| Feed readers can be websites, desktop software or embedded in other programs like email and web browsers. Some provide better support for rich media (like video and podcasts), while others allow for things like authentication (to read a feed that requires a password). There are many good free options available, as well as pay services and products. |
How-to guide: Bloglines
Bloglines is an online service that allows you quickly and easily to set up feeds, organize different kind of content, and even create feed searches that will search indexed feeds for any term you specify.
1. Getting Started To get started on Bloglines, go to http://www.bloglines.com/, and either follow the big center link that says "Sign up now, it's free!" or click the "register" button at the top right corner of that page. All you'll need is an email address and password.
2. Adding Feeds Once you've created your account, start adding feeds by clicking on the "My Feeds" tab. You should see three options: Add, Edit, and Options.
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- Click "Add." This will load a page in the right frame, that will allow you to paste in the URL of a feed (for example, from a blog), and subscribe to it. Bloglines supports both Atom and RSS feeds.
- Clicking "Add" take loads a new page in the right frame, where you can customize your subscription. You can create folders that will show up under "My Feeds," and that easily let you organize different kinds of feeds -- news, comics, blogs, searches, etc.
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3. Finding Feeds Additionally, you can browse Blogline's directories of feed by topic (News, Jobs, Weather, etc.), or you can create searches. Just type in a search term, and Bloglines will return recent feeds that match, and will also let you subscribe to that search so you can monitor feeds for your search terms.
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4. Organizing Feeds You can organize your feeds easily in Bloglines. Select "Edit" and create a new folder, or delete folders and feeds by selecting the item and clicking on "Trash." You can expand a folder to view its contents by clicking on the "+" icon next to it, and then drag and drop to rearrange any feeds or subfolders.
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5. Settings You can change the settings on your feeds by selecting "Options," which will display your settings in the right frame. The default will take you to your feed options, but you can also edit your profile, account, and other settings.
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How-to guide: NetNewsWire
NetNewsWire is another easy to use, free news reader and aggregator, that supports both Atom and RSS feeds. Unlike Bloglines, however, NetNewsWire is a stand-alone desktop app, which fetches the latest news for you directly, without needing a web browser. NetNewsWire runs on Mac OS X, but the basic principles will be similar for Windows-based readers.
1. Install the software Download and install (you can google NetNewsWire, and get it from a number of sites, such as http://www.macupdate.com/). Macupdate.com will give you a disk image file (.dmg) which you can open and mount on your desktop. Then just copy the application file to your Applications folder.
2. Add feeds When you first launch NetNewsWire, it will come with a number of feeds pre-loaded, such as BBC News, iLounge, MacWorld, etc. You can keep these if they interest you, or you can delete them. To add a new feed, copy the URL of the Atom or RSS file from the blog or site you want, and choose "Subscribe." Then paste the link into the window and hit return or "Subscribe."
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3. Reading feeds Your feeds will show up when you click on the name of the blog or site in the left column. The headlines or titles will show up in the top right window, and the content will show up in the bottom right reader window when you click on its headline. Quick, easy and very intuitive.
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4. Some websites will let you subcribe automatically -- if they support NetNewsWire, you should be able to choose your reader from a list or menu, and the website will launch a little applet which will paste the URL in the subscribe field for you.
External Guides/Tips to Using Online Feed Readers
- The State of Online Feed Readers: Frank Gruber at TechCrunch on web-based feed-readers.
- 23 real simple steps to making your Internet life much better: How to use the feed reader Bloglines, from Change of Subject, the Chicago Tribune's weblog.
About Aggregators
- Joshua Porter, "Home Alone? How Content Aggregators Change Navigation and Control of Content." Digital Web Magazine
