Ramblings-n-Writings

Archive for October 11th, 2008

Yesterday I mentioned that I was no longer happy with Bloglines, the RSS feed reader I use. I went on a hunt for a new one and discovered Google Reader (GR). Here’s what I like about GR and how it compares to Bloglines:

• I was able to easily import my Bloglines subscription list (including my folder organization) to GR. Having never imported a list to Bloglines, I assume that it is just as easy. But if you are worried about switching to GR, it’s quite simple!
• GR is web-based so I can access my feeds from any computer. Bloglines is also web-based.
• GR shows all of a blogs previous posts so I can easily browse the list to find a post I want to re-read. Bloglines removes the post when you read it, unless it is marked to save.
• I have the ability to “star” posts that I think are important for future reference. I can look at my “star” list to find a post and don’t have to remember who wrote the post. Bloglines saves marked posts but only files them under the original blog so you have to know which blog it came from to find it.
• GR recommends blogs I might like. (I found a couple of nice garden blogs that I’m now subscribed to.)
• GR tracks trends and shows me graphs and stats about my usage and about blog activity. Not entirely necessary in a reader but interesting to look at for people like me. =)
• My Firefox GR add-on shows the number of new posts. Bloglines required a mouse-over to see the number.
• The Firefox add-on also has a mouse-over pop-up that shows the name of the updated blogs. I like this feature because when I notice there’s a new post, I can see if it’s from a favorite blog and one I want to take a break to read.

So I’m glad I made the switch. If you use Google Reader, what features do you like?

By the way, did you know that you can subscribe to Ramblings-n-Writings? It’s really easy! In the far right column, there’s a “Subscribe to This Blog” feature. Just choose your RSS reader. Help me grow my subscription numbers!!! =)