RSS - What Do You Have?

[Kevin D. Jones]

How many of you have RSS readers? If you do, what kind do you use? I am wondering, because I use one for this site. Without it, I would never know what is happening on here - it would all seem like too large of a monster. I wouldn't know when someone posted a blog, a discussion, a video or a new page. And without that, the site is not worth much besides an occasional glance.

So, what type of RSS reader do you use, if you use one at all?

[Christine Martell]

Kevin,
I use Google Reader. I'm following over 135 blogs, and I couldn't possibly do it without an RSS reader. I like Google Reader because it is integrated with all of the other Google tools I use. It gives me one place to go to see all the blogs, alerts and other content I am interested in. I can also organize it and share it with my network from one interface.

[Kevin D. Jones]

I, too, use Google Reader. It is so simple. I know I could never keep up to date on everything without it. For example, this space would be just another place I would need to go visit and would get put on the bottom of my list of things to do. But with the reader it alerts me when someone has replied to a post, created a post, created anything. That way I don't need to dig around to see what is happening.

It has been a life saver and I have learned SO MUCH!

I also use FeedReader for internal feeds behind our firewall. I have tried a few others, but that one seems simple. And they are all free!

[Shari Ward]

Kevin, I've been meaning to dive into RSS readers ever since Christine Martell's posting about it on BlogCascadia. Now that I'm "in transition" (read: unemployed), I am determined to subscribe to one. So, more to come!

Shari :-)

[Kevin D. Jones]

I just downloaded another one: SharpReader. (My FeedReader was goofing off). It was VERY lightweight, and VERY simple to use. The only problem with Google is that you can't read anything inside a firewall or that is password protected. Thus, I use two.

[Kimberly Zacha-Stephens]

I also use Google Reader.

However, I find that I don't get back to it as often as I would like, so while everything is all in one place, I usually have a couple of hours worth of reading to do! Such is life.

[Loren Wertz]

I'd love to see a list of sites related to social learning that people have found useful enough to add to their RSS. Perhaps the link and a quick description? Should this be a new post?

[Christine Martell]

Great idea Loren. Probably should be a new thread.

[Michael Williams]

There are some very slick tools out there like NetNewswire for the Mac. But I use more than one machine and so Google Reader is the way to go for me. No matter where I'm at, my RSS feeds are always there.

Mike W.

[Sean Harry]

YES. Please.

[Kevin D. Jones]

I am surprised (not just from this group, but other experiences as well) how many people do not have RSS readers or understand why or understand how to set one up. Would a live demo help anyone get started?

[Shari Ward]

Kevin, I would DEFINITELY be interested in a demo! After entering this discussion I have set up Google Reader, but I know I'm not using it effectively yet and could really use some pointers.

Shari :-)

[John Roberts]

Just catching up on this thread. I too am surprised. It's the least 2.0 of web 2.0 technologies. RSS is a lurker's dream.

I use a FF plug in called Sage [http://sage.mozdev.org/] which has worked well for me. Maybe I'm in a rut, but it gives me lots of easy to use functionality and good folder organization without overwhelming me with features. Because I use one computer, I don't have a need for a cloud-located collection of my feeds.