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Scope Out Your Hippest Friends With Google Reader

GeekSugar — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:33:12 -0700

I've given you plenty of reasons to sign up for an RSS reader, but in case you need one more here it goes: Google Reader has released a new version with a more comprehensive friend feature that allows you to keep a close watch on your friends' activity. Wondering how much Internet ground your pals cover? Now you can check the stats to find out.

The improvements add a new set of tabs to the trends page called "Friends trends." You can see which friends share the most content, and who has shared items you actually want to read.

Want more tips to get your reader organized? Check out my top 10 RSS tips.

Daily Tech: Swine Flu iPhone App For the Overly Paranoid

GeekSugar — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:36:00 -0700

It's still waiting on approval before it hits the iTunes Store, but there's actually a Swine Flu Tracker iPhone App that will show you threat levels and confirmed and suspected cases. - TechCrunch
Did you know that today is RSS Awareness Day? Yeah, me neither. Learn what a RSS Reader is and why it will change your life. - Read Write Web
Find out what the general public has to say about one of our cell phone rant issues: whether it's rude to talk on your cell phone while waiting in line. - Switched
Kodak's latest camera, the ultrazoom Z980 takes video in full HD and offers 12-megapixel resolution and a 24x optical zoom lens. It's priced at $399.99. - CrunchGear
Looks like the Internet has been in overdrive since the swine flu was announced. May people are rushing to search sites like Google and Yahoo to look for information and up-to-the-minute news on the swine flu. - USA Today

10 Good Reasons to Use an RSS Reader

GeekSugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:05:27 -0700

The web moves fast. In fact, they say one day, it might even move faster than the speed of light. There are millions of articles being published, photos being uploaded, status updates being posted and tweets being tweeted every single day. An RSS reader can help you stay afloat and consume the Internet from one hub - whether you are a casual surfer who uses the web to catch up on email, news and celebrity gossip, or a full fledged Internet junky who spends all day on Flickr, Facebook and reddit.
For those of you who are confused, an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Reader is a web feed aggregator, also known as a feed reader that grabs syndicated web content such as news headlines, blogs, podcasts, and vlogs in a single location for easy viewing.
Most geeksugar readers say they're already using a reader, but I know there are a few of you who are still unconvinced. And so, I dedicated this post to you uninitiated and unconvinced. Find out why you should hop on the train.

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Geek Tip: Follow Flickr Streams Via RSS or Delicious

GeekSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:20:41 -0700

Sure, following Tweets secretly through your RSS allows a special, stalkerish pleasure, but watching your friend's Internet activity doesn't have to be all about surreptitiousness. When a pal shares a link to her Flickr account or I run across a photographer whose work I find inspiring I stick it in my RSS reader so I can keep up with their activity.

Flickr offers an RSS feed for photostream pages, which you select and add to your reader. You'll find it in the toolbar of your browser if you use Firefox (see previous link for other browser tips). Flickr also offers a convenient "bookmark on delicious" link at the bottom of each photostream page, so you can save a friend's stream in your bookmarks and have access to it from any computer.

Viigo Makes Reading RSS Feeds on Your BlackBerry Seamless

GeekSugar — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:05:04 -0700

If you want to spruce up your BlackBerry's interface - and by spruce up I mean beautify it with one click access to things like news, weather, and travel info - Viigo is a new free app that you won't be able to live without.

Unlike other phones (ahem, the iPhone), the BlackBerry doesn't provide instant access to things like Twitter and your favorite blogs, track packages, and see weather forecasts, but with Viigo, you can have a full RSS reader on your phone that offers many tools and features - including all of these!

And once you become a registered user, you can specify your interests to receive customized alerts and updates.

Geek Tip: Follow Someone on Twitter Without Them Knowing

GeekSugar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:00:34 -0700

Do you want to follow someone's updates on Twitter, but don't necessarily want them to see that you're following them? Or maybe you're reluctant to join Twitter, but still would like to see what someone is tweeting. You can actually add someone's Twitter feed to your RSS reader.

Just go to the page of the person you want to invisibly follow, and you'll see the RSS feed symbol underneath the people they're following (alternatively, if you're using Firefox, you can just click the blue RSS symbol in the nav bar). Just click that and you'll add their updates to your reader, just like any other blog's posts!

Invisibility cloak achieved.

Website of the Day: Tabbloid

GeekSugar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:02:01 -0800

You no longer read newspapers for the daily headlines, but you are subscribed to about 100 different newsfeeds in Google Reader. Sound familiar? If you like the idea of reading your RSS news in magazine/newspaper format, there's a new site called Tabbloid that will whip up your feed in a PDF doc that you can easily print up and take with you on the go.

I tested it out with the geeksugar feed and in a few simple steps (you can decide when you want PDF sent to you), it will automatically be delivered to you in this format. Oh, and did I forget to mention it's totally free?

To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and "Regular Post."
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click "Next."
Choose the audience for your story to "Website of the Day" in the dropdown menu.
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to "Technology and Gadgets."
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click "I’m done" to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Geek Tip: Export Your Feeds From One RSS Reader to Another

GeekSugar — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:00:59 -0700

Change can be hard. Maybe, for instance, you committed to an RSS Reader early on and then decided to switch to a different RSS Reader later on. I'm not here to judge - just to guide.

If you happen to be dying to make the switch to Google Reader from another RSS (maybe you heard how fan-freaking-tastic Better GReader makes it), then I bet you're also saying, "yes, I would love to switch, but what about all my feeds?!" That's a valid complaint, especially if you have upwards of 100 feeds, as so many of you do.

To see the tip, just read more.

Thankfully, Google Reader allows you to import all of your feeds from other readers, including Bloglines, NetVibes, and even Safari or Firefox bookmarks. All you need to do is export your subscriptions as an OPML file; refer to Google's handy list of links to learn how to do it from each reader.

Once you have the OPML file, you can upload it to Google Reader from the Settings page and the Import/Export tab. I would love to tell you how to do this from Bloglines site, but it's down right now.

Jinkies, another reason to switch?

How Many Sites Are in Your RSS Reader?

GeekSugar — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:00:01 -0700

I would be completely lost without my dear RSS reader. It's the second window I open every morning (after geeksugar, of course!) and it is solely responsible for keeping me in the know, on track, and organized.

This question goes out to the impressive 50 percent of geeksugar readers who use RSS readers - how many feeds do you follow?