February
22
2007
Update:
I just found this Firefox extension for Google Reader! If the GR team adds a blogroll type function, it will be all over!
Summary
I typically use two feed readers – Bloglines and Google Reader but I’m starting to feel like I need to consolidate on one, but which to choose?
Why all of the sudden am I feeling this monolithic need? Well, the other day, for the first time ever (I have tried sporadically over the last several months) I successfully exported my subscriptions from Bloglines and imported them into Google Reader. Previously, Google Reader had refused to recognize my Bloglines OPML file as valid.
So, now that I have my subscribed feeds duplicated on two services AND Google started reporting subscriber numbers last week, in all likelihood I look like two subscribers when I’m in fact one (the more things change yada, yada, yada…) – apologies to all my web analytics pals whose subscriber numbers are now deliberately inflated because of me.
what i like about bloglines
There are two main things that I find really helpful from Bloglines.
The Firefox Bloglines Toolkit Add On (not developed by Bloglines, but made possible because of their API). This add on will periodically poll Bloglines and notify me via a little red dot that I have new items to read.
The sharing feature which serves as my blogroll (yep, that one over on the right side).
what i like about google reader
Ease of use and ease of reading.
Seriously, the river of data view (all new posts) is awesome. I can quickly scan scores of posts and focus on the ones that are of interest to me. I also think that (but have no proof) that Google Reader does a better job of handling multimedia than does Bloglines. Most posts I read in GR I read there in situ because, for whatever reason, the readability is high whereas I find myself clicking through to the original post much more often when I’m in Bloglines.
In a perfect world, either Bloglines would improve their site usability (Frames, really? What year is this again?) and the readability of the posts or Google would add a similar sharing feature and a notifier add on for Firefox and then I’d have a relatively level field to choose against but until then who knows?
What do you think? Which reader do you use (if either) and which do you like better and why?
I use Feedreader (version 3.08). Why?
I like the desktop app functionality much more than all the online readers.
Amazing amount of options on how I want to look at the feeds and what I want to happen to them and how I can manage them.
Strips out all “visual stuff” of a blog and gives me just text on a white background (yet keeps enough formatting to make the text look good).
Manages embedded multimedia very well.
So you see I am a raving fan.
-Avinash.
Thanks for the feedback Avinash. So after all that careful work you do to include images in your posts, you default to not including them when reading other posts? Interesting.
Feedreader is available for free, for those that are interested. Me, I don’t particularly want another desktop app to manage. Maybe when I get Outlook 2007 (which has integrated feed management) I’ll switch to a desktop app, but until then…I’ve still got to choose between Bloglines and Google Reader.
BTW, Bloglines folks, Google Reader folks, if you’re out there, feel free to add your two cents worth.
I use Thunderbird for all my feeds and my email. I love it. I don’t think it manages embedded multimedia very well, but I will put up with it because I only have to go to one place to read email AND feeds. I love the desktop functionality. I like being able to mark and save specific posts in my folders just as if they were email. And then there are all the email issues, i.e. it learns what spam is and filters it out for me (almost flawlessly.)
So you see, I am a bigger raving fan of my software than Avinash is of his.
Another Desktop App! I tried out Thunderbird (I used to be a huge fan of Netscape Mail WAY back in the day) but it just wasn’t worth it for me to use another app.
I use Google reader, but I am interested in a getting a desktop application to use when I am on a plane and want to get through the feed list. My concern is that I will then have to sync between the two tools. Any tips if you can sync up a desktop reader with Google Reader?
Hey Robert! (Sorry I haven’t called you back yet, we still need to get lunch/cocktails on the calendar)
You can export your Google Reader subscriptions from Settings -> Import/Export and then import the resultant OPML file into your desktop app. Then, you would only need to synchronize when you add/remove feeds from Google Reader. I haven’t tried the application that Avinash mentioned but I did just upgrade to Outlook 2007 and it has integrated feed management…
Clint: Sorry for not being more clear, Feedreader will bring all the images and multimedia but it won’t bring all the “extra pretty” web page formatting and the ancillary content etc. But you are right, I spend lots of time on finding the right images and then aligning them just in the right place and with the feedreader some of that beauty is lost.
I also like the off line functionality that Robert mention (since I am on the plane often).
-Avinash.
thanks for the clarification Avinash. Personally, I’m not traveling that much so offline functionality is not that important to me. I did upgrade to Office 2007 last night and now have all my feeds in Outlook, we’ll see how that goes…
[...] months ago, I wrote a comparison of Google Reader and Bloglines trying to figure out which one I would use. Well, almost 6 months have gone by and I am still using [...]