Attensa

Attensa for Outlook 1.5 and the Attensa Feed Server - Two steps forward toward putting the simple in RSS

Michael Gotta of the Burton Group sums up the role of Web feeds and attention in addressing two of the major issues facing IT organizations and information workers.

"Providing users with the right information, at the right time, in the right context has been the holy grail for IT organizations. At the same time, users have been frustrated with either too much information, too little information, information that isn't timely and information that isn't relevant."

Attensa is announcing two new products that address these issues head-on.

For enterprises and IT organizations,  Attensa is introducing the Attensa Feed Server, the first Enterprise Feed Server Appliance. The Attensa Feed Server is an appliance that can be easily installed behind the firewall and enables IT administrators to easily set up and manage feeds for groups and individuals enabling improved collaboration and knowledge sharing. 

For knowledge workers, Attensa is announcing the public beta of a new version of Attensa for Outlook, the first RSS reader utilizing AttentionStream technology to automatically prioritize information based on the user’s behavior history to automatically bring the most important RSS feeds and articles to the top.

You can read the news releases here:

Attensa Introduces First Enterprise Feed Server Appliance

Attensa Announces Public Beta of the First RSS Reader to Intelligently Prioritize RSS Feeds in Order of Importance to the Reader

Take a look at our new Web site update. You  can find detailed Attensa Feed Server information here and you can download the beta of Attensa for Outlook 1.5 here.

Attensa for Outlook 1.5 Preview

For the first time since we introduced Attensa nearly one year ago we are delivering on the promise of less is more. At Syndicate we are previewing Attensa for Outlook 1.5 which displays feeds and articles in the order you want to read them.

Attensa for Outlook 1.5 uses a “river of news” to simulate a single news feed, regardless of how many RSS feeds the user has subscribed to.

Version 1.5 uses our predictive ranking AttentionStream™ technology. By continuously analyzing implicit and explicit AttentionStream™ data, including the time and frequency that feeds are accessed and articles read, deleted and ignored, RSS articles can be displayed in a prioritized list based on the likelihood that they will be of interest to the reader at another time.

Feed priorities are constantly refined as the continuous stream of attention is processed.Articles can be read in order of predictive ranking, sorted by date or customized by the user. This new version of Attensa for Outlook gives users the control to manually rank feeds by simply dragging and dropping the subscription to the top or bottom of their subscription lists.
 
Attensa for Outlook 1.5 synchronizes with the new Microsoft RSS Platform. By leveraging the Microsoft Common Feed Store, RSS feeds added using Attensa for Outlook, Internet Explorer 7 or Windows Vista, will automatically be synchronized for a seamless user experience.

You can see for yourself in June.

 

Attensa for Outlook 1.2 and Attensa Mobile Now Available

Now Attensa for Outlook syncs with your mobile phone or PDA.

The new version of Attensa for Outlook is designed for business users on the move and provides easy to use, secure tools that help you track and monitor constantly changing business information without having to search or request it.

It’s easy to get started with Attensa Mobile and the  new version of Attensa for Outlook

Step 1 - Open an Attensa Online account

Step 2 - Sign into Attensa mobile using your web browser on your mobile phone. Just type http://mobile.attensa.com into your mobile phone’s web browser

Step 3 - You can add or remove feeds with either the Attensa Toolbar or Attensa for Outlook. 

Step 4 - Start reading your feeds on your phone. To save time and cut through information overload, Attensa Mobile only displays feeds with unread articles.

You can download the new version of Attensa for Outlook here. If you own Attensa for Outlook it will automatically update to the new version. Here's a rundown on what you can do with Attensa for Outlook 1.2.

• Access feeds anywhere – in Outlook, Online and on Mobile Devices
• Safe and Secure Subscriptions to Internal and External RSS feeds
• Easy to Use & Easy to Read
• Publish to Blogs and Forward Articles as Easily as Sending and Email
• Easy to Configure
• Powerful automated search tools
• Create, Import and Export Custom Reading Lists
• Update and Delete Articles on a Defined Schedule
• Keep Feeds and Articles Organized with Tagging and Categories
• Easy to Support
• Create custom style sheets that match corporate brand standards.

With the introduction of version 1.2 we are raising the price for Attensa for Outlook to $30.00 but we are extending the $20.00 price to the Attensa community for a limited time.

Go here to purchase Attensa for Outlook and use the promo-code - mobilerules

Information Overload on Scobelizer by Bubba

So Scoble's new guest blogger, "Bubba" posted about information overload today. The shocking information though was that one of his solutions was to "stop using an RSS reader." Wow! Here is an excerpt...

More recently I've tried two ways dealing with info overload.  Ones I never thought I'd try. 

The first was un-subscribing from almost all e-newsletters, internal microsoft distribution lists, and setting up very strict email rules that filter away other sources of bulk mail.   I went from a lot of mail, to very little mail.  This was cool because I found myself walking around my office more, having more face to face conversations and just generally connecting with people at a deeper level.  On the flip side, I was the last to know about things like the new google calendar launch.  But, I still found out about it relatively quickly - the day it launched.  The interesting thing was that I my "virtual" relationships actually got better because I had (made?) the time to really engage people that weren't geographically co-located with me. 

The other method was to stop using an rss reader.  I know this is like blasphemy here on Scoble's blog and I'm kind of scared to admit it.  My logic was that I my brain would only remember a handful of sites and thus regulate how much time I spent absorbing information.  The weird thing is that it actually works pretty much like un-subscribing from bulk email sources.  The really important stuff found its way to me anyway (like bootcamp) and I spent more time out in the world. 

"Scared to admit it!" Bubba says! This reminds me of my mother! She still won't use ATM machines and consistent with that bizarre fact she refuses to get a computer or even use free email. No digital camera either. She doesn't like technology (her words) - however the cordless phone and fax machine did make the cut. That said, she has also cut down on information overload because she gets no e-mail. None. She has never gotten one e-mail message! She has an hour or day that most of us don't have as we sort through email, and now, RSS subscriptions. But sheesh, she's a 70 year old artist, so I can get it if she doesn't want the noise. Bubba needs to learn to adapt besides dumping his RSS reader

People in business will find RSS inescapable to effectively do their job in the future. And accordingly, they will require tools for efficiently handling "information overload" that is the unfortunate byproduct of this innovation we now call RSS. It's just like email all over again with numerous positives and negatives but at least this time there's no spam.

Tags: Scoble, Information Overload, Attensa

Attensa for Outlook in PC Magazine

"Attensa for Outlook stands out for its implementation and feature set."

Here's the complete PC Mag review of Attensa for Outlook.

Attensa for Outlook Auto-Update Coming Your Way

It’s the real thing. Attensa for Outlook 1.0

After eight months in Beta, Attensa for Outlook has emerged and is now a real product. We want to thank everyone who participated in the beta program and helped us create an RSS Reader the experts are calling “Next Generation.” We couldn’t have done it without you. If you were an active beta participant who registered in the Attensa Forum between June 2005 and January 2006 we’ll be sending you a free activation code as a thank you.

What’s New in Attensa for Outlook

The big news is the addition of AttentionStream article level synchronization with Attensa Online. Attensa for Outlook works hand-in-glove with Attensa Online our new Online RSS reader, so you can enjoy the convenience of using any computer with a web connection to read your articles. Every action from updating feeds, reading and deleting articles, subscribing to new feeds to adding tags is instantly synchronized in Outlook. You can stay on top of the news that matters to you on multiple computers without weeding through the same articles.

What else is new:

· Overall quality and stability.

· Improved user experience with clearer icons.

· Better podcasting support

· More powerful search with an expanded list of search engines for unlimited searching.

Attensa for Outlook is only $20 and includes a one year subscription to synchronization with Attensa Online. For those of you who don't like subscription software or who don't need synchronization, Attensa for Outlook will continue to work in Outlook after one year and so will the toolbars. If you don’t renew your subscription synchronization with Attensa Online will time out. You can still use your Attensa Online account but articles won’t synchronize in Outlook.

When you run the update you will be given the choice to:

· Buy Attensa for Outlook

· Or take Attensa for Outlook on free 30 day test drive.

If you decide not to update your current version of Attensa for Outlook will continue to run.

We always want your feedback. There’s a new feedback link in Attensa for Outlook. Use it.

 

Attensa Releases Attensa for Outlook and Attensa Online

Why so quiet you ask?

Three Reasons

1. We've been working on Attensa for Outlook - the Real Thing
2. We've been working on Attensa Online
3. We've been working on a new website

And today you can see exactly what we've been doing.

After eight months in Beta, Attensa for Outlook has emerged and is now a real product. The big news is the additon of AttentionStream article level synchronization with Attensa Online.

Attensa Online, our free Web based reader, is live and open to everyone. Sign up and try it at attensa.com

It's free.
It's clean.
It's frickin fast.

It works hand-in-glove with Attensa for Outlook so you can enjoy the convenience of using any computer with a web coneection to read your articles. Every action from updating feeds, reading and deleting articles, subscribing to new feeds to adding tags is instantly synchronized in Outlook. You can stay on top of the news that matters to you on multiple computers without weeding through the same articles.

How much will this cost, you ask? We listened when we asked for your input on pricing. Attensa Online is free. Attensa for Outlook is only $20 and includes a one year subscription to synchronization with Attensa Online.

For those of you who don't like subscription software or who don't need synchronization, Attensa for Outlook will continue to work in Outlook after one year. Synchronization will time out.

You can take Attensa for Outlook on a 30 day test drive.

Seems reasonable, no?

You can Download Attensa-for-Outlook-Getting-Started-060131.pdf. It's 2 megs and will get you up and running fast.

Check out the new Attensa website. It's fresh and chock full of information on how to get the most out Attensa for Outlook and Attensa Online.

Attensa Captures Scoble's Attention

 

When Robert Scoble urged Microsoft to acquire Newsgator in an article in WebProNews it caught our attention. Craig Barnes took the opportunity to set the record straight and to invite Scoble to take a closer look at our work building a new "attention based infrastructure company" that is a lot more than another RSS reader for Outlook.

Based on Scoble's follow-up post - Attensa DOES have RSS Synchro API - it looks like we are starting to get through and we hope Robert takes us up on our open invitation to share more about our technology and strategy with him.

 

Outlook 12 and Attensa..."We're not dead yet"

Ever since Microsoft previewed Outlook 12 at Syndicate there has been a meme on the imminent death of Newsgator and Attensa. Before people start writing more obituaries we're declaring "We're not dead yet. In fact, we're feeling much better."

Here's why...

1) Ubiquitous RSS is good. At Attensa we believe that pervasive use of RSS benefits everybody and that makes our technology more valuable. Who better than Microsoft (and Google and Yahoo) to educate and make available basic RSS capabilities? Attensa is about value-add, not the inevitably commoditized RSS reader. We, and our investors (announcement coming soon), are betting that over the next several years Microsoft will do the heavy lifting and educate the masses of the benefits of adopting RSS.

2) But RSS is dumb. Already users are subscribing to dozens of feeds and receiving hundreds of posts per day. And it is only going to get worse as marketers utilize RSS in lieu of traditional internet media. Further, the enterprise and enterprise application vendors are embracing RSS for every conceivable task. As RSS users (whether through Outlook 12 or the common RSS reader) we will soon all be drinking from the proverbial fire hose. The problem will dwarf email inbox overload. At Attensa think there is a big opportunity for smart RSS that cuts through information overload.

3) With RSS “less is more” At Attensa our business and technology focus is improving the RSS experience through real-time attention stream analytics – the fact that we have or will soon have best of class solutions for Outlook, Mobile, Online and more is almost incidental. Long term (i.e. once Outlook 13 or 14 finally gets it right) our attention stream infrastructure will sit quietly, behind the scenes, making the defacto standard RSS reader simply “work better.”

4) Outlook 12 adoption happens when? In the meantime, and surveying the competitive climate for readers and pondering the en mass adoption of Outlook 12 in the enterprise (early 2008?) we think there is considerable opportunity to provide quality RSS experience for users of Outlook 2000 and later for the foreseeable future. As for Outlook 12, I think most would agree without even seeing it that there will be considerable opportunity to make it better.

 

Attensa at Syndicate - Our Coming Out Party!

I returned to Attensa's galactic headquarters today after three days in San Francisco attending the Syndicate Conference. Coming off the heels of our Series B investment by RRS Investors and SmartForest, Syndicate was a bit like our official coming out party.

We spent the time demoing the 1.0 Beta of Attensa, showing off Attensa Online for the first time in public and meeting with lots of great people and partners. I've been so  busy preparing for the show and working the show that I haven't had time to write about our announcements and the great reception to our products and strategy.

We used the Syndicate Conference to announce two more steps in our on-going work to create an RSS network that uses AttentionStream synchronization to cut through information overload.

You can read the news release Attensa Introduces AttentionStream™ Synchronization at Syndicate Conference but here’s the Reader’s Digest Condensed Version:

We are taking the veil off Attensa Online, our free online RSS service that can be accessed anywhere on any computer. Attensa Online is an AJAX web based application that works like a dedicated RSS reader application to make keeping on top of RSS news and information easy. Subscriptions and articles load quickly and marking articles as read and deleting articles is easy.

Resizable panes and multiple views let users create an RSS workspace that is flexible and intuitive. Options for displaying articles include headline only, headline with one-sentence introductions, headlines with first paragraphs or complete articles. Users view the article source Web page without opening a new browser window or tab.

We will opening up the Attensa Online beta shortly after the conference. We want to test in stages. Sign up here and we’ll notify you to set up your account.

We are introducing Attensa for Outlook 1.0 beta. The feature set is complete and we want to give you one more chance to get it for free and put it to the test.

We’ve come up with a pricing program that takes into account your extensive and valuable feedback. Attensa for Outlook 1.0 Beta is a free download. When it is released commercially Attensa for Outlook 1.0 will cost $19.95. The price includes a one year subscription for AttentionStream™ synchronization with Attensa Online.

For users who only need RSS in Outlook, Attensa for Outlook will continue to work inside of Outlook at the end of the first year’s subscription. Synchronization with Attensa Online won't unless your subscription is renewed. For less than a double cappuccino a month at Starbucks, being able to access your feeds on any PC seems like a good deal to me, but you'll be the judge. 

Attensa for Outlook and Attensa Online use our unique lightweight AttentionStream synchronization for fast updating of subscriptions at the article level and frequent synchronizations across multiple RSS clients. Every action from subscribing to new feeds, updating articles, reading and deleting articles, to creating categories and adding tags will be synchronized in Outlook and on a personal, privacy-protected Web page at Attensa Online. The AttentionStream also includes near real-time analytics which, as we continue our development, will be the key to providing you with prioritized, more relevant articles.

We also announced our strategic partnership with FreeRange Communications to bring Attensa to mobile phones and PDAs. FreeNews is a dedicated RSS Reader app that works with Blackberries, Palm and Java enabled devices. It's fast, it's easy to read and it saves you money because it pulls your feeds and articles down all at once and stores them on your phone so you can read without racking up air time. Will put the Attensa brand on their reader and send the AttentionStream data to our backend so when you read articles on your phone everything will be synchronized and down the road the AttentionStream data you generate will add more fuel to the prioritization filtering.