Google Reader – What A RSS Reader Should Be

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This is sweet. I’ve been grappling with Bloglines for the past little while after not getting what I needed out of other RSS readers including My Yahoo!, Google personalized homepage, Netvibes and a handful of other feed-enabled sites and programs that I don’t care to mention.
Matt over at Twist Image HQ asked me if I had given Google Reader a go. Truth be told, I had given up. I was happy with Bloglines. Not thrilled, but happy. I gave Google Reader a shot this afternoon, and within a couple of minutes it was up and running and doing, pretty much, what I had hoped other RSS readers would do (but haven’t).
First off, a simple export of the OPML file from Bloglines and an import into Google Reader went off without a hitch. I was also able to sort the unique feed posts by only showing me new entries I have not read while maintaining my full list of feeds in another section. Love it.
If you’ve been wrestling with finding the right RSS reader, give Google Reader a try and let me know if you’re loving it as much as I am.
Grab it here: Google Reader.

7 comments

  1. Mitch is correct (as he usually is).
    I just installed the Google reader and I find it intuitive and easy to use.
    As a relative newcomer to podcasting, blogging and feeds in general – this ease of use is an absolute pleasure.
    Thanks for the tip Mitch!
    Marko

  2. Mitch:
    Bloglines is my favorite RSS reader. I agree that it isn’t without it’s bugs, but they’re manageable. I’ve just gone into Google Reader and taken another look at it (I’ve tried it a couple of times before). It’s actually easier to use now than it used to be, but I still prefer Bloglines.
    But you’re right: There are also plenty of BAD RSS readers out there.
    They all need to get better if they’re going to be adopted by the mainstream user.

  3. You’re right, this works great. And as with everything Google puts out, it’s just so easy to use. Just one thing, though. Do they have something like the Gmail notifier or do I have to go and check in everytime to see if there is something new?

  4. I would love a desktop notifier. I would also love for it to tell me exactly how many posts are unread. Right now, as soon as you hit 100, all it says is 100+ – not great, but otherwise, it is ultra sweet.

  5. Unfortunately, I don’t see how to use it to populate my blogroll, but bloglines does allow that.
    Blglines has this bad habit of marking all of the posts ion a blog read as soon as you look at any of them.
    I hope pretty soon they either change blogline, or add blogrolls to google.

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