Are you a Google Reader gangster?
Do you want to be?
I have to openly admit that I was late to this party.
Only about a month ago did I take the plunge into GR addiction.
I am obviously not an expert, but it has changed my life and I feel like you should be in on this. For the first time in my life I can call myself efficient.
I am a blog reading boss.
Getting started is super easy, especially if you have a Google account.
GR is a browser based application, so there is no need to download software.
Just go to Google.com/reader and sign in using your Google account or you can create a new account.
Then you need to find some good reads.
If you are totally new to this scene then I want to take a second to warn you….blogs will become an addiction and will suck all of your time up like a vacuum. I felt that I should at least give you fair warning, your welcome.
To find blogs to read you can click on “Browse for stuff” or even choose “Staff Picks” for a little taste of what you are in for. You can also enter keywords into the search and browse field at the bottom of the page. That is a really good way to find articles and posts that will be common to your interests.
If you are a veteran at this whole blog reading thing then you probably already have a few favorites. I have found the simplest way to add them is to enter the name or URL into the “Add Subscription” field and usually the very first entry to come up is your bingo.
You can also almost always find an “RSS feed” or subscribe button on blogs, it is super easy to click that button and have it added automatically to your feed after a few prompts.
Now you are reading to get sucked in for hours upon hours….think of Google Reader as a big fat newspaper, and each blog as individual articles.
It is just so easy…now you aren’t going to every blogs page and getting disappointed when they haven’t posted. Even better, now your favorite bloggers can’t sneak a post past you. You are like a spy. Congratulations.
GR will also stalk your life and give you trends on your reading habits. Kinda neat, until you realize how much time you have spent reading other people’s blogs instead of working on your own…panic attack ensues…yada yada yada.
You can also save, star, and share your articles so you aren’t searching the whole world wide web to try and find that article you once read on how to eat as much chocolate as you want without gaining any weight. If you find that article, will you let me know….mmkay thanks.
You can also create folders to organize the blogs once you start amassing quite a collection. You know….food blogs, gardening blogs, DIY blogs, fashion blogs and they all have their own little folder.
If you are pro-status then check out Extensions. Genius.
Now here is the real juicy good stuff you have been waiting for.
There are tons of hot keys…you can basically get around the whole dang place without a mouse. Google is good like that.
You are now ready to rock it.
Since I am still a newbie here….fill me in on some more tips and tricks.
