14 DAY TRIAL // As the Google Reader is nearing closing time, more RSS applications are popping up. Digg has already announced it was building such an app, while Feedly is already taking advantage of the upcoming shutdown.
Now, a new RSS service opened in public beta, called Ping.it. While it was launched back in December 2012, before Google revealed its plans regarding Reader, it was in private beta.
This newcomer brings an interesting feature to the table, called “Probes.” Basically, it lets users create specific feeds based on keywords and popularity.
The service lets you filter down what you look for quite easily. You can create Probes for each thing you’re interested in and to add keywords. You can have Ping.it search for Facebook or YouTube likes, as well as RSS feeds.
It’s possible to name and describe each probe before launching it.
Once the website locates the desired articles, you can subscribe to the topic by simply pressing the button on the right.
All articles then appear in the “Pings” area and can be viewed complete with title, source, first few lines and even a picture, if there is one available.
You can Like the news, comment or re-ping any of the articles with just a click of a button.
Pings can be shared with your friends and family very easily. Since you can connect to the website by logging in with your Google+, Facebook, Twitter or Email account, Ping.it also lets you import all your contacts so you don’t have to type in the email addresses every time.
Your friends will soon receive an email containing your name and the page you pinged to them, complete with a picture and active link.
The tools that Ping.it brings to the table take the app further than a regular RSS reader that lists all the news from a certain website. By letting you refine your search, you’re not going to encounter anything other than those items you’re interested in.