Notifir is a tool that I can best describe as a power users tool box. It is a wrapper for Digg that allows you to more easily track stories and theoretically do quite a few additional tracks with your Digg profile. Why do I say theoretically? Let me explain.

Social BETA?

Notifir is currently in public BETA, but I have never quite seen one like this. For every feature there is a link asking for you to vote on whether it should be implemented. If you click on this link you are taken to an external Pligg installation where you can vote, comment on and suggest new features. I am not sure what the threshold is for implementation, but it seems like after a “sufficient” number of votes, the people behind this project (ATL Innovations) get to work on coding up your request.

Back to the software.

Currently, Notifir provides a dashboard of stories that you have submitted to Digg in the last 24 hours. It can tell you who Dugg it and gives you a platform from which to submit additional articles. I think the most interesting thing that it has going for it is that it provides a list of articles from “commonly promoted sources” and lets you submit these stories with a click of a button. For power users in the making, this can save you quite a bit of surfing time.

So What?

What I really dislike about Notifir besides the Rails errors that get thrown every few page loads is the fact that it presents you with features that do not yet exist. It seems like they thought it would be innovative to let users vote on what should be implemented. Maybe it is, but until those requests get voted up please do not provide UI elements for them. Instead of setting aside space for possible features, they would have been much better off providing a single, prominent link to their discussion forum. Seeing all those features that I could not use quickly became distracting.

Notifir certainly lives up to its namesake. It can notify you (by email, if you believe the site) when your story has made it to Upcoming. There is also a public profile which seems to be there to make it easier for other people on the site to find your body of work and Digg it. This is certainly useful for anyone who has ever found themselves blasting emails to 100 of their closest friends to “take a look” at their newest article.

Web 2.0 Roundup

This product has a long way to go. While reviewing it I encountered about a dozen 502 errors, several Rails errors and the disappointment of features that existed only in theory. The most interesting thing that Notifir has going for it is a much easier way to track the progress of your stories than the native Digg interface.

As a curiosity, Notifir has some teeth but it is still extremely unpolished. They need to consider re-templating their Pligg installation (they currently use Yget, the default theme) and getting the bugs under control. Combine that with implementing some of the really exciting features on the wishlist: messaging and the ability to more deeply track the progress of your story, and you have a great addition to your social media arsenal.

For the time being I suggest giving it a look and sending them your suggestions.

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