. I see what he means, but how do I mark articles and feeds read?
Don, I totally agree with your comments on companies promising things they never give. I’m really excited about our plans, and I’ll be disappointed if we can’t pull it off at least to some degree.
Russell, you don’t mark articles and feeds read. Our software manages that for you. Its much different from most readers out there, but we feel there is a segment of users who don’t want to deal with news in that way. Read Gregg’s excellent description here: http://blogs.earthlink.net/myr.....dated.html
Josh,
Thanks, I see where you going.