Mozilla Labs has launched a new “lifestream” platform called sudoSocial. Pulling its name from the Linux command “sudo” which allows users to run programs with other, usually elevated privileges, the sudoSocial publishing platform aims to give you both access and control over your many online identities.
Although sudoSocial would be suitable for curating any stream of content, explains the introductory blog post, in its early, still rather sparse format, it’s better for personal homepages that aggregate your various feeds, like Flickr photos and blog posts, for example.
Hacking a Homepage with sudoSocial
To create your own personal homepage using sudoSocial, you’ll need to have an OpenID account and, the page reminds you, that’s probably something you already have – even if you didn’t know it. A link to OpenID’s “Get an OpenID” page displays a collection of OpenID enabled services like Google, Yahoo, Blogger, flickr, MySpace, WordPress, AOL and others. For our own testing purposes, we used a Google Profile URL. Yours can be found here: http://google.com/profiles/me.
After signing in and filling out a little profile info (if it’s the first time you’ve used an OpenID), you’re taken to the Stream Editor where you can begin to add sources. Any URL, Atom or RSS feed is supported.
In the next tab, you can edit the design using CSS, JavaScript and Processing.js. (Oh, yes, did we forget to mention this tool isn’t for the mainstream user?)
When you’ve finished your configurations, you could end up with a webpage that looks something like this: http://sudosocial.me/u/pattyokdemo, if you choose a more basic setup, or like this: http://ozten.com/homepage-demo.html if you design something a bit more advanced.
If you’re interested, you can also contribute to the project by hacking the source code, found here: http://github.com/ozten/sudosocial.
A Better Option for Everyday Users: Flavors.me
However, if you were hoping that sudoSocial would provide a simple way to quickly set up a personal homepage, you’re going to walk away feeling disappointed. A better option for that purpose, or really any stream aggregation of your choosing, is Flavors.me.
This lovely, user-friendly web service lets you customize everything design-wise, including typefaces, layouts and color schemes while also aggregating the feeds of your choice. And for most of the supported services (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, flickr, etc.), you don’t even need to know the RSS’s feed URL – you simply click “add service” and authorize the app.
That said, sudoSocial isn’t designed with the mainstream user in mind. It’s intended as a more advanced platform for designers and developers who know what they want and how to make it happen via code. For them, sudoSocial may be a good starting point, but it still needs quite a bit of polish and bug-quashing before it’s fully ready for a wider audience.
