Reading the feeds

On the last day of 2006, I posted an article entitled RSS Triage explaining that I used one aggregator for must-read blogs, another for subject-matter blogs, and yet another for entertainment or spare-time perusal. A fellow named Andreas Weinberger commented with a better solution: put all the RSS feeds into Google Reader and tag them by both priority and subject matter.

I decided to give Google Reader another try, and I am so glad I did. Google Reader gives me everything I want in a reader. It’s easy to add, delete, or tag feeds. I can view lists of blog tites or full text. I can import and export subscription lists in OPML format. From a list of all my RSS subscriptions on the Settings page, I can rename a feed, unsubscribe from a feed, or change what folders I keep it in. If I wanted (and had better vision), I could read my feeds on my phone.

An informal learnscape could make good use of selected feeds. Imagine I want my team to keep up with blog posts by Donald Clark, Harold Jarche, and Jane Hart. On Google Reader’s settings page, I tag Don’s, Harold’s, and Jane’s with some identifier; I’ll use trial_feed. Here’s the output on Google Reader.

If I preferred, I could list recent items right on a page, e.g.,

RSS has the potential to be a wonderful way for workers to stay up to date without a lot of looking for needles in haystacks. I’ve rubbed shoulders with the guys who make some of this stuff. Hence, I’ve been searching for the best reader to do the job. I once relied on Bloglines to keep up with feeds; it was so klutzy, and ugly, that I dropped it. I’ve experimented with widgets like PageFlakes, SuprGlu, and SpeedyFeed. I have tried FeedBlitz, Rojo, Amphetadesk, Blog Bridge, and Sage.

For my needs, Google Reader is the best of the bunch. It’s flexible, easy to use, and doesn’t lock me in.

If you’re not familiar with Google Labs, you may want to visit. Check out Trends, Froogle, and Notes. And if you’re not aware of the components of what’s becoming known as the Google Operating System, go over to the Google Products Page. I can’t live without Gmail, G-docs, Desktop Search, Image Search, Calendar, Picasa, Groups, and Talk.