For a long period now, I have resisted the change to Google Reader (despite the market share that Google had racked up).  When I had tried the product in the past, I was not satisfied with the options available to me. The biggest problem had been the lack of ability to synchronize my feeds with a mobile application.  Therefore, the announcement from Newsgator came to my mind as both a blessing and a curse.

Although Newsgator has not yet released the new version of the iPhone NetNewsWire application that will synchronize with Google, I decided to bite the bullet and to import all of my RSS subscriptions into Google immediately after reading the announcement.  I decided I would begin to use the Google product and get used to its features so that I would be able to determine if I would need to find a new RSS reader application for the iPhone.

To my surprise, the Google reader product has come a long way since the last time I tried it.  There were still several annoyances, but overall I realized that it is a well-designed product.

The most significant annoyance was the default read order for each RSS feed that I subscribed to.  I like to read the oldest story first, and the newest last.  I found that this was not the default action of the Google reader product.  In order to change the default read order, I had to select each feed separately, and change the read order for each and everyone.  There is no setting to change the read order of all feeds you are subscribed to globally in Google Reader (or none that I could find).

After selecting my default reading order for each RSS feed separately, my next task was using the online web-based version of Google Reader to actually read posts.  I was very satisfied with the experience of the web version of Reader.  As I moved down the page, Google automatically marked all the stories as I passed as “read”.  Options were available to read individual posts either in the expanded view, (which included the entire portion of the post that was syndicated by the author), or in the list view (where only the title of the post is listed, and a reader could click on the individual story they wanted to read).  There were also options to read each feed individually, or to read all posts from each feed in one page.

Additionally, social networking aspects are available in every post that you read.  Stars or tags can be added to any post, and using these tools allows you to share stories with others (or refer back to them later for your own personal use).  Posts can be emailed to any of your friends, or they can be marked as unread if you want the posts to remain in your Google Reader Inbox.  You are also automatically provided with recommendations for other blogs based on your current subscriptions (I have already added 4 new subscriptions). Google keeps trends of your own viewing activity and also of the blogs that you are subscribed to.  Other users of Google Reader and of Google Profiles can also “follow” any of the tags, stars, or shared posts that you mark public.

I have quickly found that Google’s product is now much more polished than the Newsgator online product was.  My next concern was the mobile experience.

Although Newsgator promises to have an update of the NetNewsWire iPhone application released within the coming days, the deadline for the switch to Google Reader was set as August 31, 2009.  Not wanting to wait until the last minute to make the switch, I decided that I would use the mobile version of Google reader until the new NetNewsWire product is released and approved by Apple.  I was also very surprised to learn how far Google’s mobile reader has come in usability since my last experience with it.

By default, Google detected that I was using an iPhone mobile browser to view my subscriptions, and reverted me to the mobile version.  Instead of stories being expanded by default, as they are in the web version, in the mobile version the stories are provided to you in the list format.  By default, 15 stories are shown per page, and whenever you click on a story, it expands in place.  The entire feed that the publisher has decided to syndicate is available to you without having to click through to the story.  (You only are required to click through if the publisher has only provided a synopsis of the story.)  When you get to the bottom of the page, you can mark all posts on the page as read, and the next 15 stories will load.

The default mobile option in Google Reader is to show you all stories from all sources in one feed.  Although the Newsgator website and NetNewsWire also had this option, I always had read posts by source (or feed)  in the past (for example I would click on Engadget and read all Engadget posts, then I would click on the next feed I was subscribed to and read all new posts in that blog).  I found after using the mobile version of Google Reader, that I actually enjoyed reading all stories from all sources (in chronological order) better now.  There is a button on the mobile version of Google Reader so that you can still go back and read by individual feeds, but I have not used it once.

The social functions described for the web version of Google Reader, are also available in the mobile version of Google Reader.

I have already found myself using the “Star” option, the “Like” option, the “Share” option, and the “Tag” functions of the Google Reader.  These have all made the news feeds that I am subscribed to and using more useful to me (easily replacing Newsgator’s clipping function), and also allowed me to share stories of interest in an easier fashion.

In the past, I would email links to any stories that I thought my friends might find relevant. Now I can just tell friends to follow me on Google Reader.  This way if they are not interested in the links I have been sending them, they do not have to have their inbox clogged up with my junk mail.  I also found myself commenting on many more stories.  Because it is so easy to do, I have discovered the value of this feature.  The social aspects of Google Reader are integrated into your Google Profile if you have one.

Although I was initially very disappointed when I received the email from Newsgator about the change, I am now enthusiastic about it.

I think that I will be following my subscriptions much more closely during the day now that I am using Google Reader.  I already routinely visit Google repeatedly throughout a workday for searches, now I will also think about reading my subscriptions.  I believe that I will use the social aspects that I always had ignored on the Newsgator product, and share information with clients, colleagues and friends.  I am not even sure that I care when, or if, the updated NetNewsWire product comes out for the iPhone.

Please let me know what your experiences have been with following RSS feeds and using Google Reader.  If you are not familiar with RSS feeds, please let me know and I will consider creating a separate blog post to explain the significance of RSS feeds.  If you decide to try Google reader, follow my public shared items at http://www.google.com/reader/shared/sbutler76.

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