Google have added an interesting new feature to Google News, allowing users to customise their News Pages.
Until now, I'd always considered this kind of personalisation a red herring, but in this case I'm impressed by what those boffins at the Plex have achieved.
Notably, the customise feature's interface seems (I'm guessing here) to use the same XMLHTTP technology that has proved so popular on Google Maps. This technology allows for real-time refresh of browsers -- hence you can slide the icons across the page.
If other sites follow Google's lead on XMLHTTP, the nature of the web could well change toward slicker, livelier interfaces -- what Flash has promised but rarely delivers.
I suggest Google should make the following enhancements to its customised news feature:
- Make it easier to delete sections. Currently, you have to click into a section to delete it (it took me a while to figure this out). There should be a way of deleting from what I'll call the "sliding cards view".
- Don't force the user to have to look at Top Stories. And/or don't force those stories to appear at the top of the page.
- Allow me to send my Customised News template to a friend. I'd like to be able to share the "page I made" with headlines relating to my interests.
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