Google Labs just tweaked their Google Reader and I really like it. It's got a folder system that really works now, and you can share individual posts and entire feeds from a publicly shared page! This is an improvement, a real improvement over the old version.

What's a Reader All About?
For those who don't get what a feed reader is all about, let me explain. Like Chris from Google Labs says, "It's like an inbox for the web." He goes on to explain that it's like your e-mail inbox. You don't have to go to different people and ask them if they have mail for you; it comes automatically to one location where you can read it and do what you want with it. The same with Google Reader (and all feed readers) with web sites you visit regularly. Instead of checking each site for new content, it automatically comes to your reader and you read it all in one location.

Do you like sports cars or off-roading? Care deeply about a particular music style or artist? There's more than enough sites out there on these subjects with their own feeds. Subscribing costs nothing and can be done with a few clicks. Go to it when you have a moment and want to catch up on the latest.

Reclaiming Your Inbox
Here's the true beauty of it, though. You know how you subscribe to newsletters and special information via e-mail? It seems so wonderful at first because you can get it in your inbox and read it when you get time. It's so covenient to have that information there. But then...you realize that after three or four subscriptions, some of which are every week or even every day, you're trapped! Your inbox becomes hopelessly bogged down and you spend minutes each day trying to ferret out messages that are specifically to you and messages that are to a bunch of subscribers. It's time consuming, and you have to do it often because people send you e-mail all the time, right?

Up until now, I've worked somewhat "smarter" by creating rules that file these e-mail subscriptions under folders. Then...I don't look in the folders for weeks, or months! How pointless is that? E-mail was meant to be instantaneous, and here it sits on some server for longer than the postal service takes to deliver fourth class mail.

Wasn't e-mail meant for personal, point-to-point communications? Why am I trying to make it into a newspaper? I don't look in the newspaper for my personal correspondence; why should I look in my mailbox for the newspaper?

By using a reader, I find a way to get the newspaper out of my mailbox. Even better, I have the ability to pick the content that I like. Then when I have time, after I've read my mail, I can go to my reader and read what's new. If there's nothing new from the site (content provider), then it doesn't show up in my reader.

Reading the Paper, Picking the Content
Picking the content is like shopping for free. I can add the blogs of my closest friends, the latest world headlines from FoxNews, and political and social commentary from folks I trust or enjoy reading. I can follow planes, trains, and automobiles. If there's a feed for it, I can get it. It's not just text, either. Flickr has a service where you can get the latest pictures too. Can't find the feed? Look for the little chicklet! Still can't find it? E-mail the webmaster and ask for the feed URL. That's all you'll need.

I have been into computers since I could chew on a pong cable. Trust me when I say that this is the best thing since e-mail! No, it's better...because it gives me my e-mail box back! A reader is simply the best way to keep my inbox above water while still keeping informed on the things I care about.

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