March 3, 2008 7:42 PM
RSS Readers Explained
Okay, maybe you've been reading blogs for years and don't have the lightest idea what an RSS reader is. Or maybe you've been too busy to figure out how to get one yourself.
I know how that is. I don't have one myself - yet.
But I came across this little clip which shows - very quickly - how an RSS reader can save you lots of time. Then I asked my BlogGuru to put in all the buttons in the right sidebar so you can set up a reader or add MommyLife to your own - kinda like having your newspaper delivered to your door instead of going to the store to get it.
I am all about saving you time - pumping moms up with encouragement, inspiration and a few relevant ideas to ponder while loading the dishwasher. Agatha Christie once said "The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes," which underscores the often-forgotten fact that a mom can grow intellectually and spiritually even while her hads are very, very busy. Just plant some good ideas during the day and muse on them as you work.
The advantage of an RSS reader is that it will cut the clutter so you don't get lost in browsing time. See what you think:
Also, for those of you using RSS readers, which one have you chosen and why? Any advice?
Posted in Blogging | Permalink
Comments
Since I already have a gmail account, I use GoogleReader (http://reader.google.com) and it works very well.
It is not the most feature rich reader out there, but it has all the bells and whistles I need in a simple interface. Highly recommended.
Posted by: King of Fools | March 4, 2008 6:46 AM
Thank you, Barbara, this is so helpful.
Posted by: Lynne | March 4, 2008 8:51 AM
I just started using bloglines a couple months ago and it has revolutionized my blog reading. It really does make things so much faster to just check one site and see all new updates there.
I was a bit intimidated at first, and I still can't figure out how to sign up new blogs using the little sign up buttons on people's websites, but I just type the website address into the "add new feed" section and bloglines has always found the feed for me. It's very easy.
Posted by: Lauren | March 4, 2008 9:29 AM
I've been using and liking Netvibes.com (it's a full on start page that includes an RSS reader), but for the last two days your feed -- and your feed alone -- has not been updating.
Has anybody else had this problem (either with this feed or with Netvibes?)
Posted by: Michelle Potter | March 4, 2008 9:38 AM
I use bloglines.com and LOVE IT. It makes things so much easier, and definitely saves me time as I don't waste time browsing other people's links or blogrolls.
Posted by: Emily C | March 4, 2008 10:38 AM
I use Bloglines. It has saved me a lot of time. I put all my blogs into different folders depending on the category they fit into, Mommy Blogs, Homeschool blogs, Political blogs, religious blogs, etc. I can also "save" certain blog posts for a later reference and keep track of different comments I've left. I can also subscribe to various news services and "google alerts" through bloglines as well. So if I want to get all the news pertaining to "homeschooling" I set up a Google alerts RSS feed for that key word. People often think that I must spend a lot of time on the computer doing research to learn the information, but if you know how to use the tools of the internet, a lot of the work is already done for me. RSS feeds and Bloglines are two of those tools.
Posted by: Spunky | March 4, 2008 11:01 AM
I LOVE GoogleReader! It has simplified my life - cutting down on my surfing time to catch up with my favorite blogs.
Posted by: Amy | March 4, 2008 12:06 PM
I use Bloglines. I'm a huge Google suite of products fan, however I don't love the user interface on Google Reader, so that is the one area I haven't converted yet!
Posted by: Katie B. | March 4, 2008 12:21 PM
I don't know how ya'll survive without a good RSS reader! I love the Google reader and I also use Bloglines!
Posted by: Elena | March 4, 2008 12:29 PM
Oh! You SO need to use a blog aggregator! You will be amazed at how much time you save--not having to open window after window and search here and there for the blogs you read. They're all in one place!
I happen to use Bloglines...not for any particular reason, but I would recommend it to others.
Posted by: Stretch Mark Mama | March 4, 2008 1:20 PM
Internet Explorer 7 has an RSS reader built in. Here is a link for anyone interested. Once you've subscribed to an RSS feed, you can then access them just like Bookmarks or Favorites.
Outlook 2007 also has this feature. In this case, the updated feeds arrive in a manner very similar to emails.
I don't use the IE7 version much, but the Outlook RSS reader is indispensable to me.
Posted by: Chap | March 5, 2008 1:33 AM
Alertle is the perfect RSS reader for mainstream users. You can browse through 100s of feeds and a lot of articles within a few seconds on it. Its got few things going for it:
- Unique 3-panel interface
- Website feeds arranged as big, desktop-like icons
- Intuitive keyboard shortcuts (up/down arrows..)
- Autoplay - you can choose a speed to play your headlines, from 2 seconds onwards. Just grab a coffee and enjoy reading your blogs :)
Check it out at http://www.alertle.com.
For a comparison with Google Reader, see http://blog.alertle.com/?p=10
Posted by: Varun Mathur | March 5, 2008 7:50 PM
I can't imagine reading blogs without Bloglines! With one click, you can instantly see if anyone has a new post. If you don't have time to click on a blog that has a new post, bloglines keeps it listed as "new" until you get to it. You can also check a box to keep one "new" as well. It's especially nice for staying connected with the blogs of people who only post once in a while.
Posted by: marian | March 6, 2008 12:07 AM
I use Mozilla Thunderbird for RSS feeds. For a list of features, see http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/features.html.
Posted by: Fr. Larry Gearhart | March 6, 2008 2:01 PM
