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For my “techie” post of the week, I want to explain the basics of Google Reader.
Recently, RSS feeds have changed the way we find material (actually, the way material finds us) on the internet. Instead of having to go and seek out this information, it is now coming directly to us.
To sort, receive, and manage all of these “feeds,” feed catchers have popped up all over the place. My favorite, of course, is Google Reader.
Google Reader lets you subscribe to these feeds easily by typing them into an address bar and then lets you read them like you’re browsing through e-mail.
Because Google Reader is a browser based application, there is no application to download or install.
1. To start using Google Reader, simply go to the main page and sign in using your Google account. If you don’t have a Google account, you can make one within a matter of minutes.
2. Once you have signed in, you need to input feeds to start browsing. Look at the picture above and click the “Add a subscription” button. To input the feed, simply type in the URL associated with that feed.
4. If you are entirely new to the world of blogs (or if you want to expand your reading), click on the “Browse for stuff” link and go to the “Browse” tab.
5. Another way to subscribe to blogs (and the one that I use most often) is to locate the “Subscribe To This Feed” button on the blog of the site you wish to follow. If the blog is well designed, it should be fairly easy to find and subscribe. Hopefully you guys are using FeedBurner now 
Trends and Keyboard Shortcuts
You can analyze your reading habits are by clicking “Trends” in the menu bar on the left side. For me, this helps me analyze what blogs I’m reading and what blogs I’m not reading. If I’m not interested in a blog anymore, it’s likely I will unsubscribe.
Yes, I subscribe to my own blog. It helps me to make sure that my feeds are posting properly.
Sorting through Google Reader can be pretty quick if you know a few keyboard shortcuts.
- “J” will skip to the next unread item.
- “K” will brings you back to the previous item.
Furthermore…
“2″ will switch to the list view, then you can use “N/P” to scan through the items without opening them. When you find something you want to read, hit the “Enter” key and it will open in full view.
For a complete list of keyboard shortcuts you can go here .
Folders
When you start subscribing to a lot of blogs, your Google Reader can become complete chaos. By creating folders, you can organize your subscriptions by any combination you can think of.
My folders
To create folders…
- Click on any one of your subscriptions in the left navigation bar until it opens up in the main reading pane.
- Click the drop down menu called “Feed Settings” at the top of the page and select the button that says ”New Folder.”
- Type in a desired name and click “Ok.”
That’s it!
You can repeat the process until all of your subscriptions are assigned to a folder. As a side note, you can also add feeds to existing folders by the same process, but click the desired folder instead of “New Folder.”
This is also a great time to change the name of a subscription. Simply click “Rename Subscription.”
Extensions
If you really want to enhance your Google Reader experience you can download customizable features with the use of extensions for Firefox or Google Chrome (I use Chrome).
I really like the Google Reader Notifier extension.
It adds a small icon to your browser that shows how many unread items you have in your reader.
(I don’t have any)
Mousing over the icon pops up a list of the unread items.
This is useful for staying ahead, but it also drives me nuts to see unread posts. It’s a total love/hate relationship.
Saving and Sharing
The bottom of each item from your feed list contains a few options.
- ”Add Star” is great for tagging items that you want to go back and review later.
- ”Share” and “Share with note” show up in your friend’s list of feeds (if you are connected with Google Buzz or GCHAT)
- You also have the ability to email stories to others, mark a post “unread” and add your own customizable tags.
This is why I love Google Reader.
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{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
Dang I know nothing about technology.. someday I will get this all down ha. Until then I will just stick with my kindergarten blog lol
Tara @ The Game of Life recently posted..Inspiration
I LOVE YOU FOR THE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS! You don’t know my love for them. I can’t believe I didn’t know about these already. I don’t use Google to its full potential, and hope to utilize it more to make life easier.
Alicia from Poise in Parma recently posted..ten things this tuesday- if I was mayor of Parma…
I subscribe to myself as well
Lesley Lifting Life recently posted..Sunday-side up
I hope you subscribe to me too
COnfession: I do not use Google REader. Worse Confession: I actually have no idea was an RSS feed is (bad me!!). But when you describe this, it looks like the Favorites Bar I keep on the left side of my screen. You can file favorites in different folders and then open them up and click on each one (I have a blog folder and I just run down my list to see if there’s anything new).
But it sounds like the difference between Google Reader and my Favorites Bar is that Google REader only puts the blog up on there if there is a new post? Do I have this right? Does it tell you somehow that a new post on a blog has been posted? Or just keeps all your websites in order?
Rae recently posted..One Pot Wonder
Correct.
In Google Reader, it will show blogs that have unread posts. Trust me, this is way faster than going through every single blog. Especially when you read over 50 like I do.
Google Reader lover too.
Actually… Google lover in general. Gmail, Google Docs, Google Reader, GChat… So awesome.
Lynn (The Cream Filling) recently posted..My Hair Smells Like Chlorine But That’s Okay
Google. Is. AWESOME.
I love google reader — I honestly can’t believe I didn’t use it for the first few months of blogging — I would just randomly check blogs, and in doing so, I’d miss posts or I’d forget about some blogs for weeks at a time. I just felt so unorganized.
I didn’t know about those shortcut keys and I definitely need to organize everything into folders — I remember you mentioning having a folder for each month and then determining which ones you want to keep reading.
Holly @ The Runny Egg recently posted..Welcome to The Runny Egg!
I love my monthly folder!
I would definitely recommend that you use folders.
By the way, I read your post this morning. Hit me up if you need someone to talk to.
This is a really good overview. I don’t know what I would do without my reader! Nice to know you’re batting 100% on my posts. Good luck on your test today!
Jennifer@ knackfornutrition recently posted..Bundle of anticipation!
We are pals! I gotta make sure you are still alive
Awesome tutorial! I don’t use google reader because I had no idea how…thanks for this!!!
Reader rocks. There’s no way i could keep up to date with my fave blogs by manually going through them each day. Act that Test!
rohan recently posted..44 Washington DC Zoo
Don’t forget the “Next” button! Somewhere in preferences you can opt to put a “Next” button up in your bookmarks bar. That way, every time you click it, it refreshes your browser taking you to the actual post page instead of just reading them in Reader. I do this because I like to see the post on the sites homepage with all the pretty graphics and such. Also, lots of bloggers receive ad revenue, and if you’re only seeing their posts in Reader they aren’t getting those views counted toward their totals to get paid. I like to help out other bloggers this way.
Alayna @ Thyme Bombe recently posted..Introducing- RipeTrack
I LOVE the next button! I can’t believe I left that out! I think it will get its own post
I also have a “subscribe” button bookmarked. Love that thing.
That’s a great post. I think a lot of people done’t know anything about readers and I think a lot of people read blogs regularly and have no idea how much easier it is if you subscribe to the RSS.
MichaelRunner recently posted..Giving 100 Percent to be Half an Ironman
People need to get with the program
I love your “techy” posts! I’ve used Google Reader since I began blogging and am in love with it. I never even noticed the “trend” section before now though… I’m playing around with it as we speak. Definitely a neat application! Do you know if it counts the post as “read” if you click on the post to get to the site? Or does it refer to “read” as scrolling through the post from Google Reader?
Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope recently posted..Super Cereal
If you click on the post to get through the site from Google Reader, it will mark it as read.
Thank you… that makes sense!
Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope recently posted..Super Cereal
No problem!
So helpful and definitely very easy to understand, for a non- techy person like me. I have my methods for how I go about google reader, as well as who I choose to subscribe to. Very similar to your methods.
Emilia recently posted..Potatoes And Eggs
Thanks for the tips! That helped me clean up my reader which was getting ridiculous!
Jessica @ Healthy Obsessions recently posted..Thank you Rachael Ray!
I may have to read through that a few times before I get it.
Thank you for the info!!
Alaina recently posted..Coconut Almond Chicken and Coconut Lime Rice
What’s up with Google asking for my cell number to give me a passcode when I tried to create my account? Not sure I feel comfortable doing that.
I am familiar with Google Reader but I’m not a fan!! Mostly because you can’t comment in GR, and I am a commenter
Nicole, RD recently posted..Overnight Steel Cut Oats
Definitely did not know about the shortcut keys!! Thanks, Matt! I am using feedburner now thanks to you – I still have a long way to go, but baby steps
Corey @ the runner’s cookie recently posted..Brunching at Biltmore
This rocks, as usual. I keep trying to use GR, but it really is overwhelming to me. I just hate having a thousand unread things “pressing”, y’know? I’ll try your tips and hopefully that will help keep things less chaotic
Katie @ Nourishing Flourishing recently posted..Simple Savory Date Tapenade
I love google reader and have mine pretty well organized like yours. Occasionally I get so overwhelmed by how many unread items that I end up marking all as read. It gets to be a bit much!
I use Google Reader but I’ve never seen the trends button. I still can’t seem to find it! I use Safari. Does that make a difference or am I just blind? I’m sure it’s the latter.
Lee recently posted..Farmer’s Market Grain Dinner
Oh it’s there
LOOK HARDER!
Ohhhh Reader. I have a total love/hate relationship with it, haha!
Gabriela @ Une Vie Saine recently posted..Smoothie Spinning
Great tutorial! I never realized there was a folder functionality–thanks for the tip.
I found your last mini-post on google reader to be really helpful (I now use folders and it’s a lifesaver thanks to you!) and this post just blew my mind even more! i had no idea there were features other than just…uh…reading.
(p.s. I think I’ve loved ALL of your techie posts! I’m learning so much!)
Jess@HealthyExposures recently posted..Who Wants to Win Some Coconut Oil
GR actually helped introduce me to blogging/starting my own blog. I saw everyone else doing it when I searched it for running blogs. It is a definite must-have. I don’t know how people follow blogs effectively or efficiently without reader or some other program. I used to care about # unread items but I’ve gottn over that. I’m always a little behind but i like knowing I have a few things I can read / comment on when I’m bored at work. (I don’t think I would have survived this long at my zzz desk job without it, that’s for sure)
Thanks man! I’ve been trying to figure this out forever!
Chuck recently posted..Do You
I use Reader, but for some reason haven’t done much exploring into the options. I’m in need of separate folders to organize all of the blogs I subscribe to! Thanks for another great tutorial, Matt
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Okay, I’m sold, I have a google reader account, but I fail to use it as often as I should, going to make a conscious effort to change that, AND I just subscribed to your blog
Amanda @ The Artsy Kithcen recently posted..Sevens
Woo
ugh…this has been on my to do list for months….i’m old school!! that means if I go to your blog and read it, it takes extra effort. FEEL GRATEFUL!
Yeah I used it for a while but, then it annoys me to have hundreds or thousands of unread posts. I just stick to twitter to keep track of blog posts. Easier and less overwhelming.