What can you use the application for?
Guzzle.it is a web service that allows users to follow the latest news feeds on topics they specify. The site allows the user to customize their own feed display page by creating topics using search terms. Users can arrange the order of display for their topics, and can also specify whether the each item displays just a title, or title and source of the item. Users can add separators to organize the display of the topics, and can also choose to show titles in bold text. The user's page comes with three default topics, which they can remove if they desire – Popular, Headlines and Latest Images. The site searches hundreds of news feeds each second to generate the user's page.
A user's page does not update in real time – the topics displayed are the ones available at the time the user visits the page. The user can see the latest results by refreshing the page. Users can choose to expand each topic view, which expands the number of topics to fit across three columns rather than one. Moving the user's mouse over each topic brings up a summary window with an image, if available, so users can get a summary of all of their topics without leaving the front page. Clicking on an item takes the user to the page the item came from.
What is the history and popularity of the application?
Guzzle.it was launched in August 2009 by Marca Tatem. The site continues to add new feeds from news sources.
What are the differences to other applications?
Competition to Guzzle.it comes from sites such as Google and Yahoo news, web-based applications such as Google Reader and Lazyfeed.com, and dedicated desktop applications like FeedDemon. Google and Yahoo News require the user to conduct a unique search on each topic of interest. Google Reader and FeedDemon provide a list-based display of feed titles. Lazyfeed.com offers a service most similar to Guzzle.it, with the user's content shown on one page with summary information. Lazyfeed.com updates in real time, but does not have the summary window feature of Guzzle.it.
How does the application look and feel to use?
The Guzzle.it site has a very Web 2.0 look and feel. Despite the fact that a lot of information is displayed on the user's summary page, it does not have a cluttered look. The site is quite responsive, and the summary view windows appear immediately on mouseover. The user's summary page loads quickly, despite the fact that it is conducting a real-time search on loading. There is no advertising displayed on the Guzzle.it site.
How does the registration process work?
Registration to the Guzzle.it site is free and is not required to use the site. Registration is required to be able to save the user's topics of interest. The registration process simply asks for username, password and email address. Validation of the email address is not required.
What does it cost to use the application?
There is no premium membership offered to the Guzzle.it site.
Who would you recommend the application to?
The Guzzle.it site is recommended to any user who follows a lot of feeds on a variety of topics. Along with Lazyfeed.com, this is a new approach to viewing a summary of the news on the user's topics of interest. The Guzzle.it site is slightly more usable due to the mouseover summary view offered on the user's home page. The site does an excellent job of searching the major news and social media sites on the web, and search results returned are on topic.
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