Google World (Part I) – Google Reader

Google, with the dream of living online, has a portfolio of applications, at least one of which would fit in for you. I’d introduce these applications one by one, as time permits.

Today, I come to you with Google Reader. Basically, it’s an online RSS (Really Simple Syndicate) reader. RSS applications allow you to subscribe to XML based notifications from a variety of website offering such a service. Mostly news websites, periodic magazines, company updates etc are published as RSS feeds.

It is a really easy way to keep in touch with a variety of information, all at one place. I started using an RSS reader when I started using the Opera web browser. It has a very user friendly RSS reader built-in. I subscribed to CNN, BCC, Time, Reader’s Digest, Dawn and Economist. Now, everyday, all I had to do was to open the browser and access the RSS reader and news/updates from all websites were all there in a summarized format. I didn’t have to visit any of the websites explicitly to get a hold of all the news, not to mention, the ones which interest me - really cumbersome. Now, with a feed, I can read the headlines and click only the ones which I think are interesting, and that holds for all the websites (of course the ones which offer an RSS feed, but luckily most do) – useful, isn’t it?

Google is one step ahead. The problem with the former solution is that the application is desktop based. It is not an access-anywhere thing. So, if I have a reader at office and at home on two different computers, then there will be replication and I would need to do this extra bit of work to filter the ones I have read before, either at the office or at home. Google to the rescue! Google Reader resolves this problem and provides you with an online RSS reader, providing all the features of the desktop feed reader with an online stereotype attached to it. And this is just an icing on the cake; there is a cherry on the top as well. You can share items with friends (works two ways ... you can access what your friends have shared too), make a note of the items, search items and view a trend report to see which ones do you read most (or which one you don’t, so to eliminate those).

All Hail The Internet King “Google”!!!