Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Google Reader, MY Way

I'm continuing in my mission to organize, and today I made a change that will be a happy improvement. I love it when a small thing can be a big, happy improvement.

I use Google Reader to read the blogs I follow. I know there are other blog aggregators out there, but I've gotten used to Google Reader and now especially love how it integrates to Flipboard so I can read my favorite blogs on my Ipad as if I'm flipping through magazine pages. All along, my blogs have been listed in Google Reader in alphabetical order. So, even though they are organized neatly by title, they are a big jumble in terms of content. I follow, from time to time, a variety of blogs -- art and food and home dec and quilting and drawing and special needs issues and parenting and political commentary and reading and just fun stuff. I've often wished I could sort the blogs by topic, so when I'm in the mood to cruise the home dec blogs, say, they'd all be together.

Well, turns out it's no big mystery. I queried Mr. Google himself and learned that Google Reader lets you create different folders and sort the blogs on your list into them -- so you can have daily reads in one folder, less frequent things in another. And you can do what I did, which was create separate folders by topic, and sort the blogs into the appropriate folders. So now my blogs are sorted, into folders like "Quilt Art" and "Photography" and "Books and Reading" and more.

We'll see how it all works once I check it on Flipboard, but I'm quite pleased. Who knew it was so easy?!

4 comments :

  1. Thank you so much for introducing me to Flipboard!! I love it! I was just saying to dear husband the other day that reading my blogs was better than buying some magazine on the rack because I choose the subjects, etc. Now, Flipboard has made my google reader my very own magazine! Even Facebook and twitter are like magazines. This has to be one of the best apps out there. Thanks again for sharing your tips and art. Pat

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  2. I was a reluctant convert to Google Reader after Bloglines changed and I still don't like GR much except for how it integrates with other applications, especially Flipboard. did you know there is Flipboard for Iphones now? (Not that I ave an iphone.)

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  3. By the way, ave you tried the Zite app? It analyses your Google Reader feeds and prduces a multi-section magazine for you pulling in feeds on those subjects. Then you train it for what you like and want to see more of. I haven't found it so good for textile art but it's briiliant for technology subjects and probably many other fields (eg education) that I haven't delved into. It also has integration with the Read it Later app.

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  4. Zite is one of my favorite apps, Brenda! It's definitely an interesting way to find content I'd not otherwise have found. I've also been exploring Feedly after my brother told me about it. So many apps, so little time!

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