Now you could argue forever as to what categories these sites are covered by, as all of us have distinctly different online habits and indeed personalities. As everyone knows, I’m a social, techno, blogging kind of user so my categories and associated sites would be something like this:

• NEWS: www.news.com.au
• TRAVEL: www.flightcentre.com.au or www.flightcentre.ca
• BANKING: my bank obviously
• SOCIAL: www.facebook.com
• ONLINE MANAGEMENT: www.netvibes.com
• EMAIL: www.gmail.com

Naturally, I’m yet another hopeless RSS addict so I have access to so many more websites via feeds I have loaded into my Netvibes page.

Finally, most of you will probably have “SHOPPING” as one of your 6 categories and no doubt “Amazon.com” will feature heavily. I don’t do a lot of shopping online so it doesn’t make the cut for me.

So now it’s your turn.

I LOVE this service so much! I love it to the point that I have put in a few long hours compiling a dead simple tutorial covering the basic steps you need to take to ensure a rich “Netvibes” experience for yourself.

If you find this tutorial helpful, please share it with others via Facebook or Twitter using the buttons provided above.

Where to Begin:

1. Create an Account »
2. Customise »
3. Adding RSS Feeds »
4. Adding Other Content Modules »

1. Create an Account

A. Navigate to the Netvibes.com website to get started:

• Open your web browser (preferably Firefox)
• Go to http://www.netvibes.com.

B. Register your details to create an account:

• Click on the”Sign In” link at the top right of the screen
• Under the "New User" heading click the “Sign Up Now!” link
• Fill out the fields as required and click “Sign Up” to continue.

C. Check your email for confirmation of your login details:

• Save this email in a folder where you will find it again in case you forget your login details

Please Note: If you do not receive this email, make sure you check that your SPAM filter has not diverted the email to your SPAM folder or trash.

2. Customising Your Netvibes Account

You will notice that once logged into your new account, you are presented with a single tab “General” containing a number of default modules (Gmail, Kelkoo, Techcrunch etc). Get used to these two terms (tab & module) as I will use them extensively throughout the rest of this tutorial.

You will also notice a number in brackets next to the “General” tab title. This number indicates the number of news items on this tab that remain unread by you. In fact, any red numbers in brackets like the “(7)” next to the”Techcrunch” module heading indicates the number of unread items in that module too. These numbers will decrease when you view items within the module and be reflected in the number in the tab accordingly.

It’s now time to start customising your Netvibes account so it becomes filled with content relevant to you. Following I will cover how you go about doing the following:

A. How to change your page name:

• Simply click on the text “Type your page title here”, and do just that!
• Click anywhere outside the page title area to save.

B. How to change the title of a tab:

• Click directly on the the title to make it editable
• Enter in your new tab title and click anywhere outside of the tab to save.

C. How to create a new tab:

• Click on the “New Tab” link
• Enter in the title of your new tab, for example “Shopping”
• Click anywhere outside of the tab to save
• Change the position of your new tab by clicking and dragging.

D. How to add an icon to a tab:

• Hover over a tab until the tab option icons appear
• Click on the “down arrow” to open the tab options menu
• Select an icon
• Save your selection by closing the tab options menu by clicking on the "x" at the top right of the menu.

E. How to change the column layouts of your tabs:

• Hover over a tab until the tab option icons appear
• Click on the “down arrow” to open the tab options menu
• Click on the “Number of Columns” option heading to reveal your column options
• Make your selection
• Save your selection by closing the tab options menu by clicking on the “x” at the top right of the menu.

F. How to move modules between tabs:

• Hover over a coloured module heading until a cross directional cursor appears
• Click and drag the module over the top of the tab you wish to move it to until the tab outline turns red
• Drop the module on the tab.

G. How to edit module options:

All modules have editing options of some kind that can be accessed and manipulated in the following way:

• Hover over a coloured module heading until the module option icons appear
• Click on the "Edit" link
• Play around with the editable options, clicking any "Save" buttons when required, until you have the desired module orientation
• Click on the "Close Edit" link to save your changes.

H. How to delete modules:

• Hover over a coloured module heading until the module option icons appear
• Click on the “x” to delete the module.

Be warned, once a module is deleted, any edits you have made to it will be lost.

3. Adding RSS Feeds

The real power of your Netvibes account comes in the ability to deliver you headlines from all of your favourite news sites and blogs through the magic of RSS feeds.

If you’ve never heard about RSS, thanks to the “Back in Skinny Jeans Blog” here’s a quick “Oprah Definition”:

In Oprah speak, RSS stands for: “Ready for Some Stories”. It is a way online for you to get a quick list of the latest story headlines from all your favorite websites and blogs all in one place. How cool is that?

Suppose you have 50 sites and blogs that you like to visit regularly. Going to visit each website and blog everyday could take you hours. With RSS, you can “subscribe” to a website or blog, and get “fed” all the new headlines from all of these 50 sites and blogs in one list, and see what’s going on in minutes instead of hours. What a time saver!

But how do you find a feed on a website and how then do you add it to your Netvibes account?

A. How to find an RSS feed on your favourite websites:

• Look for any of the symbols featured in the graphic on the right RSS Feeds are generally indicated by orange symbols or text links featuring the words “RSS”, “XML” or “ATOM”
• Right click on the link and select “Copy Link Location” (in Firefox) or “Properties” and copy the “Address (URL):” in Internet Explorer.

B. What if my favourite site doesn’t have an RSS feed:

You will no doubt come across sites from time-to-time that don’t provide RSS feeds enabling you to keep up-to-date with latest news stories or site updates. In these instances, it is possible to create your own feeds for these websites by using web-based RSS feed-builders such as the following:

• Ponyfish RSS Feed Builder – I use this service ALL THE TIME cause it’s intuitive, simple to use and most importantly it works! Visit the site, create an account and start building!
• Dapper: The Data Mapper – A more powerful and therefore slightly more complicated development environment than Ponfish, Dapper allows you to extract information from just about any website in a variety of ways including creating RSS feeds. The best place to start with Dapper is with their informative flash demo.

C. How to add an RSS feed to Netvibes:

You will add RSS feeds to your Netvibes account in individual new modules. These are easily created in the following way:

• Log into your Netvibes account
• Click on the tab you wish to add your new RSS feed module to
• Click on the “Add Content” link at the top left of the page
• Click on the “Add My Feed” link to open the feed addition form
• Paste or type in the RSS feed address of your site obtained using the method explained above
• Click on the “Add” button
• When Netvibes has finished verifying the feed, your new feed module will be created.

Please note: If you have been unable to locate a feed icon/address on one of your favourite sites and you aren’t confident enough to use a site like “Ponyfish” or “Dapper” (see above), try entering in the URL of the actual site in the feed addition form and Netvibes will attempt to find (autodiscovery) the feed for you.

D. Netvibes Firefox Extension:

By far the easiest and BEST ways to add feeds to your account is by using Netvibes’ “Add2Netvibes Firefox Extension”.

Check out the Netvibes “tools” page for full instructions on how to install the extension. Obviously, you will need to be using the unbeatable Firefox browser to take advantage of the extension.

If you’re an IE user and haven’t yet tried Firefox as an alternative browser, I can’t encourage you enough to give it a go and allow yourself to experience a completely new browsing experience. Simply click on the button below to download Firefox to your system and you’ll be “Netvibing” like a pro in no time!

4. Adding Other Content Modules

As well as RSS feeds from your favourite websites, you can also add a whole host of different content modules to your Netvibes account from Flickr albums, to weather trackers, bookmarks, to-do lists, iCal/Gmail calendars, sticky notes, search tools and more!

I’ll let you explore all the modules on offer on your own through it’s partner selection or the community driven “Netvibes Ecosystem”, but I will cover a select few below to illustrate just how easy it is for you to add them to your account. I’ll look at the following in order:

A. How to add a Flickr module:

It’s great being able to stay up to date with additions to the Flickr accounts of friends and family you keep an eye on, without having to visit the site looking for changes all the time. Here’s how you can do it:

• Visit your desired Flickr page/album and find the RSS feed link at the bottom right – COPY IT
  
  For example:

  http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne?id=33264358@N00&format=rss_200

• Log into your Netvibes account
• Click on the tab you wish to add your new module to
• Click on the “Add Content” link at the top left of the page
• Browse through the content menu until you find the “Flickr photos” link – CLICK IT
• Click on the “Edit” link
• Paste the Flickr RSS feed address into the “Feed or Tag” box provided
• Click the “Save” button
• Set the other options as desired
• Click the “Add to my page” link to save and exit. This will add the new module to your account which you can then move around to the most appropriate location.

Alternatively, instead of adding in the URL of a Flickr page, you can choose to view images relating to a particular tag. For example, we might like to view images of “puppies”.

• Log into your Netvibes account
• Click on the tab you wish to add your new module to
• Click on the “Add Content” link at the top left of the page
• Browse through the content menu until you find the “Flickr photos” link – CLICK IT
• Click on the “Edit” link
• Enter the tag “puppy” into the “Feed or Tag” box provided
• Click the “Save” button
• Set the other options as desired
• Click the “Add to my page” link to save and exit. This will add the new module to your account which you can then move around to the most appropriate location.

Please Note: You can add as many Flickr modules for as many cities as you want. Simply repeat the process above for each new module.

B. How to add a Podcast module:

Netvibes has a great inbuilt podcast player that makes it REAL easy to listen to your favourite podcasts. In a simliar fashion to adding normal RSS feed modules, here’s what you need to do:

• Find your desited RSS podcast link on iTunes or the web – COPY IT
  
  For example: http://podcasts.b105.com.au/hamish_and_andy.xml

• Log into your Netvibes account
• Click on the tab you wish to add your new podcast module to
• Click on the “Add Content” link at the top left of the page
• Click on the “Add My Feed” link to open the feed addition form
• Paste or type in the RSS feed address of your podcast
• Click on the “Add” button
• When Netvibes has finished verifying the feed, your new feed module will be created.

C. How to add a Weather module:

This one is simple. It gives you a nice current conditions and 3-day weather forecast for whatever location you specify.

• Log into your Netvibes account
• Click on the tab you wish to add your new podcast module to
• Click on the “Add Content” link at the top left of the page
• Browse through the content menu until you find the “Weather” link – CLICK IT

• Click on the “Edit” link in the window that appears
• Enter in the name of your desired town, for example “Vancouver”
• Click the “Save” button
• If a list of town options appears, click on the desired location
• Click on the “Edit” link again
• Set the other options as desired
• Click the “Add to my page” link to save and exit. This will add the new module to your account which you can then move around to the most appropriate location.

Please Note: You can add as many Weather modules for as many cities as you want. Simply repeat the process above for each new module.

D. How to add a Bookmarks module:

Storing your boomarks within your Netvibes account using this module allows you to access them from any computer with an internet connection at any time.

• Log into your Netvibes account
• Click on the tab you wish to add your bookmarks module to
• Click on the “Add Content” link at the top left of the page
• Browse through the content menu until you find the “Bookmarks” link – CLICK IT
• Click the “Add to my page” link to save and exit. This will add the new module to your account which you can then move around to the most appropriate location.

Adding bookmarks to your list is essentially the same as adding them to your browser except for the addition of the “Tags” field. Adding tags that describe each link you add makes them easy to find in the future. Here’s how you add bookmarks:

• Hover over the coloured Bookmarks module heading until the “Edit” link appears – CLICK IT
• Add in the title of your bookmark (eg. Masey’s Blog)
• Type or paste in the URL of your bookmark (eg. http://www.masey.com.au)
• Enter in one or more “tags” that describe the bookmark you are entering (eg. “blog”, “tutorials”)
• Click the “Add” button to save
• Click the “Close Edit” link to exit.

E. How to add a To-Do List module:

A great way to keep track of things you need to do online like specific emails you need to send, or bills you need to pay via your online banking facility, is through the use of a to-do list. Here’s how you add one to your account:

• Log into your Netvibes account
• Click on the tab you wish to add your to-do list module to
• Click on the “Add Content” link at the top left of the page
• Browse through the content menu until you find the “Bookmarks” link – CLICK IT
• Click the “Add to my page” link to save and exit. This will add the new module to your account which you can then move around to the most appropriate location.

You should be able to work out quite easily how to add, edit and delete items on your list. I’ll get you started on adding an item:

• Click on the “New To Do” link
• Enter in an item description
• Click anywhere outside the module to save.

Please Note:

• You can edit or delete each item on your list by hovering over the item and revealing the editing icons on the right
• Check the boxes to the left of each item when you have completed it
• You can add as many to-do list modules for as many cities as you want. Simply repeat the process above for each new module.

F. How to add a Sticky Note module:

For all those little notes you need to leave yourself for whatever reason:

• Log into your Netvibes account
• Click on the tab you wish to add your to-do list module to
• Click on the “Add Content” link at the top left of the page
• Browse through the content menu until you find the “Webnotes” link – CLICK IT
• Click the “Add to my page” link to save and exit. This will add the new module to your account which you can then move around to the most appropriate location.
• To add your note, click on “Type your text here” and go for it!

• Hover over the coloured Bookmarks module heading until the “Edit” link appears – CLICK IT
• Give your sticky note an appropriate title and select a note colour
• Click anywhere outside the module to save.

Please Note: You can add as many sticky notes as you want. Simply repeat the process above for each new note.

G. How to add a Calendar module:

For those of you with Gmail Calendar or other types of iCal accounts, you can place an attractive reminder module containing your appointments and dates on your Netvibes account as follows:

• Visit your Gmail Calendar/iCal account and find the iCal feed address
• Right click on the link and select “Copy Link Location” (in Firefox) or “Properties” and copy the “Address (URL):” in Internet Explorer.
• Log into your Netvibes account
• Click on the tab you wish to add your calendar module to
• Click on the “Add Content” link at the top left of the page
• Browse through the content menu until you find the “Calendar” link – CLICK IT
• Fill out the calendar options fields including pasting your iCal feed address into the “Ical URL” field
• Click the “Close Edit” link to save and exit.

Please Note: Click on the “Agenda”, “Week” and “Month” links to change your calendar views.

That covers some of the more useful of Netvibe’s partner modules. As mentioned in the introduction to this tutorial section, there also exists an ever growing collection of community developed modules on the “Netvibes Ecosystem”. You can browse through and add any number of these modules at your leisure, but here’s a couple of examples to get you started.

H. How to add a Garfield of the Day module:

Please Note: Because of it’s dimensions, it is suggested that you add this Garfield comic strip module to a tab that has been set-up with a 2 column layout.

• Log into your Netvibes account
• Click on the tab you wish to add your calendar module to
• Click on the “Get more modules” link at the top left of the page.

The Netvibes Ecosystem site will load.

• In the search box at the top of the right hand column, perform a search for “garfield”
• In the search result that appears, click on the “Add Garfield of the Day” button to add the module to your Netvibes account. If you would like to know more about the module first (including user reviews), click on the module title.
• Select “OK” for any confirmation alerts that appear. This will add the new module to your account which you can then move around to the most appropriate location.

I. How to add a Stock Ticker module:

For the entrepreneurs amongst you, here’s a great little module that will help you keep track of your investments. It covers many of the world’s major stock markets, indices and currencies.

• Find the code of the stock you wish to monitor. You can use the Yahoo! stock symbol lookup tool if required.

  For example:
  Google (US Market): GOOG
  Billabong (AUS MARKET): BBG.AX

• Log into your Netvibes account
• Click on the tab you wish to add your calendar module to
• Click on the "Get more modules " link at the top left of the page.

The Netvibes Ecosystem site will load.

• In the search box at the top of the right hand column, perform a search for “finance”
• In the search result that appears, click on the “Add Finance” button to add the module to your Netvibes account. If you would like to know more about the module first (including user reviews), click on the module title.
• Select “OK” for any confirmation alerts that appear. This will add the new module to your account which you can then move around to the most appropriate location.

The following explains how to add a stock to your module:

• Hover over the coloured Finance module heading until the “Edit” link appears – CLICK IT
• Enter your stock code into the given field, example “GOOG”
• Select the corresponding market the stock is listed on, example “USA”
• Click “Add” to save
• Click the “Close Edit” link when you’re finshed adding your stocks etc. to exit.

J. How to add a Webcam module:

The “Image Module” is one of my favourite modules. Not only can you use it to display a favourite photo, if you are clever enough, you can use it to display dynamically updated webcams, traffic cams or even random galleries.

Personally I use it to display a fantastic webcam of Vancouver’s Burrard Bridge and English Bay. Here’s how I do it:

• Find the URL of the image you wish to feature in your image module.

  For example: http://www.katkam.ca/p.asp?what=currentjpg

• Log into your Netvibes account
• Click on the tab you wish to add your image module to
• Click on the “Get more modules” link at the top left of the page.

The Netvibes Ecosystem site will load.

• In the search box at the top of the right hand column, perform a search for “image”
• Browse through the search results that appear until you find “The Image Module”
• Click on the “Add The Image Module” button to add the module to your Netvibes account. If you would like to know more about the module first (including user reviews), click on the module title.
• Select “OK” for any confirmation alerts that appear. This will add the new module to your account which you can then move around to the most appropriate location.

The following explains how to add your own image to the module:

• Hover over the coloured image module heading until the "Edit" link appears – CLICK IT
• You will notice a URL already positioned within the given text field:

  http://www.paris.free.fr/netvibes/img.php

• At THE END of this URL, add in the text “?url=” THEN your image URL:

  
  For example:
  http://www.paris.free.fr/netvibes/img.php?url=http://www.katkam.ca/p.asp?what=currentjpg

• Click on the”Go” button to save and your image will appear
• Click the “Close Edit” link to save and exit.