Streamy - A First Look

First though, I want to thank The Music Barista for sending me along the invite. Apparently they are in great demand, so thanks Jenna.

Streamy is a great example of a web 2.0 app. Gradients and shiny things abound. Click on something and it updates, opens, or presents some sort of contextual option with "ajaxy goodness". (I'm sorry - it is a blogger law that I must use these terms together in this fashion...)



Streamy - An RSS Reader

At it's core, Streamy is essentially an RSS reader. You can add your own feeds individually or via OPML. Feeds can be put into folders and viewed together (all tech, all productivity, etc..) or individually.

Click on a post and it opens up in a lightboxy sort of page on top of the standard interface. Quickly save, share or move through posts with either the easy to use navigation at the top or shortcut keys.

I have to say that I find the interface and functionality absolutely intoxicating. I have been using Google Reader for a long while now and this is the first product that has ever threatened as an alternative.

A Social App

There is a lot more to Streamy than just being a reader though. While not a social networking app, the integrated messaging and feed sharing features allow for easy communication with friends. Drag a story to a friend's name and a chat opens with a link to the shared post. Drag another person to the window and it's a group chat. I read somewhere about AIM integration but I haven't been able to locate that yet. If the promised yahoo integration comes soon I can lose my trillian app.

The social aspect is also prominent in the streams that are created. See what your friends are saving or sharing. I haven't been able to test this functionality much yet as I am pretty much flying this thing solo for now. As my friends get involved and I find groups to join, I'll be able to test and post about this in more detail.

And More

Streamy also allows you to hook into other sites you may be on and add those to your stream. Add your Pownce notes, Twitter updates and even Dugg Stories. I haven't been able to get my last.fm account connected yet but it seems to be a common issue that I am sure they will resolve.

The main area of Streamy presents me with items it recommends for me. I guess this is supposed to use my own feeds and those of my friends to give me stories that I will like. I really haven't seen much use for this yet but perhaps it is because I haven't yet imported my full blogroll yet.

In Conclusion

It has only been a couple of hours but I really like Streamy. It is a breeze to use and I can easily see this supplanting some other well established apps in my daily routine. As a feed reader it is excellent. With the addition of the other stuff, it really presents some great possibilities.

Streamy is still in private beta. I have experienced some wonkiness with my Networks area and such but this doesn't concern me as I know they are coding and making changes all the time. The creators are active in the Beta Group and seem really responsive to questions and requests. Request an invite from their home page - or if you are really quick, I have two to share.

SB