Gmail Enables Clips - for Some
As reported earlier, Google is starting to roll out RSS feed reading in Gmail for some users. Details were sketchy, but now Google has posted further details on their help site. Here's how Google describes Gmail Clips ...
"Gmail Clips shows you news headlines, Gmail tips, blogs, any RSS and Atom feed, relevant sponsored links, and more -- right at the top of your inbox and messages. Receive updates from your favorite sites without having to leave Gmail!"
Gmail maintains however that the Clips are purely a limited test for now. A small number of randomly selected users are testing the feature, but it may become more widely available in the future. As of right now, I am not one of the chosen ones. However, here's how you can see if you are Gmail Clip-worthy:
1. Log in to your Gmail account.
2. Click 'Settings' at the top of any Gmail page, and then click 'Web Clips.' (You’ll be directed to a list of clips that are currently displayed in your account.)
3. Click 'Add more clips >>.' A new window will open.
4. Click 'Add' next to the clips you'd like to view.
* To add an RSS or Atom feed, open the 'Custom Clips' tab. Enter the feed URL in the appropriate field, and click 'Add.'
5. Close the new window once you've selected your clips.
Sounds great to me. I can't wait to try it. Is anyone out there Clip-enabled?
Yep, I got them this week. It's kind of neat, though it doesn't seem to pull RSS feeds "right away," if you will. It's by no means a replacement for your RSS reader in its current form, but it's a cool addition to my email inbox.
Posted by: Tom | Saturday, April 23, 2005 at 01:06 PM
Yes, I noticed it on Friday. I added a couple of my feeds to see how it will look.
Posted by: Steve | Saturday, April 23, 2005 at 03:30 PM
I just got it yesterday - and I'm disappointed. What makes Google great in everything else they do is they allow you to interact with any form of content in a deep and encompassing way. This is just a random clip shown at the top of the page. It's annoying to the point that I had to replace the sources with my own feeds to avoid seeing advertisements (ads show up if you remove all the feeds).
I think Gmail should do stuff with RSS feeds, but not like this.
Posted by: Danger Stevens | Saturday, April 23, 2005 at 04:33 PM
I've got 'em turned on and I'll echo the comments above - having little headlines from your RSS feeds rotate above your email is pretty darn useless.
I think Google should develop a full fledged, integrated RSS Feed reader into Gmail. THAT would be a lot more useful, if they can make it the "killer app" of RSS feed readers - in much the same way Gmail is THE free email service to beat now.
--*Rob
Posted by: Rob Usdin | Sunday, April 24, 2005 at 08:35 AM
I don't have this feature enabled in my Gmail account, but from the screenshots it doesn't look like its going to a worthwhile newsreader. It shows just one headline at a time!! Thats distracting at best, and annoying otherwise!
Posted by: Adnan | Sunday, April 24, 2005 at 10:37 AM