By Michelle | January 13, 2009
I’ve always considered myself a fairly Web savvy individual – I stay up on the latest world happenings by logging on to the various news organizations from CNN to the Rapid City Journal. I’ve reconnected with several friends through Facebook. I’m “Linked In” with some current and past colleagues, and I’ve even started “Tweeting.”
But those Internet gods seem to always keep me on my toes. I’m pretty sure many of you have already delved into the world of Google Reader but the application is fairly new to me – hey, it’s a full-time job keeping up with Internet technology.
Anyway, for those of you who may not know about this application here’s the low-down:
If you’re like me, your daily internet browsing ranges from the latest happenings in the Middle East to the newest Boston Red Sox acquisition to a friend’s wild weekend. Instead of checking each of these sites, Google Reader provides and organizes all the information into one convenient location … and it continually updates the latest news throughout the day. It’s like having my very own “one stop info shop”.
Google Reader was officially released by Google in 2005 and made it out of the beta status in 2007. However, Google, as with nearly everything, continually updates the application to make it as user-friendly as possible – I can subscribe to anything from the New York Times site to my best friend’s blog by either using Google Reader’s search function or by entering in the exact URL of the RSS feeds. New posts from the feeds appear on the left-hand side of the screen.
I’ve even subscribed to dictionary.com’s word of the day so I can dazzle my friends and coworkers with my expanded vocabulary!
Keyboard shortcuts – or what I like to refer to as my own “Google Reader code” – helps me quickly explore my reading list without using a mouse (tip: clicking the letter “J” allows me to skip down to the next item on my list).
…And browsing through the limitless news floating through cyberspace would not be as fun if it could not be shared. Those interesting tidbits of news or the newest marketing trends surfacing can easily be spread to the masses by clicking one icon. All my shared items appear on my personal Google Reader page and can also be quickly emailed to my social list of friends and co-workers – networking made easy!
If you’d like to give it a try – click on our RSS on the upper right, subscribe with Google, add the feed to Google Reader, sign-in or create an account, and you’re done! Now you will be updated everytime we post!
More? Here’s a video by CommonCraft illustrating the ease of using Google Reader:
About the authorMichelle worked as a social generalist in RSA's interactive media department. She enjoys a good, healthy debate, has an affinity for spicy foods, hopes one day to be fluent in at least three languages, and enjoys running (even when she isn't being chased.)
1 person had this to say about "Google Reader 101"
From Jillian | January 13, 2009 at 6:44 pm:
Good post. I was just wondering about Google Reader, and poof: the low down.