Another OPML display option

A while back, I wrote about Grazr, a nifty little service that lets you display an OPML file as an element of a web page. Courtesy of Robin Good, I’ve also learned about a similar service that’s been around for a while called Bitty Browser, which does pretty much the same thing, creating a “window within a window” element for your site. It handles more than OPML, though, letting you add entire web pages, RSS feeds, podcast URLs and search boxes (for everything Google to Bloglines, del.icio.us to Digg). I’ve added a Bitty Browser box on my Links page for my technology blogroll to go along with the Grazr example for my PR-related blogroll. As I find more of these, my Links page may become an assortment of different approaches.

One problem I have with all of these—and it’s a minor one—is that they all come with the product name prominently displayed. One possible business model for both these services (and any others like them) would be to offer to remove the name in exchange for a fee, sort of like the email application Eudora does in order for users to get the ad-free version.

Most people blogging about Bitty Browser think it’s cute but wonder what they’d do with it. The implementations on my Links page answer part of that question, but I can think of other uses. For example, on this blog, i could use Bitty Browser to add the RSS feed from For Immediate Release to one of my sidebar columns. What uses could you find for a “window inside a window” approach like this? Or is it cute but useless? The image at left shows how the For Immediate Release feed would look (notice the “play” buttons…).

1. I actually found your site through the grazr blog… I am a fellow Grazr “Unique User:”

   http://blog.grazr.com/index.php/2006/03/24/unique-uses/

   (Robin Good is also included in the list)

   Now that you mention itI also don’t think the product name should be as prominent all the time either… They might not charge a fee to reduce the “track-back” link.  Did you ask them?

   I’ll take a look at Bitty…  Thanks for pointing it out.

   Posted by Solomon  on  03/25  at  08:16 PM