Alltop’s Buzz as the New RSS
Not only is small the new big, but less is the new more — ergo, Alltop.
Thanks to the dizzying amount of information overload on the Internet daily, suddenly everyone I talk to is crying for simplicity. And accessing information in bite-size dozes through dusty research books or the inky morning newspaper at the front door is starting to feel revolutionary. Just enough information for one day and one sitting.
Now for blog-harnessing, Alltop seems to make things simpler than than RSS, according to megabloggers like John Haydon and Brian Solis. It’s an online magazine rack organized by topic — all in one place on the desktop.
All this got me to thinking about a revitalized niche for middlemen and women. Seth Grodin’s article on the changing role of “agents” hit a similar theme. In a self-service Internet culture where anything is a keystroke away, there’s simply too much information to manage. Agents who are specialists in their field and stand for something can really help their customers cut through the clutter to make good business or personal decisions. Come to think of it, I started using a travel agent again. That way, I can focus on my skills as an “information agent” for my customers, distilling information to advance their business goals, while my travel agent uses her expertise, connections and judgment to save me time and money.
As selectivity becomes the new excess, “keeping it simple” is an old idea with very modern currency.
