RWT Webmaster Tools Blog

Rojo the RSS Reader winner?

Well, I have finally settled in to using Rojo. Though I still think I would prefer a desktop aggregator, Rojo meets most of my major criteria. I realize I have several posts now on similiar topics and my criteria are not necessarily gathered concisely in one post. Here are/were my criteria one by one.

• Desktop

I was willing to give in to an online aggregator for the following reason: ability to access anywhere there is a computer. Until I get a laptop, there is no point in seeking a desktop aggregator (though I will continue to provide reviews and search for something better.)

• Integrates with an online aggregator

Well since Rojo IS an online aggregator, there is no need for integration now is there!

• Not based on .NET

Since Rojo is an online application, I need not worry about installing another mini-pseudo-OS on my machine.

• Budget/Free

Rojo is free!

• Support

Though basic right now, there is a growing network. I would be happy to field any questions. I’ve poked my nose through most of it so I could provide some basic answers.

• Speed

Ok, if there is one criteria which Rojo doesn’t meet it is speed. Online aggregators do tend to be slower. There is definitely some slowness to the Rojo site. I am hoping they will be improving that over the next months.

• Clip Articles

I can Flag away on Rojo and save articles for future reading,reference or comment. This is a key criteria to me. I do not always have the time to comment on something the moment I read it. Plus, it is my nature to mull things over before I write.

• Organized by Tags

Freedom from folders. Woohoo! A Feed can be tagged in multiple ways and be accessed via any one of those tags. It took me a bit to get used to it but I love it.

• Read Multiple Feeds as one Feed

I was soooooooo tired of having to click on each individual feeds to read its contents. Laborious. Most Readers work this way and really, honestly, that silliness needs to stop. With the use of tags, that silliness is now a thing of the past. I can click on a tag in Rojo and ALL the feeds that I have included within that tag can be displayed AS IF they were one feed. Much easier to read. Less clicking. If anything sways my use of one reader over another it is this feature.

Concerns:

Rojo is new, so it is quirky. Sometimes it doesnt add feeds correctly. Sometimes it doesnt delete feeds visually from the Manage page, even though they do not appear at all on the Read page. I can live with the occassional quirkiness for now. As I have been using Rojo, I see that the site has been making functionality change here and there. They are clearly responding to issues that users have raised. Thats a huge plus.