I'm experimenting with NewsILike.com, a new aggregator site put together by a team that includes Jim Moore, Berkman colleague, Darfur activist, and Global Voies ally. Jim introduces the concept of “aggregator artistry”, the idea that aggregators can be a creative expression in the same way that blogging is.
NewsILike has a lot in common with other online aggregators like BlogLines, but has a key feature I haven't found elsewhere: post filtering. I was able to put together an Africa filter, which is designed to match any mention of an African nation, which allows me to subscribe an aggregator to a broad news feed – like the Guardian's world news feed – and filter it to match only Africa-focused stories.
So here's a first step towards an Africa aggregator, which includes mainstream media news run through the Africa filter, and some great African blogs. (When I'm not conference surfing full time, I'll flesh out the sources a bit further.) I'm already finding a number of interesting posts and stories that aren't making it into BlogAfrica or my information sources.
As NewsILike gets to be a stronger platform, I can imagine this being a hugely helpful tool for GlobalVoices, allowing us to put together targeted aggregators focused on different parts of the world. Anyone want to put together the Middle East, Latin America or Central Asia aggregators?