Comments on: 5 Tips for Getting the Most out of Google Reader

By: Mike Dunham

Mike Dunham — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:24:15 +0000

I use a strategy similar to Ricky Cadden’s, except I use Firefox plus the Read-it-later extension, which allows me to add to my “to read” list either from within G-Reader or by marking whatever page I happen to be visiting.

Also, if you use Google Alerts, you can have the results delivered in Reader instead of by email, which is what I do to keep my inbox clear.

ADDED: To be evangelizing Google, it’s pretty lame that this side doesn’t recognize Gmail’s plus-sign trick for email addresses (e.g., “my_regular_email+gigaom@gmail.com”).

By: malabona

malabona — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 21:07:41 +0000

thanks , this gonna help me a lot

By: Antonio Piccolboni

Antonio Piccolboni — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 23:34:15 +0000

As to Brian T.’s last suggestion, I found that it doesn’t work on Google’s public bookmark lists, which are feed-less. Weird.

By: brian t

brian t — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 23:15:15 +0000

I also have a “critical” folder, though I call it “A-list” so it’s at the top when the folders are sorted alphabetically. The “Z-list” is for feeds on Strike Two, last stop before unsubscribing. Once I’ve looked at the “A-list”, and a few other things (depending on time and how I feel), I do G A (go to All) to show all remaining posts. This only makes sense if you set Show:List instead of Expanded, so all you get are the titles instead of the full posts. I can usually tell, from a scan of the titles, whether there are posts worth looking at – so there’s a lesson in that for headline writers! “Mark Read” takes care of the remains.

One more thing: Reader can be set to monitor sites that don’t publish a feed – possibly by a link to Google’s search engine system. Just enter the site URL in the “Add Subscription” box.

By: subcorpus

subcorpus — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 06:02:21 +0000

came to google reader from bloglines …
need to learn those shortcuts fast !!!

By: Casey

Casey — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 19:30:47 +0000

Thanks for these. I was reading this in my Reader.

By: Nimalan

Nimalan — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:37:44 +0000

I recommend an extension called feedly, it’s basically a firefox/chrome/safari extension that sits atop google reader. It definately beats the spreadsheet styling of google reader with something more akin to a magazine. I haven’t used the desktop version of google reader since switching a year ago.

By: Jokerman

Jokerman — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 04:53:55 +0000

Good list — Over the past two years, I find myself doing everything you have listed except for the full-screen reading method (I find that a tad inconvenient).

I have also set up a tag called ‘Unread’, which I use to earmark items to read at a later, more convenient, time.

This would not only include feeds that I have subscribed to, but also feeds that Google recommends (like the one that led me to this page, for example).

By: James M

James M — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 06:25:28 +0000

One of the best ways for me to interact with Google Reader is through the “Mark All as Read” button. I put the feeds into folders with some broad category names (To Read includes blogs that post 1000+ words at once, Humour, Technology, News, etc.) On days when I’m feeling overwhelmed with the number of unread posts, I’ll target the folders with the most items, and clear them all away with a click. If I’m catching up after several days of not reading, I’ll use the “Mark All Items Older than a Day” as read and clear it all up.

By: Vinit

Vinit — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 04:54:41 +0000

I also recently installed gReader on my Android and it sync’s my google reader feed with my phone. Makes life much easier in an offline environment such as an airplane.
[disclosure: none, actually. I'm just a happy user of gReader ;) ]