Friday, March 22, 2013

Frantically researching readers!

The minute I heard that Google Reader is going away, I started searching for a replacement.  Currently I have my blog feeds going to 3 different readers, as well as still having Google Reader active.  Because you know, losing my blogs would be a tragedy akin to the extinction of oranges.  Or something.

That first day seeing my panic, my son sent me a link to an article about alternatives to GR.  Did I just read about them?  NO!!  I downloaded some of them, transferred my feeds, exported, copied and pasted until my chubby fingers were sore.

Do I know which one I am going to go with yet?  NO!!!!!  I admire people who make quick decisions.

I looked at Feedly - something about it didn't appeal to me.  Could I tell you what?  Nope.  Just .. something.

Currently I am running a Chrome extension called Slick RSS.


It's pretty basic, was very easy to import my feeds, but so far I have not found a way to stop it from always listing the last 15 posts from every blog when I click on one I want to look at.  Whether the posts have already been read or not.  Still .. it's not bad.

Another Chrome extension is Feeder.co.


This was super easy to set up and it's a drop down list, maybe for someone who reads blogs as a bit of an after-thought.  It does put a number next to a blog that has a new post, it's alright in a minimalist kind of way.

The 3rd reader I am using has been the most difficult.  So of course I like it the best.  It's called The Old Reader.  Sounds like a pair of comfy old shoes.


I tried to import my subscriptions and the site told me there were 33,000 other users ahead of me.  The next day it went down to 4600.  Later that evening it went up to 77,000 and the site started telling people to stop checking the imports, that they would let you know by email when your import was done.  I have not received an email and the sites you see above are ones I added myself.  I don't like the colors either.  But so far it's the one that is most like GR and since I am bad with change - I am willing to try it for a while before I discard it.

You can bet there will be more readers tried and more abandoned before the carnage is done.  Oh the humanity!

And did I mention how mad I am at Google?  I really need to see if there are any Firefox extensions worth trying out.

Let me know if you find something good!

3 comments:

  1. I keep wondering if I dismissed Feedly too quickly. I might give it another try. Now about my home page ...

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  2. Believe you me, returning from the US has caused me a lot of trouble this time. First I found out about Google Reader, ya, done nothing about it to this point because I've been so sick but I'm on the trail now. Next was my stove, digital and the mother board fried on it, so I have decided to pass it off for gas. Then my washing machine won't spin out the clothes dry unless there is only 4 items in it. If I find anything I'll share, what about your home page?

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    Replies
    1. Nothing on the home page yet. I'm pissed at Google, I'm even thinking of changing browsers (trying Opera right now) and moving my blog. We will see.

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