Posts tagged Google Reader
Following Blogs with FeedDemon, Part 2
0This is the second of two posts on using FeedDemon to track blogs and website feeds efficiently. If you missed the first post, go back and read it now.
Google Reader is adequate for organizing your blog reading, but I am sold on FeedDemon. And here’s why:
- It’s on my desktop, so I can catch up on reading even when I’m not online. Photos don’t show up offline, and I can’t link to the blog site, but I can read the content.
- I can choose to view Full Posts, Summaries, or Headlines in the article list.
- Unread articles show in bold, plus, you can “star” unread articles just as in Google Reader. But in the reading window, you have a number of viewing choices. I use Unread or Starred, but you can choose Unread, Starred, Today, Last 24 Hours, Last 48 Hours, This Week, Last Week, or All Articles.
- Subscribe within FeedDemon if you like, but I usually subscribe with Google Reader. It’s handier when you’re surfing the web, and it syncs with FeedDemon the next time you open it.
- You can easily unsubscribe within FeedDemon. Just right-click on the blog title and choose Unsubscribe.
- If you get too far behind in your reading, you can right-click on the Subscriptions folder and Mark All Feeds Read.
- The Watches folder has subfolders entitled Unread Articles and Starred Articles. If you’re in a hurry, you can just view unread material. If you’ve starred articles to read later, you don’t have to hunt down the blog on the main list. It will be easier to find on the starred list.
When I open FeedDemon, here’s what my display looks like. I do not show the full screen because, if I shrink the graphic to fit the space, you can’t read the text.
And, here’s my reading method. I usually start at the top of the Subscription list. When I click on a blog showing unread articles, it shows them all on the right. I scan the titles. If I’m not at all interested, I Mark All Unread by clicking on the newspaper icon at the top left of the frame. If something looks interesting but complicated, I can leave it marked unread to return to later. Sometimes I’ll read a piece that I might want to read again or use as a reference. I star these articles so they’ll be easier to find.
It’s possible to be subscribed to too many blogs. If I find myself routinely skipping the content of a particular blog, I unsubscribe. Every couple of months, I have a cleanout of my blog list. Like my closet, FeedDemon gets cluttered.
Give FeedDemon a try. Develop your own methods for organizing and reading your subscriptions, and tell me what you think.
How-to Information:
Download FeedDemon 4.0.0.22 here.
Following Blogs with FeedDemon, Part 1
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Are you looking for an efficient way to follow blogs without filling your inbox with e-mail subscriptions? Look no further than FeedDemon, the desktop RSS reader. I’ve been using it for months now, and I love it. I’ve mentioned it before in previous posts, but I think it’s time for an update and some tips on how to use it.
Before we get into the how-to, I want to mention this. A Christian friend was horrified that I would use a tool with the word “demon” in its name. I looked up “demon” on the Merriam-Webster site, and the fourth definition is probably what the creators of FeedDemon had in mind: “one that has exceptional enthusiasm, drive, or effectiveness.” I have to admit that nothing about the name was a put-off for me, but I felt I had to mention that.
FeedDemon is a desktop program that you can download FREE at FeedDemon.com. There are two versions. “FeedDemon Lite is free ad-supported software which contains a subset of the features found in FeedDemon Pro. Features available only in the Pro version are listed here” (copied from FAQ page).
To use FeedDemon effectively, you must have a Google Reader account. FeedDemon syncs with Google Reader so that you don’t have to worry about losing your marked or unread articles. If you already use Google Reader, skip down to the Further Information section for tips on using the reader. Here are some pointers on getting your Google Reader set up.
- If you already use Gmail, you do not need to create a new account. Look for the link to Reader at the top of the Gmail page once you’re logged in.
- If Blogger (Blogspot) is the only Google service you use, go to Google.com and log in with your Blogger username and password. Once logged in, click on More and you’ll see a drop-down list with Reader toward the bottom. Click on Reader, and you’re there.
- For those who are not familiar with how feed readers work, take minute to check out this beginner guide on how to set up Google Reader. Or, you can start with the Google Help Forum.
In the next post, I’ll share my favorite features of FeedDemon and provide information on downloading and setting it up.
This is the first of two posts on how to use FeedDemon desktop RSS reader to minimize your time and effort following blogs.
Further Information:
Google Reader: Cut the Time You Spend Reading on the Web
YouTube video (8 minutes) on how to use Google Reader
FeedDemon Redux
0FeedDemon is still the best way to follow multiple blogs, in my opinion. I’ve written about it in previous blogs here and here. Just after I posted my last rave about FeedDemon, I got an e-mail from Newsgator saying there would be changes, effective August 31, 2009. Here’s my take on the changes.
- There’s an ad in the lower left corner of the FeedDemon desktop. Annoying, but pretty unobtrusive.
- FeedDemon now syncs with Google Reader instead of Newsgator, which is an improvement, I think. I usually recommend Google Reader for beginners to feed-reading, because there are online tutorials on how to use it and it’s easy to use. Once a beginner has learned to use Google Reader, it’s easy enough to move to FeedDemon for more efficient blog tracking.
- I think it runs a bit slower than the old version, but I really can’t complain.
Go to the FeedDemon site for a complete overview including features description and screenshots. I welcome comments from anyone who uses another feed reader. If you would like to write a guest post on an alternate feed reader, e-mail me at akinemily[a]gmail.com.
Followup on FeedDemon: I Love It!
0Update (7-30-09): Since I posted this, Newsgator has made some changes in how they do things. There will be a new version of FeedDemon that can sync with Google Reader, but it is not clear to me at this point whether it will still be free. More later on this.
In a previous post, I mentioned that I had started using Newsgator’s FeedDemon to track blog posts. See the May 20, 2009, post here. I described some of the basic features in that post, but I have since discovered a number of other goodies in FeedDemon. (more…)
Update: Google Reader Tutorials Online
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Do you subscribe to blogs by e-mail subscription? If you have too much e-mail already, you might prefer to subscribe in a reader using RSS feed. There’s plenty of information about this on my Subscribing by RSS Feed page, but I just found another great resource I’d like to share with you.
Authortechtips.com has a post with some video tutorials on using Google Reader that are just excellent. Link to the post here.
I’ve recommended Google Reader to people wanting to use RSS feeds because so many people because it’s simple to use and tutorials are not hard to find. If you have a Gmail address, just log in to Gmail and look for the Reader link at the top. If you don’t have Gmail, go to www.reader.google.com to create an account.
Once you set up your Google Reader, come back to this blog and subscribe! Also, see the links to my other blogs in the sidebar to your left.
Blogs and Feeds
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On one of the online groups I belong to, someone asked, “What are feeds and how do I learn to use them.” Not a direct quote, but close. This person had tried to find answers on the Net, but she said the information she found was too technical for her as a beginner. This post is an attempt to solve her problem.
Six Apart has a great beginners’ explanation of feeds. Click here to read the entire article, then come back for my specific recommendations on how to get started using feeds to follow other people’s blogs.
The article mentions several feed readers (or aggregators) that can be used to make following blogs efficient. Google Reader is easy to use, and there are online tutorials where you can learn how to use it. If you don’t have a Google account, you have to set one up at www.reader.google.com. Once you set up your username and password for Reader, you can use Gmail and other Google services from the same account.
For those who already have a Google account, just log in to your Gmail account. Reader appears as one of your choices at the top of the page. Click on Reader. The help section doesn’t really tell you much unless you know something about feed readers, so I suggest you go to the video tutorials at Butterscotch.com and work through all of the lessons on using RSS feeds and Google Reader. There are several, but here’s the link to the first one.
If you don’t have a Google account and don’t want to open one, you can use any one of a number of feed readers recommended in the Six Apart article. I have tried Bloglines and Newsgator myself. Both are free services, so I suggest you try them both before making your decision on which you will use. Sign up for a Bloglines account at http://www.bloglines.com/. Newsgator can we used online, or you can download FeedDemon for use on your computer. To get started with Newsgator, set up your account at http://www.newsgator.com/.
If you just want to keep it simple, Google Reader is your best bet. Once you are familiar with how the feed reader works, you can check out the others.
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New Year, New Computer Stuff
0Online groups and some blogs have alerted me to potential security problems with Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 (which I really liked), so I have switched to Mozilla Firefox Web browser. Some of my friends were already using Firefox, having been told that it was more secure than IE.
I switched a couple of weeks ago, and, so far, Firefox is fine. I do think it’s a little faster than IE. The bookmark process is different, so I had a bit of a learning curve there. On IE7, I used the Favorites menu feeds feature to track my RSS feeds. I didn’t immediately find a similar feature on Mozilla, so I just transferred all my feeds to Google Reader. If you have Gmail, you don’t need a new password to use Reader.
I spent my Christmas cash on MS Office 2007 Small Business, so I now have the latest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Outlook. Another learning curve! I still haven’t found all my favorite commands on Word. I tried importing my RSS feeds into Outlook, but I didn’t like it as much as I like Google Reader. The updating process seemed to slow down my e-mail delivery. With Google Reader, I can stay logged in as long as I’m online and check periodically for updates.
Also, I got a Bamboo Fun input device for Christmas. I’ve installed it and fiddled around with it some, but I’m still really in the dark as to what this gadget will do for me. More on that later, I guess.
