a blog reader…

March 30, 2009

so, do you use a reader to read blogs?

if you have no idea what i am talking about, in a minute [no offense] you are going to want to hit yourself in the forehead and wonder why you didn’t do this a long time ago.

readers are nice because all you have to do is sign up for a reader like google reader, bloglines, etc.. and you can subscribe to your favorite blogs, and even organize them by folder and keep your favorite posts. but, the best feature is that the blog will highlight when the blog owner has updated their site. so, you don’t have to sit around going from blog to blog to see if there is anything new to read out there.

it is such a time saver and i’ve been using a reader for quite sometime. i used to use bloglines, but i noticed it was acting up a lot and would take forever to update sometimes never updating at all. so, i recently switched to google reader and i’m loving it! i didn’t want to take the plunge and switch because i thought i’d have to type in all of my blogs one by one, but nope. it’s super easy. you can export your feeds from bloglines and import them to google reader in a snap. it takes minutes.

also, you can star your favorite posts in google reader, and create tags [ie: recipes, crafts, ideas, home decor] so you can go back to that post later.

here’s a few links that will help you set up or switch accounts:

*sign up for google reader here. [if you already have a gmail account you are already signed up, just go to your gmail and a tab on the top will say “reader.”]
after signing up, just hit add a subscription and copy and paste the blog web address you’d like to subscribe to and off you go! below you can hit “manage subscriptions” and create folders if you’d like to organize the blogs by topic, just drag and drop the blog in there. good luck!

*click here to learn how to export your feeds from another reader.

*heather bailey also posted some helpful tips here, and here.

things i don’t like about readers:
*if a blog is private, you cannot subscribe to their feed. [hence, i hardly look at private blogs, just when i remember to]
*some choose to only allow part of the post show in their feeds [they change this in their blogger settings] so you either have to click to the actual blog… or never get around to reading it, [which i’m guilty of]

*people comment less, because you are not actually going onto their blog site, you just look at the pictures and words through your reader so it is one more step to click onto the actual blog and leave a comment.

*since it is so convenient, i’ve found myself subscribing to a zillion blogs which sucks up too much of my time.
anyhow, do share any thoughts/questions you may have on blog readers!! [if you use google reader this post should show up as new right away, if your still using bloglines… see you in a few hours… or maybe never…]

6 thoughts on “a blog reader…

  1. Marissa

    Google reader is great! I am also guilty of having too many subscriptions. I just found a button though that you can drag to your google tool bar- all you do is hit this next button and a new post from your subscriptions will pop up- making it so you can go to the actual blog with the same simplicity of not having to type in the blog address. In your google reader you go to settings, goodies and drag the ‘next’ button (under ‘Put Reader in a Bookmark’) and voila! It also makes it easier to comment 🙂

    Reply
  2. Jill

    i really love google reader. i like that i can scroll back through blogs too.

    i am a habitual commenter, so i think i still comment just as much.

    did you know you can also see how many people subscribe to your own blogs?

    just click show details on the top right when viewing a blog.

    Reply
  3. You are my fave...

    I was just converted recently. I can’t believe it took me so long! It’s the best but definitely a time sucker.

    Reply
  4. Kami

    Hi Caroline! I am friends and neighbors with Suzanne Hart. You are going to love g reader! I did a helpful post right here talking about it. Also I loved this post with shortcut tips. Anyway, just wanted to say hi and share these with you.

    Reply
  5. Alya

    That cartoon up there sooooo describes me everyday! I’ve subscribed to so many blogs which update a million times a day, so my reader is always full of unread posts!

    Its my first time here and your blog is lovely!

    I’d love it if you visited mine. I have a great GIVEAWAY which you can take part in 🙂

    Reply

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