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  • Google Reader

    I love it. If you haven't tried it, or if you've never really thought about feed readers (or even know what a feed is!), you really should check it out. If you love to devour stuff all over the web, and sometimes struggle to keep track of it all, Google Reader is worth a serious look.

    Feeds, RSS, XML... it sounds horribly geeky, but it's incredibly useful. It's really a big part of what's going to keep the web managable for people going forward. Almost every site out there makes a feed available. Newspapers, blogs, photo sites, message boards... Feeds are everywhere, yet sometimes almost invisible.

    Before, you might have all your favorite sites bookmarked and click your way through. You might be extra cool, and open 'em all in a flash via tabbed browsing. But you know what? You're still visiting all those sites. You're still downloading cluttered web pages, wasting time, especially if it turns out there's nothing new to see there, or if there's nothing particularly interesting.

    Now, thanks to feed readers, you can keep up with all those sites with astonishing ease. Feeds are basically stripped down digests of a site's content. And instead of visiting the site to see what's up, a feed reader does the checking for you, brings the new stuff back, and helps you sort through it quickly.

    Now, there are lots of feed readers (or aggregators) out there. I previously used, and paid for, a product called Newsgator. It ran on my Windows PC, and even integrated with Outlook, so I could click through new items as easily as I could e-mail. Most of the newer feed readers are web-based, like Bloglines. Yahoo!, AOL, other services do similar things now. Visit one site, and get a nice overview of dozens of other sites. Good stuff.

    Well, take that concept, and add in Google's distinct talent for elegant, simple, functional design. Voila, Google Reader. It's almost impossible to describe, so here's a look at my feed collection:



    On one screen, I can track new posts at HawaiiThreads, comments on my blogs, comments on my photos at Flickr, my friends blogs and Flickr photostreams, posts at my favorite blogs like Metafilter and Boingboing, Mac news from several sites, local headlines, podcasts (Google Reader has an integrated audio player)... I've actually added sites I never had the time for before, 'cause now I can track them all in one place.

    In fact, very few of the sites I used to bookmark and wander through on a daily basis don'thave feeds. And I get an at-a-glance look at all of them, with handy keyboard shortcuts (spacebar moves down through all items), the ability to "star" or tag certain feeds or posts to find them easily later, and even "share" them on a special blog that publishes the various articles around the web that I think are particularly good.

    It's awesome. You have to try it.

    As if Google needed to own any more of my eyeballs on the web! Those guys at Google Labs just keep coming up with great stuff (or, of course, buying it)... Gmail, Google Earth, Google Transit, Google Talk, the list goes on. I try not to be a Google fanboy, but it's so hard to resist!

  • #2
    Re: Google Reader

    Love hasn't been kind to me lately, so I'm not as enthusiastic about it as you, but I may have to marry this thing. I've mostly used the feed-bookmarks to do quick checks on what's been updated since my last peek; however, Google's ability to organize these and to use Google's massive searching power to seek feeds I'm curious about is probably going to win me over here.

    I'm still going to have to keep a little link-list on the side, since not everything feeds yet, and I haven't decided yet whether I can live with the feeds that certain newspapers provide. For example, I can subscribe to Washington Post and LA Times columnists separately, getting one feed for Tony Kornheiser and one for Michael Wilbon and one for J.A. Adande. Love that, of course.

    However, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin only has one feed for all its content, as far as I can tell. The Kansas City Star has feeds grouped for types of columnists, so I can get all its sports columnists in one feed, but I really only want Jason Whitlock (who should have his own TV show, if you ask me). The Chicago Sun-Times feed gives me all its columnists at once.

    One reason I've never gone with a true aggregator is CNN: When suddenly there was this station that had twenty-four hours to fill with "news," the definition of "news" changed dramatically. Something had to fill that time, whether there was real news or not! I like to read Wonkette, but I usually only go over there once in a while, when I think of it. Now, though, I've got this folder for gossip sites (I had to put something with TalkStink, or it's just this folder with one feed -- the English teacher in me won't let me do that). I guess I'll need to figure out where in my daily online life this will all go.

    Thanks for the heads-up, though. The rings beneath my eyes tomorrow will be named in your honor!
    But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
    GrouchyTeacher.com

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Google Reader

      Two obvious and common--but still fun--features at Google Reader are the abilities to select items for sharing with others and to add others' shared items to your subscriptions (yes, a feed of a list of someone else's feeds). You choose what you make public, of course, so nobody has to know you read Defamer if you don't want anyone to.

      My shared list is here, and pz's is here, if anyone wants to see that in action.
      But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
      GrouchyTeacher.com

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Google Reader

        I exported my Firefox RSS feeds to this new Google thing, and what I have so far is a mess. All of the RSS feeds are just mashed into one area... I guess I have to figure out how to sort em all out... kind of humbug when my Mac feeds are mixed with my news feeds, blog feeds, and whatevers.

        Haven't had much chance to do this yet. The service looks like it has some great potential. I still am a regular bookmark a page kind of guy too and maintain them as well as RSS on my browsers. I guess this Google reader works just like My Yahoo where I have my bookmarks also posted so that when I am away from my computers but access the web with another computer, at least my bookmarks and now my feeds can follow me.
        I'm still here. Are you?

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        • #5
          Re: Google Reader

          Originally posted by mel View Post
          I guess I have to figure out how to sort em all out... kind of humbug when my Mac feeds are mixed with my news feeds, blog feeds, and whatevers.
          Mel, just go to the "Manage Feeds" area, where you can create folders (actually, tags) for various feeds, organizing them into groups. Look at the screenshot of my setup that I posted earlier. All my Mac sites in one group, all my general blogs in another, all my Hawaii stuff in another. The "Home" or "All Items" view might mix them up, but you can always use those folders/tags to browse through specific subsets.

          After you get used to using Google Reader, and either keep up with your feeds or get comfortable with the "Mark All As Read" command, you'll find having your various items mixed in to be not so bad. You're staying on top of lots of things, and currency sometimes is more rewarding than categorization.
          Originally posted by Mel
          I guess this Google reader works just like My Yahoo where I have my bookmarks also posted so that when I am away from my computers but access the web with another computer, at least my bookmarks and now my feeds can follow me.
          Exactly. And yes, My Yahoo!, AOL, Netscape, even Google's customized home page have basic feed display options... but Google Reader is a feed-centric environment. I frankly like going there for all my news and just news, rather than a portal mindset where I'm also expected to want to track the weather, movie listings, and other stuff.
          Originally posted by scrivener View Post
          Love hasn't been kind to me lately, so I'm not as enthusiastic about it as you, but I may have to marry this thing.
          Heh. My wife made a similar comment when I tried to convince her of its brilliance. Of course, I then set her up with all her favorite sites, including tons of celebrity and pop-culture blogs, and now she's a believer, too. I joked that if she got through her web browsing quicker, she'd have more time to write in her own blog. Instead, she just added half a dozen more gossip blogs to Google Reader that she previously didn't have time for.
          Originally posted by scrivener View Post
          I'm still going to have to keep a little link-list on the side, since not everything feeds yet, and I haven't decided yet whether I can live with the feeds that certain newspapers provide.
          I know what you mean. Still, as I mentioned, I was surprised to find how many of my favorite sites did publish feeds. I don't feel so bad expecting them now, and see either the lack of feeds or lack of feed options (as you said, news only, sports only, a specific columnist only) as a weakness of the source, and not Google Reader. And good feeds, contrary to some web publishers' beliefs, don't have to hurt pageviews -- The Advertiser has several feeds, and I've definitely noticed I'm visiting their site more because of them.
          Originally posted by scrivener
          One reason I've never gone with a true aggregator is CNN: When suddenly there was this station that had twenty-four hours to fill with "news," the definition of "news" changed dramatically. Something had to fill that time, whether there was real news or not!
          A good point. On a slow news day, your aggregator can suddenly fill up with breathless stories about the evils of MySpace or the regional cat show semifinals. But, while the 24-hour news cycle has changed what's published, I've found people have similarly adapted to how they consume it. In Google Reader, I can space space space through twenty items in twenty seconds, or just "Mark All As Read" when it's clear there's nothing interesting there. And again, having the updates come to me sure beats wasting time loading the full site before realizing I'm not interested in what's there.

          Also, one thing Google Reader claims to do, though I've not yet tested it, is "auto" organize how your feeds are presented. It can track which of your feeds churn out a hundred updates a day (a newspaper site), and which only gives you a post a week if you're lucky (a friend's blog), and prioritize accordingly, so that CNN doesn't immediately crowd Kimi's musings on love off your front page. If this is done right, it can be a killer feature.
          I like to read Wonkette, but I usually only go over there once in a while, when I think of it. Now, though, I've got this folder for gossip sites (I had to put something with TalkStink, or it's just this folder with one feed -- the English teacher in me won't let me do that). I guess I'll need to figure out where in my daily online life this will all go.
          Indeed. Google Reader could easily free up time I used to spend visiting sites and waiting for pages to load... but instead, I'm just finding more stuff to throw into my reading list! My wife had four gossip sites in her bookmarks list. Now in Google Reader, she's got ten!
          Originally posted by scrivener View Post
          My shared list is here, and pz's is here, if anyone wants to see that in action.
          I'm loving this, too. And of course I'll subscribe to your "shared items" feed. I enjoy your personal journal, but you can also gain insight into someone through what they find interesting in the world around them! I like how it feels, when reading through my feeds, to click "Share This" when I find an article particularly interesting. It might not be worth a whole blog link and write-up, but I'd like to highlight it publicly somehow. It's a link blog that takes no effort to maintain!

          Even better, Google Reader has added a Javascript widget so that you can include the links to the items you've shared on your own website. I added the little headline box to the sidebar of my blog. It's two, two, two blogs in one!

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Google Reader

            This is cool. I like having all these tools (email, chat, and now RSS!) all under one service. I never bothered with RSS before because it was a hassle to maintain a separate RSS reader. Having it available through Google is a big plus in my book.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Google Reader

              If you use Firefox and have Greasemonkey installed, there's an extension that lets you see Google Reader feeds inside GMail... getting you all your information in one place.

              If you're not willing to get that geeky, remember that you can also add a Google Reader module to your customized Google homepage, so you can see your latest items alongside your latest Gmail messages alongside your Google Calendar alongside your...

              By the way, Google Reader also has a mobile interface. Keep up with your feeds on your phone or PDA, browse Slashdot in line at the grocery store, keep up with your sister's blog in the dentist's waiting room. Great stuff.

              I love how Google is slowly "replacing the desktop" like everyone's predicted. Not by coming out with a Windows killer or standalone web OS, or one specific application (though they did buy Writely to be their word processing app), but by developing a wide slate of tools that, eventually, we can't live without!

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Google Reader

                Does Google Reader not work if you use Safari?

                My browser keeps timing out when I try to load the GR page.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Google Reader

                  I don't use Safari (Camino or Firefox), but it should work. It's among the recommended browsers on the Google Reader "Common Questions" page.

                  Something else I just discovered about Google Reader: You don't always need to find the sometimes hard-to-find or super long URL of a site's RSS/XML feed. In most, but not all, cases, you can actually just type the main address of the site -- "hawaiithreads.com", or "poinography.com" -- and it'll find the feed for you!

                  Sometimes it guesses wrong (some sites have more than one feed), and sometimes it can't find one when there really is one (meaning the site publisher isn't indicating the presence of the feed correctly), but it makes adding sites that much easier. Some feed URLs are insanely long, and I was cutting and pasting like mad... and it turns out all I needed to know was the basic address.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Google Reader

                    Palolo Joe: I have used it successfully with Flock and with Safari. I have noticed with Safari that sometimes clicking feeds in the left side-panel doesn't always produce the expected result in the main panel: I get a message like, "Oops. That didn't work. Try again in a few seconds." However, I've mostly had a pretty smooth experience with Safari and Google Reader.

                    Google Reader has frozen up Flock a few times, or else it did something funky and I was too impatient to see what was going to happen. That was a pain.
                    But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
                    GrouchyTeacher.com

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Google Reader

                      Okay... so it works now.

                      And I'm hooked.

                      Thanks for sharing this, guys.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Google Reader

                        So, Palolo Joe... or Glen or Mel... where are your "Shared Items" feeds? I'm anal, like Scrivener, and want more than one "Shared Items" feeds to make a folder.

                        Thanks to Scriv's "Shared Items," my wife discovered Idolator and added it to her Google Reader set. If she starts sharing stuff, I'll let y'all know.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Google Reader

                          Still working on my list.

                          How do I sort my subscriptions into categories, so I can check all my news subscriptions, or all my entertainment subscriptions, or all my Hawaiʻi subscriptions, without having to wade through my other stuff?

                          Edit: Aha! Folders. Just like in Gmail. Sweet!
                          Last edited by Glen Miyashiro; October 20, 2006, 09:35 AM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Google Reader

                            great info as usual!

                            i was using del.icio.us for my main page with various links because it doesn't need feeds (most of my favorite sites don't have a feed, including my own nightlife one). i really like the little preview thingie of new updates though...


                            i'm going to try out google reader. ryan do you have any advice on how i can .... make an rss.... for my site?


                            ps: you can add my myspace blog feed! use "stufftodooahu" as the username for the mypace service and there you go. (wish i could get away from that place for good).
                            life is ok sometimes

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Google Reader

                              Glen, the folders/labels are great. I don't mind flying through my collection all mixed together most of the time, but sometimes I want to focus on one thing at a time, like, yes, local feeds, Mac feeds, or food feeds. They make it so easy!

                              Christa, to keep this thread focused on sharing the Google Reader love -- that is, consuming site feeds -- I'll pick up your question on how to create a site feed over on the Got Blog? Software and Services thread.

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