Feed readers vs. Browser + bookmarks

[jMcQuarrie]

I have a folder in my bookmarks called "Daily reads" that has about 60 links in it. Every morning when I get into the office I fire them up in tabs and one by one read through them to see what's going on in the World.

Does anyone else have a similar set up? Or do you all use a feed reader to keep track of your favorite sites instead?

If you use a feed reader, do you ever actually visit the sites you read?

[Jelena]

I prefer feed reader, Bloglines particularly. And yes, I do visit sites that I track with bloglines because sometimes I would like to leave a comment or sometimes if they don't publish complete post in their feeds, I would visit to read through it.

It's just so much easier with feed reader, because I won't visit the site if there are no updates to it.

[ses5909]

If it has a feed, I prefer to read things in the reader as I have a lot of sites in my bookmarks (all organized into their seperate folders) that I save more as good sites to have, not necessarily ones I visit every day.

I will visit the sites if I have something to add, definitely. Forums I typically go to the sites rather than read them in the feeds. I offer feeds here, but I think there are like 4 subscribers to the forum feeds (myself included).

[tetsujin]

Feed readers are very nice, It allows me to check my email, and my websites all in one quick go.

Cameron

[jMcQuarrie]

So the next question I guess is: Can anyone recommend a good reader for a first timer? :)

[Jelena]

As I already said, I like Bloglines (http://www.bloglines.com/), but lots of people prefer Google Reader (http://www.google.com/reader/view/). I haven't tried it out, so I can't comment.

[davemcnally]

I normally just use a bookmarks folder too but have recently found quite a decent vista sidebar gadget which allows you to enter all of your different feeds and it can auto check at your own set intervals.

[Jelena]

Bloglines has little notifier for Windows, which checks for new feeds at defined interval. It doesn't say what feed is exactly updated, it's just shows number of unread feed posts.

[jlee]

I do it the same way as you. I don't need a fancy reader. :)

[ses5909]

I'm very happy with google reader. If i had all of the feeds I subscribe to in my bookmarks PLUS all of the other sites... it would be a complete mess!

[BPartch]

I too use Google Reader and think it is awesome, it has a few bugs but I believe it is still in beta. I recommend it for a beginner/intermediate/advanced useres due to it's ease of use and more....

I cannot comment on any others as I have never used them, though I used to use the Sage add on for Firefox but it was not as cool as GR. :)

[SarahG]

I used to just check live bookmarks but even that slowed me down. Google Reader means I can leave quiet feeds in there and they'll just update as and when without me needing to check the site.

As for visiting, I do if I want to comment or have a look on the site for something.

[chimeric]

I once had a similar setup like you but the number of sites I visit daily increased a lot recently and Firefox gets dog slow if you open lets say 50+ tabs at once ;-). Google Reader is fine, though they seem to have some problems since a week or so. If you like to run your own web based feedreader I`d recommend to have a look at tinytinyrss (http://tt-rss.spb.ru/trac/). I use it since 2 weeks and am overall happy with it.

[jMcQuarrie]

Hi all thanks for the feedback,

@ Jelena - Bloglines sounds good, and a Windows notifier sounds great. Thanks for letting me know about it.

@ Vertexity - Vista hey? Sounds like a great gadget, we're still rolling with XP were I work, so that may have to wait...

@ jlee - :)

@ Sara - Google reader does get a lot of praise. I'm looking into this now as my bookmarks list is getting a little out of control too

@ BPartch - Sage is the only one I've tried in the past, and I'd agree it's not that hot.

@ SarahG - I've now got over 60 sites bookmarked in my daily reads, and it is slowing me down too

@ chimeric - 60+ tabs does take some effort on Firefox's part :) I generally go to get a cup of tea first thing while I wait for all the sites to load, makes it less painful.

I'd not heard of tinytinyrss, thanks for the tip, I'll look it up

[Michael Martin]

I use a feed reader to keep up with my favorite full sites.

I then use my bookmarks for individual articles that I might want to re-read at some point in the future. :)


(As for which reader, Google Reader is fantastic. :D )

[A Garcia]

I find "user friendly" and fun start pages are Netvibes and Pageflakes. These are ajax easy to use start pages whos functions include "instant sharing", social networking functionality, themes, video in page capabilities, multiple email functions and much more!

I personally use Google reader for everyday feeds - organization is easy if you utilize the tabs and name them accordingly.