I've experimented with a lot of readers over the years and although it took a while to work out, speed is definitely your best friend. I used Netvibes, Pageflakes, and Morning Coffee among others. The first two were really just eye-candy and a way to reflect individuality and personal flare (or lack thereof). This "flare" unfortunately led to slow loads which, more often than not, meant these pages were lost and forgotten in a forest of tabs never to be viewed. The others I used just lacked the ability to scan without committing to a full page view. Although convenient, subscriptions via email are quite clumsy, especially when you need to access earlier posts.
What is desirable in a blog reader?
- quick access
- quick load times
- quick and easy subscribing
- quick subscription management
- quick scanning of blogs for information worthiness
- intuitive settings
Google Reader has it all, especially if you already have a Google account. But even if you ignored the rest of the Google suite, imho it would still be the best aggregator out there. And it's only getting better.
Three blogs I have ready access to through Reader are...
- Although I don't read or comment much on this blog anymore, Dave Warlick's 2 Cents Worth is one of the original and continuing conversations on Web2.0 and what it means to be a teacher in the 21C.
- Will Richardson's Weblogged still challenges me to think outside the box and classroom.
- Vicki Davis is insatiable. On her Cool Cat Teacher blog, the reader benefits from her original and insightful thinking stimulated by her web-scouring network and teaching experiences.
Happy reading.
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