Netvibes is opening up the beta for its Ginger release, and 500 invites have been reserved for the first TechCrunch readers to sign up here (enter code: “TCGINGER500″). Ginger will become the default interface for all Netvibes members in mid-February, but if you click fast you can get a peak now.
Netvibes is a customizable start page that lets you add any RSS feed, as well as other apps in the form of widgets that you can drag around the page and place anywhere you want. With Ginger, Netvibes has a new Ajax user-interface that pops down a pane from the top whenever you want to add new widgets to your personlaized start page. It also now lets anyone create their own public “Netvibes Universe” page (before, these were just pages for brands). You can star items in any feed as a bookmarking feature, and there is now an activity stream so you can see what your friends are publicly starring and sharing as well. There is still no internal messaging system, however.
I spoke with CEO Tariq Krim, who took me through the new features by phone from Paris. Overall, Ginger makes the Netvibes experience a lot smoother and finding widgets to add to your start page couldn’t be simpler (even though there are 110,000 widgets to choose from). The problem with Netvibes is that if you don’t get into the habit of going there as your start page first thing when you log on in the morning, you are liable to skip it altogether. I asked Krim when he will turn his widgets into Facebook or OpenSocial apps. That way, people could bring the widgets to where they already go to organize the Web for themselves, if that place does not happen to be Netvibes.
Krim is working on this portability. Netvibes is part of OpenSocial and he’s had Bebo-like discussions with Facebook. “Both consortia would like us to be exclusive on their technology,” he sighs. (Sounds like the platform war is in full swing). Krim says he wants to work with both OpenSocial and Facebook. Ultimately,he doesn’t care where you consume his widgets. By the end of the first quarter, he plans on introducing widget ads in the form of micro-banners and text ads. The problem with widget ads, though, is that there are no standards.
“We need the equivalent of OpenSocial for advertising,” he laments. If only everyone could agree on how to make money, the widget economy might actually come into existence.
Update (Michael Arrington): Tariq Krim gave me a brief overview of Ginger this morning, see video below.
Hey, thanx for the invites. I will use it.
I already got that, it’s awesome. Ill forward your invites to others too.
I think they could do lil bit better.
For RSS I prefer now the new Mindity over google reader and Netvibes. It has many social functions, as well and it’s a desktop solution (I prefer desktop software for such things)
http://www.mind...com/WhatIs.aspx
I guess that’s the embargo that the Netvibes guy kept saying on the online stream at the crunchies.
Maybe they should have picked a food name that people use a lot like Ketchup or Salt – people don’t use Ginger in large quantities usually
thanx for the invites
I stopped using netvibes a while ago when I started using google reader for my rss. Maybe if they could integrate google reader inside netvibes I will go back
Hi Erick : thanks for the heads up ! Just signed in, account to be migrated within minutes. Thanks again
Hey nice, I made it to the sign up. Hopefully the changes will let me stick to Netvibes instead of a desktop reader.
thanx for the invites
thanx for the invites
oops. code is expired. could you publish another one pleeease? (:
Thanks for the invites. A much awaited release for Netvibes fanboys like me!
Would love an invite – curious to see how this rocks v. Flock
Yea, it isnt working anymore
Aaaargh,
It has expired already. Was too late in Facebook too, though i was early there.
Guess I have to wait once again :-/
Invite code expired already =(
If anyone can spare an invite, please send to: techcrunch.7ht@gishpuppy.com
Spanks a lot!
If anyone has an invite, please invite me to the party.
Thank You
not working anymore for me. Thanks anyway.
If anyone gets one please email it to me at Matt@AnotherPointlessBlog.com
Thanks
Thanks for setting up the invites. If anybody gets another one can they send it to me? wahoobudd@gmail.com
Thanks
Thanks, signed up with it earlier today, going to give it a try!
Invites are gone
If anyone has Ginger invites please share one with me. vinodis – at – gmail dot ccom
“Ultimately,he doesn’t care where you consume his widgets.”
Well, if that were *really* true then he’d allow us to embed Netvibes widgets on our blogs with an embed code.
hi..please send me an invite too — jokecricket@gmail.com
My Page. My Universe. LOL.
100GINGERWW (via Webware)
I would love an invite if any one has one to spare!
Thanks!
email: tmass1 [at] gmail.com
Well that’ll teach me not to make Techcrunch mandatory pre-coffee reading …
The early bird and all of that
If you have already an account in Netvibes Just go to: “Don’t have an invite code ?”, and there you will be able to get an invitation Enjoy!
@Pratham
Thanks!
I’m using goowy, iGoogle, & now Netvibes on a Flock web-browser and 8hands on my desktop. May the best app win!
Would love an invite of someone has it: rodi.a.k [at] gmail.com
would really like to have an invite if someone would be so kind….
mattkeithley@gmail.com
Netvibes is nice, really nice. But I can not use it why? Because I have to use gmail and google reader everyday. igoogle simply makes the use of gmail and google reader much easier. I use netvibes, but later give up and focus on igoogle. I need to Kiss (keep it simple, stupid) in order to be more productive.
If anyone has more invites to spare please hook me up! simonengelbert -at- yahoo -dot- com
Thanks
Merci TechCrunch pour l’invitation pour Ginger !! Bien reçue et merci beaucoup
I need an invite in my life! They’re all gone.
Hi Mike,
Is there any chance you can send me an invite, because the code has already expired. I would like to review the service on my site.
Thanks
Yeah how did this post only get 38 comments and the 500 invites were already used? Hmmm. I’m dying to play with Ginger.
Man, this looks so sweet. Can’t wait until it launches!
Plz gimme an invite too
my mail is mikhasev -at- gmail -dot- com
Hey,
Thanks for the invites. I already use NetVibes. Need to check the ginger version.
Thanks,
Manish
would any one send me a invite i will be thankful
@Veritas (#24) : try these
– http://dev.netv...o/widget_export
– http://freddymi...bes-widget.html
Rob Roy Movie is a website devoted to the Rob Roy Movie. Rob Roy was release in April of 1995. It star Liam Neeson as the title character and was directed by Michael Canton-Jones. The film is a fictionalized dramatization of Rob Roy and his battles in the Scottish Highlands against landowners. Much of the film was shot on location in the Scottish Highland and faced many of the same problems that befell the production of Braveheart. Although the film did not fair as well as Braveheart come Oscar time, Tim Roth was nominated for best supporting actor in his role as the villain in the film.
For an alternative to Netvibes, see Protopage.com
Well I got the invite and got my account upgraded, but now Netvibes has slown to an absolute crawl. I hope it’s just a symptom of traffic on the new release, and not something endemic to Ginger overall.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah :’(. I was too late. Why is Netvibes torturing me like this?
thx 4 invites to ginger!
send me quickly, pleeeeeeeeeeease !
Hey guys,
if someone can spare an invite to a web enthusiast/developer please send it over to elux101@gmail.com
Thank you.