Okay everyone, it’s time to de-lurk for a minute because I need to discuss something. Are you using a feed reader to read my site? If so, I would love to know which one. What made you choose that particular reader over another? I see in my referral stats that people are most often using Google Reader, Bloglines, or Livejournal’s syndication. I’m sure there are others that just aren’t showing up.
I’ve long resisted readers. The reason for that is that I like to see everyone’s designs and sidebars and whatnot. I can’t see someone’s flickr photos unless I also subscribe to that particular RSS too. I don’t get to see someone’s new layout unless they specifically mention it and I click over. By visiting each site separately via my blogroll I can see all those things, I can see new buttons and doo-hickeys that they’ve added to their sidebars, and I get the full experience.
On the other hand, enough people mention that they’re using one feed reader or another that I’m starting to wonder if I’m missing out on something. I wonder if maybe it would be faster to read things through feeds because I wouldn’t have to click through and wait for things to load.
What are the pros and cons of using a reader for your favorite blogs? Do you still take the time to comment on entries or is it too much hassle to bother clicking through for that? Does it speed up the time it takes to read all the blogs you want to read? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I lovelovelove using Google reader. I only recently started using it and it is so convenient. I click through when I want to comment. But it makes it so much easier to read my favorites quickly. It highlights unread posts so that I know who updated without having to go directly to the site. AND I can read it on my cell phone! So, when I’m waiting for my latte at starbucks, I can read a blog post or two. 🙂
Looooooooooove Google Reader, almost 200(!!) subscriptions. To say it makes it easier to keep up is an understatement! Of course w/o a Reader, I couldn’t keep up with that many but also without Reader, I wouldn’t have ever tried!
So, yes it can make it easier and faster but as it also makes it crazy easy to keep subscribing, I’m not sure it’s a time saver, overall!
I use Google Reader, for the simple reason that I have over 300 blogs on it. Though there are advantages as you mention to going to the website, there are more to the feed reader:
1. You don’t have to check for updates. It does all the checking for you, and presents every new post in chronological order.
2. No ads, no big graphics, no waiting for complicated sidebars to load.
3. You don’t have to remember every blog you might want to check. You just click on “All” or the category you want and it shows you all the new posts. It also helps for seldom-updated blogs that you’d give up on checking after a while. Google never forgets.
4. You can “star” or bookmark individual posts, and it remembers what posts you’ve read and what you haven’t.
I use Google Reader and don’t know what I would do without it. I love it for many of the same reasons mentioned above. I can read more blogs in less time because I don’t have to click on each site. It lets me know when a blog is updated without having to keep checking for updates. I also subscribe to a lot of techie type blogs that I don’t want to read every post on. It makes it much easier to scroll, scan, and move on if it is something that doesn’t really interest me. I do sometimes miss the whole blog experience, but if it is a blog that I read all the time, I will click over to comment and I still get to see the layout, etc.
I’m using FeedDemon to read all the web design & development blogs I keep on. In that case I’m really looking for updated content faster than I could get it by clicking through each website individually for updates.
I used to use Bloglines, but now use Google Reader. I admit that I don’t comment as often because I am in the reader, but it gives me the opportunity to READ more blogs, which is really my highest priority in this area. Plus, I can share blog posts in my sidebar straight from Google Reader so that I can acknowledge posts I love.
I was all geared up to sing the praises of GoogleReader, but several other people have beat me to it. For me, it’s come to a point where I won’t read a blog if I can’t subscribe to it. Layouts are generally just a distraction – I don’t pay any attention to them (contrast this to five or six years ago when I would spend days working on a new layout for my blog). Using a reader hasn’t really saved me time as much as it has allowed me to follow three times as many blogs as I used to. Love it, love it, love it!
I started with Bloglines but now use Google Reader. I like it much better. I much prefer only reading updated sites. Having to fish through every link to only find nothing there is frustrating to me. There are still several I have to click through on because they don’t share all their feed but that’s a big deal for me. And I click through if I want to comment. 😉
Feed Reader? I didn’t know such a thing even existed … but I’ll check it out now. Thanks.
You’re all making a strong argument for me here! Now tell me, Google Reader is clearly winning in the chosen feedreader category. What is it about Google Reader that makes it better than all the others? Is it because it’s like every other Google product in that it rocks, plain and simple, or is there some special feature that puts it above the rest?
I like Google Reader and Bloglines, but I haven’t really used either of them in a long, long time. I like Google Reader just because it’s easy to set up, looks clean and I can access it and keep track of what I’ve read whether I’m at home or at work.
I’m so disenchanted with the world of blogs lately that I only follow people if they post on LiveJournal. If they have a separate site (like yours) then I add it using LiveJournal’s syndication feature and follow it on my friends list, but I definitely wouldn’t want to do that large-scale.
Unless I’m going to comment though, I can’t stand going to someone’s site. If they don’t have an RSS feed or a notify list, there’s no way in hell I’m going to bother following them. (Actually, I follow one person who has neither, but that’s just because I’ve been reading her for YEARS and I still can’t remember to check her site more than once a week or so.)
I love me some Bloglines and click through to comment or if the feed isn’t showing pics.
I use Google. I resisted for a long time but it’s just so much easier. And by easier I mean I no longer have to wonder who has updated their blog and who hasn’t. You just click through to comment if you want. I like Google because I use other Google services and it’s just nice to have everything in one place.
I don’t use any of that RSS/feed stuff. hehe 🙂 I like clicking on each link individually and visiting ~ just for the reasons that you mentioned. I like seeing all of the features of a site ~ Flickr, new layout/design, sidebars, etc. That’s just me. 🙂
I use google. I used to use bloglines. I like Google’s presentation better. – also it has some features with folders and stars that I like.
I just like a feed reader to tell me when there’s a new post – and then I come read it.
I read you from my Criteo Autoroll, but to answer your question – I use Google Reader 65% of the time, Feedreader at home (sometimes) and Bloglines once in a while. I also use feeds extensively from my Pageflakes page.
Using feeds has been a bit of fun, excitement and ease, as well as a bit of perplexity. In that, the amount and the size of the feeds I use has gone UP WAY UP.
When I started blogging (some 5 or so years ago) I had at best 10 feeds – including my own blog’s
Now – my Google reader has upwards of 500 blogs’ and a few dozen news sites. While feedreader at home tracks a bare minimum of 800 (including all the corporate blogs – google, microsoft et. al)
I make it a point to visit all my blog friends’ place physically, track the other blogs via google reader once in 2 days and the others once a fortnight. It’s a miracle I even get work done.
I use Bloglines. Reading through RSS is faster than checking blogs individually to see if they have updated. I do still comment on blogs.
I also use Google Reader to subscribe to blogs. I got here via the BlogHer ad links though.
I will comment if I feel the post warrants it and don’t mind clicking on the link in the reader to visit the blog to do so. Although I’m having trouble commenting on Typepad blogs at present.
Back to the reader thing. I can consume more blogs this way. It’s a big time saver for me which I have written about on my blog.
I just did a post today about how difficult it is to keep up with Bloglines. I’ve decided that I’m going to stop using it. I too like to read a post directly at the persons site. With Bloglines I found I was commenting less because I just clicking “keep new” to go back to it but I would never end up getting back.
Good luck,
Laura
I just did a post today about how difficult it is to keep up with Bloglines. I’ve decided that I’m going to stop using it. I too like to read a post directly at the persons site. With Bloglines I found I was commenting less because I just kept clicking “keep new” to go back to it but I would never end up getting back to it. I’m also tracking way more blogs in Bloglines than I would if I was just using my Favorites.
Good luck,
Laura
I just did a post today about how difficult it is to keep up with Bloglines. I’ve decided that I’m going to stop using it. I too like to read a post directly at the persons site. With Bloglines I found I was commenting less because I just kept clicking “keep new” to go back to it but I would never end up getting back to it. I’m also tracking way more blogs in Bloglines than I would if I was just using my Favorites. I also don’t have the “mental clutter” of knowing all those blogs are sitting there waiting to be read.
Good luck,
Laura
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Google Reader. I have my Google Reader saved to my Google Personal HomePage. This way I have all of my favorite Blogs right at first glance. Your Blog is going to be added right after I finish this comment.
I will also be adding your Blog to my BlogRoll. You can check out my Blog at http://www.abchomepreschool.com/PreschoolEducationBlog/ . I’m hoping that you will want to do the same 😉
Keep up the great work.
Shana Albert
http://www.abchomepreschool.com/PreschoolEducationBlog/
I follow about 400 blogs and use Google Reader. There is NO WAY I would be able to keep up on more than about 50 without it.
as you can see many people use and love 6 Google Reader. For now I think this is the best solution for everyone.