Metaskim
June 16, 2011 2:24 PM Subscribe
Metaskim: A news aggregator that cuts out a lot of the fat and gives you relevant local and national news.
it's just not meski...
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 2:31 PM on June 16, 2011
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 2:31 PM on June 16, 2011
The local is great except that you can't set your location and it thinks that I live in Westlake, OH.
posted by octothorpe at 2:31 PM on June 16, 2011
posted by octothorpe at 2:31 PM on June 16, 2011
yeah it has my local location wrong and I can't see where to reset it.
posted by Bonzai at 2:34 PM on June 16, 2011
posted by Bonzai at 2:34 PM on June 16, 2011
It's not a bad idea - I'd welcome a "general news" equivalent of Techmeme and Memeorandum - but the linked site is painfully unattractive and the fact that the contact address is (the website's name) at gmail doesn't fill me with reassurance this thing will be around by the time I finish editing this post...
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 2:45 PM on June 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 2:45 PM on June 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
Why would I use this instead of Google Reader or another RSS reader. Honest question. Is it just like a standard RSS reader but with default subscription selections based on (detected) location?
posted by mrgrimm at 2:49 PM on June 16, 2011
posted by mrgrimm at 2:49 PM on June 16, 2011
I like it, but it DID get my location right. It found all the local news sources I already have on my RSS reader, plus some relevant local news from slightly-less local sources. (Yes, everybody, I heard about the bear that wandered into the San Luis Obispo neighborhood, but it was on the opposite side of town - go bother filthy light theif!)
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:53 PM on June 16, 2011
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:53 PM on June 16, 2011
I'd love to see what they think is the local feed selection. The Austin stuff is pretty standard, which inclines me to mrgrimm's POV. I guess it would have value for people who aren't technical enough to use Google Reader, though.
posted by immlass at 2:55 PM on June 16, 2011
posted by immlass at 2:55 PM on June 16, 2011
Also: the last thing I give a fuck about is random tweets from people in my area. That's screen real estate I'd see going to use. Or even to advertising.
posted by absalom at 3:00 PM on June 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by absalom at 3:00 PM on June 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
MEE-sky
posted by adamdschneider at 3:05 PM on June 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by adamdschneider at 3:05 PM on June 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
I can't even figure out how to get it to give me local news. It tried to sell me local 'deals', gave me some random people's tweets (like I care), some even listings (but not actually nearby for someone without a car) and some job listings. Oh, and a google map that didn't load properly.
Oh... I now see the local news heading. Apparently Minneapolis is totally without news. (Except it thinks I'm in St Paul from my IP.)
posted by hoyland at 3:12 PM on June 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oh... I now see the local news heading. Apparently Minneapolis is totally without news. (Except it thinks I'm in St Paul from my IP.)
posted by hoyland at 3:12 PM on June 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Well, it got my location right. But it shows no local news in Minneapolis. And the map is blank also.
Bummer!
With MeFi and NYT, I'm already somewhat up-to-date nationally and internationally, but completely lost locally. I was hoping this would help with that.
posted by marsha56 at 3:13 PM on June 16, 2011
Bummer!
With MeFi and NYT, I'm already somewhat up-to-date nationally and internationally, but completely lost locally. I was hoping this would help with that.
posted by marsha56 at 3:13 PM on June 16, 2011
I mean, yeah, what hoyland said. Sorry, should have previewed.
posted by marsha56 at 3:15 PM on June 16, 2011
posted by marsha56 at 3:15 PM on June 16, 2011
cuts out a lot of the fat and gives you relevant local and national news.
Phew, for a second there I thought this meant it would cut out ME!
I'm working out, dammit!
posted by rokusan at 4:28 PM on June 16, 2011
Phew, for a second there I thought this meant it would cut out ME!
I'm working out, dammit!
posted by rokusan at 4:28 PM on June 16, 2011
No conflict of interest here. The site was mentioned on reddit, and I bookmarked it. I find myself going back to it every morning for a quick rundown of the news. I also like checking the books and movies section.
Part of the appeal for me is the site's simplicity and lack of clutter. I find that RSS and Google Reader become backlogged after a day or so for me.
posted by reenum at 4:37 PM on June 16, 2011
Part of the appeal for me is the site's simplicity and lack of clutter. I find that RSS and Google Reader become backlogged after a day or so for me.
posted by reenum at 4:37 PM on June 16, 2011
I found it useful for finding out about local happenings in 2012. Not sure why, but it's going to be a busy year.
posted by sneebler at 6:08 PM on June 16, 2011
posted by sneebler at 6:08 PM on June 16, 2011
What I want is a pure no-single-cases news site. I don't one to know about a murder, a missing teen, a celebrity marriage, a sex scandal denied, a cat rescued, none of that. Unless you are an elected official announcing your policy position, I just figure it is your own personal business, though of course I am sorry for your troubles. I DO want to know that the California state budget passes the legislature, home sales fell, a nuclear plant is threatening Nebraska (or not), workers are rioting, women who eat fish are at lower risk of disease... Does this dream product exist?
posted by salvia at 11:33 PM on June 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by salvia at 11:33 PM on June 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
I favorited salvia's comment above but want to post just to agree more strongly. I feel guilty these days about not consuming any "real" news -- I get everything second hand through blogs and word of mouth. Used to be a faithful newspaper reader, back when I lived in Chicago, before Sam Zell bought the Tribune. I miss investigative journalism. I miss being an informed voter. But I'm busier these days and the signal to noise ratio of the local paper and TV news is just too low.
Oh well. For Minneapolis, Bob Collins' News Cut blog gives me most of what I need to know. I'll just stick with that.
posted by OnceUponATime at 5:09 AM on June 17, 2011
Oh well. For Minneapolis, Bob Collins' News Cut blog gives me most of what I need to know. I'll just stick with that.
posted by OnceUponATime at 5:09 AM on June 17, 2011
It thinks I'm in Indiana. I'm in Wisconsin. About 275 miles away.
posted by desjardins at 6:51 AM on June 17, 2011
posted by desjardins at 6:51 AM on June 17, 2011
I found it useful for finding out about local happenings in 2012. Not sure why, but it's going to be a busy year. sneebler
You wouldn't happen to live in an area where a "local happening" might include a Super Bowl, World Series, or other major sports betting activity? If so, I've got a business proposition for you.
posted by Fezboy! at 8:31 AM on June 17, 2011
You wouldn't happen to live in an area where a "local happening" might include a Super Bowl, World Series, or other major sports betting activity? If so, I've got a business proposition for you.
posted by Fezboy! at 8:31 AM on June 17, 2011
Sorry Fezboy! ! It's just that it shows a bunch of actually scheduled events for 2012, and none for 2011. I'm with you on the business model, but the technology isn't there yet.
posted by sneebler at 10:36 AM on June 19, 2011
posted by sneebler at 10:36 AM on June 19, 2011
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posted by Mister Fabulous at 2:28 PM on June 16, 2011 [2 favorites]