I have reviewed the web service Anothr just a few days ago. The service enabled you to receive RSS Feed updates in Skype, MSN and Google Talk and turned out to be pretty useful to some readers.
I discovered another service that is offering RSS Feed updates send directly to Instant Messengers.
The name of this new service is Feed Crier and I'm writing about it mainly because it delivers feeds to different Instant Messengers.
Feed Crier supports AIM, MSN and Jabber / Google Talk and uses the same technology that Anothr is using. This means they run bots that are added to your Instant Messengers contact list who then post new RSS Feed items in a chat window.
Feed Crier requires no signup at all. Just enter your screename, the Instant Messenger that you are using and the url of the feed that you want to receive updates from. The Feed Crier website does not contain lots of information about bot interaction, the only two commands that I was able to find are list which lists all subscribed feeds and unsubscribe url which unsubscribes the feed specified.
What I like is that only the url of the updated news item is delivered which makes it easier to keep an overview.
Update: Feed Crier appears to be no longer available just like the other program I reviewed earlier. It appears that RSS news to instant messenger services turned out not to be as popular as one would expect them to be. Guess there is no way around starting to use a desktop or online feed reader again such as my personal favorite QuiteRSS reader or InoReader.
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Ghacks is a technology news blog that was founded in 2005 by Martin Brinkmann. It has since then become one of the most popular tech news sites on the Internet with five authors and regular contributions from freelance writers.
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