Getting Into Google Reader

One tool that I rely quite heavily on as a blogger is Google Reader. Google Reader is essentially an online mailbox that keeps all of the blogs you read in one central location. After adding the blogs you want to follow, you can sort them into categories to make it easier to quickly find the one you want to read.

For example, in my Google Reader the blogs that I follow are sorted into the following categories: Authors, Book Blogs, Cooking Blogs, EDUC 584, Favorite Bloggers, Gym Inspiration, and Friends & Family. Each time I log into my Google Reader, I can quickly find the blog that I am in the mood to read at that particular moment. Google Reader has a nice mobile version if you happen to have a smart phone - I often catch up on my blog reading when I have some time to kill waiting in line at the store, or if I arrive early meeting a friend for dinner. I will even log in on my phone while at the gym if I need a distraction from my workout!

The only "danger" in reading blogs via Google Reader - especially if doing so on your phone - is that it can be easy to forget to actually click through to the blog and leave a comment. In my opinion, leaving meaningful comments on posts and involving yourself in the online community is a crucial part of blogging. Reading posts is worthwhile in and of itself, and I certainly don't feel obligated to comment on every post that I read - far from it. However, I do think that the back-and-forth that comes in the comments section of a blog post is a really valuable part of the blogging experience.

One thing I learned while reading Richardson's chapter on RSS is that within Google Reader, you can enter search terms to help you find blogs of particular interest to you. Although I have used Google Reader for years now to organize the blogs I read, somehow I never knew about this particular feature. After I read Richardson's chapter on RSS, I immediately tested this feature out and promptly discovered a new book review blog to follow! I will definitely be experimenting further with this feature in the future.

From a classroom perspective, this feature could be extremely valuable to students searching for blogs that match up with their interests. I would introduce Google Reader and its various features to my students as part of an introduction to blogging.

In short, Google Reader is the perfect tool for anyone who reads more than a handful of blogs on a regular basis, and it is the only reason I am consistently up to date with all of the blogs that I follow (a lot!).

Do you use Google Reader (or something similar)? How do you think you might advise students to use it, if at all?