Why Choose Feedly?

Now that we've all had some time to process the fact that our beloved Google Reader will soon be closing its doors forever, I thought I'd put together a post that introduces bloggers to one of the alternative aggregate readers: Feedly.

In my opinion, Feedly is the best replacement available for Google Reader. Everyone should use the aggregate reader that best fits their own personal needs, and fortunately there are plenty of options out there if Feedly doesn't seem to be the best fit for you. But let's go over some of the features that Feedly offers, so that you can learn a little about Feedly and begin to decide if it might work for you.

To get started learning about Feedly, you can visit their site directly via the link above. There is a wealth of information available on the Feedly blog. You can also follow Feedly on Twitter.

Now, let's talk about some of the things I love about Feedly.

Perhaps the single most compelling reason to make the switch from Google Reader to Feedly? You can import all of the blogs you already follow into Feedly - and it's beyond easy to do. 

After you install Feedly, when you open it the first time it will give you the option to connect to Google Reader. Click on "Login" and log into your Google account. Next, Feedly will ask you to allow access to your data in Google Reader. If you select "allow access", Feedly will immediately transfer all of your subscriptions from Google Reader into Feedly. It will also keep all of your subscriptions sorted into their existing categories!

Another compelling feature of Feedly is the (free!) mobile application which syncs across your computer, phone and tablet. 

Below are some screenshots from my Feedly app. Notice that the app cleanly displays your blog categories, with easy click through to first a specific category and then a particular blog.

The Type A personality in me loves how clean and organized this is.

        

The app is simple and fun to use, with minimal tapping and swiping to navigate to the areas you need. It's inherently intuitive: open it up and spend just a few minutes playing with it and you'll quickly learn a lot. When you start using the app, it will give you simple instructions and shortcuts like this:

Let's talk about some of the simple things you can do within the Feedly application.

You can easily "share" content via Faceboook, Twitter, Google+, or email by clicking on the arrow seen at the top right of the following picture:

After you click on the arrow, various social media icons will appear, as seen below. Simply click on the icon for the media platform with which you mean to share the content.

When viewing a particular post, you may wish to bookmark it to return to later. Click the bookmark icon at the top right (shown below in green) and Feedly will mark the post as saved and add it to your saved posts. Bookmarked in error? Simply click the bookmark again, and Feedly will remove the bookmark.

    

You can search for new blogs to follow, by browsing one of the following categories or simply entering a key word or phrase into the search bar. I've found great new book review blogs to follow by entering terms like "book review", "book blogger", and "Young Adult books" into the search bar. Play around with it! Enter some of your interests and hobbies and see what comes up. You may stumble upon something really great.

Sometimes after a time you will find that you are no longer interested in following certain blogs. If you decide you want to stop following a particular blog, you can go into "Settings" (located at the bottom of your list of categories) and easily delete feeds to stop following them. 

First, go into Settings. Tap "Edit Content", and you will see "Remove" and "Cancel" buttons pop up under your list of categories. From here, you can click on a particular category and see all of the content listed under that category (as seen in the third picture). Check the box for the feed(s) you want to stop following, and click "remove". 

      

Looking to change something besides which content you follow? Go to "Settings", and then "Advanced Settings". From here you can easily customize the look and feel of your Feedly application.

Overall I personally find Feedly to be a great substitute for Google Reader. In fact, once I moved past my initial disappointment over losing my tried and true Google Reader, I discovered that in many ways I actually prefer Feedly. It has a clean, modern look that I think many people with an interest in blogging and social media will appreciate. It is incredibly easy to navigate, and has plenty of options for customization. I love that the computer, app and tablet versions all sync so that no matter which device I am using, my content is there. All in all I would consider my transition from Google Reader to Feedly to be complete at this point, and I'm very happy with the change.

Dying to know even more about Feedly? The following posts contain 

great information surrounding Feedly's various features:

The Verge has a great post which cites Feedly as "the best overall reader". 

I'm a longtime reader of Jessica Lawlor's blog and I think she's done a great job summarizing the  many features of Feedly.  

Nancy from Tumbling Books also has a great post, in which she touches on Feedly's excellent customer service.

Have you looked into replacements for Google Reader yet? Are there any besides Feedly that you would recommend?