Tools That I Use: Google Reader
The one online tool that I use more than any other is Google Reader. It allows me to rapidly make sense of the fire hose of information circulating on the web, keep up with my favorite blogs, perform vanity monitoring on my person and projects, and effortlessly wire my online contributions into more useful formats. I love it and I thought that I might recommend it to you.
The first thing that you need to know is that, at its core, Google Reader, is nothing more than an online RSS Reader application. What is RSS you ask? Let’s check Wikipedia –
“RSS (most commonly expanded as "Really Simple Syndication") is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format. An RSS document (which is called a "feed", "web feed", or "channel") includes full or summarized text, plus metadata such as publishing dates and authorship. Web feeds benefit publishers by letting them syndicate content automatically. They benefit readers who want to subscribe to timely updates from favored websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. RSS feeds can be read using software called an "RSS reader", "feed reader", or "aggregator", which can be web-based, desktop-based, or mobile-device-based. A standardized XML file format allows the information to be published once and viewed by many different programs. The user subscribes to a feed by entering into the reader the feed’s URI or by clicking an RSS icon in a web browser that initiates the subscription process. The RSS reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for new work, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds.”
The above description of RSS, refers to RSS Readers. Once upon a time that meant a desktop application. Today, that means Google Reader. Besides being one slick RSS Reader, the fact that it is fully API supported and Internet based means that you completely avoid the challenges of syncing your reading across multiple platforms! You can use Google Reader via any web browser, any mobile Smart Phone, and use any operating system to do it. There are even tons of full applications that use its back office support for their database meaning that you can read items wherever you are and never lose track of what you have and have not read!
Of course, Google Reader, is free. You can use it now. Give it a try. They have an awesome help and support page here. They even offer video lessons to get you started. If you are looking for an RSS feed to try with it, you can subscribe to this blog here. Then just look for the symbol in this post on other sites. You will start to notice them everywhere!
Come back later this week and I will discuss how I use Google Reader and RSS to do all the tasks that I mention in the opening paragraph.
Do you use RSS? How often? Do you use Google Reader or another RSS Reader?Please share your ideas below. Also, if you have recommendations on other tools that you use, please let us know.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for March 17, 2010 by Scott Coughlin.
Image Credit: Learn.com
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