Monday, September 28, 2009

Thing 28, Google Reader

Google Reader



I did not know that Google at an RSS reader. I like that as it means one less username/password to set up and memorize. I did set up a Bloglines account first in a RSS class and revisited it in the O What a Geek program. I don't check it regularly. I can't recall the username/password although I know where I can find that information.

So in that respect the Google Reader, as I already use Blogger and Gmail is easier to use. Which of course is one of the things that Google excels at -- making things easier for all of us. So we'll use it. I set up an account -- it was very easy. I added a bunch of cooking related blogs (NYT Bitman, Epicurious and the Bento Box one) and then went back and added NE Learns 2.0 and a few participants blogs.

I went and found my Bloglines account info and followed the instruction to upload those feeds. It was pretty straight forward. I didn't see straight away how to get rid of that account as I don't see the need for two such things.

I put in a widget on my blog to share a reader feed (for a Bento Box recipe).

What I like about Google Reader. Easy to remember password. Pretty easy to navigate/familiar layout and navigation.

What I don't like about Google Reader. Stalkerish aspects -- follow people?!? The Google wants you on all these things and then to connect them together. Not sure I want to do that -- and I don't have to but it seems a bit creepy. Bland layout. Still have to log in and check on things.

Overall what I have found best for keeping up with feeds is www.tabbloid.com Here I set up a bunch of cataloging blogs and I get a weekly pdf of the feeds sent to my email. I can scan through them and see what I want to read further. The convenience here outweighs anything else.

Generally I like Google Reader better than Bloglines but it is still another website to check -- better than checking each website individually but I prefer to use tabbloid for the professional blogs I really want to keep up with.