I have nothing to say today. That happens, right?
Instead of trying pitifully to come up with something or blabbering on incessantly about who knows what, I’m just going to skip that nonsense and share one of my online favorites: Super Full Feeds Google Reader.
There was some buzz about this on Twitter yesterday that made me realize not everyone knows about it. Imagine that, me, being one of the cool kids that knows about something before everyone else on the planet. I’ll bask in the feeling for a minute.
Ok, done.
Here it is:
First of all, you need to be using Google Reader to care about this. If you don’t, then continue on your way.
{Google Reader is a way to organize your blog reading all in one place using RSS; it lets you know what’s new without having to visit a million different sites. They’re called feeds.}
Do you ever come across a feed that’s about 5 sentences and then it says “click to read more”? Superbly annoying. It usually results in me deleting the blog from my reader. But sometimes it’s stuff I really want to read, so in a rare instance I groan and grumble and click on over anyways.
Well guess what? You don’t have to. Enter Super Google Reader. It adds on a couple options that will make your blog reading life so much easier.
First, install the Super Full Feeds Google Reader extension. {That’s the Chrome version- if you use a different browser, search “super google reader + your browser”. I’ve seen a couple other version but I haven’t used them.}
Now that it’s installed…
You find a feed that’s truncated but you want to read more. {I used Two Peas and Their Pod as my example…one of maybe 2 feeds I keep even though they’re truncated.}
Click “Readable”.
Look! Everything’s there!
But wait, it gets better. Click the “Link” option.
It looks exactly like it was meant to- and I haven’t even left my reader.
{You can also go to “Settings”, “Reader Settings”,“Super”, “Default to Readable Content” so you don’t have to click it every time. It’s a little slower to load than normal, but not that much, and it saves you a click.}
You may be thinking to yourself, “Hey, people truncate their feeds for a reason- they want you to click over to their site so it counts as a pageview.” True. But usually truncated feeds get deleted from people’s readers and then you’re not reading anyways.
So Super Google Reader is awesome even if it’s not for a truncated feed. Websites were designed to look a certain way for a reason and much of that is lost in a reader. Now it’s not.
Wait. It still gets better. Ready?
You can comment inside reader.
No clicking. No scrolling. No load time. It’s just there. Waiting for you. Fabulous.
That alone is enough for me.
Now if you’re a blogger, not just a reader, you’re probably thinking “well this sucks for pageviews”. But does it? It’s likely to increase engagement, and what’s more important? I think both.
And I’m not sure about this one, but I see ads. Maybe it counts for an impression? Who knows, you’ll have to ask the Google gods on that one…
For other ways to make Google reader a more enjoyable experience check out these posts:
The Next Button by Savvy Julie
PostRank Extension by Katy Widrick
Do you use a reader? Any cool tips or tricks?
Don’t miss:
It’s Raining Babies – find out what happened when I went home for Thanksgiving.
Interested in giving a Lollihop gift subscription for the holidays this year? Use the code SIDEOFSNEAKERS20 for 20% off– but it’s only for the first 50 users & in order to time it right for the holidays, book today by 4pm PST!
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