Share it...
Look at me! I'm posting on another Saturday! wOOt! (welcome back, Karl)
Katie's at work, I'm at home, I have nothing to do but clean and catch up on The Dead Zone and Robot Chicken, so I thought I'd jump on here and share something that I just added that I think is about the coolest thing around.
No, not an iPhone. That would have to drop about $300 in price before I buy one. But, and I admit this begrudgingly, I like it a lot more than I did when it was announced. Plus, I applaud the fact that Apple is not making free iPhones available to celebrities. Treat them like normal people. At least, not so far. This is how companies should have been doing it all along.
Actually, I'm here to talk about a little feature on a Web service that many of us already use. It's that wonderful little, handy dandy RSS feed aggregator known as Google Reader that we all use it to keep track of what each of us is saying on our sites. Well, news and sports sites as well, I'm sure.
But have you ever noticed the little reverse RSS feed icon at the bottom of each post you read in Google Reader? It's in the circled part of the image below (thanks to Neil and SJ, via 2HT, for unwittingly letting me use their posts in the sample image).
Well, if you activate the "Share" icon by clicking on it, you can share this post with other readers. Google will compile all your shared items on a page that you can link to from your Web site.
And I've done just that over in my menubar. Near the top under "Personal," you'll see a link called "Shared g-Reader Stuff" (not that original, I admit, but it'll do until I think up a better name). Anything I want that I currently read in my Google Reader account can be viewed in here. Right now, it's just a few posts from Chicagoist, but I'll be adding new blog posts and news items as I find them. It's a pretty sweet little tool and one that I think all of us can use so we can share cool stuff that we like.
Now I think I'm off to finish this episode of The Dead Zone. Have a great weekend!
I was thinking of doing this sharing, too. I just was unsure of whether it was a good thing -- sharing what you like with others, or hijacking other people's posts. But then again, what's so bad with telling others what you liked, and hopefully introducing your readers to someone new?
I really like the google reader, although sometimes I miss the simplicity of bloglines.
Posted by: Neil | Saturday, 30 June 2007 at 01:36 PM
$199 iPhone?? Maybe in about 5 years...
Posted by: Dave2 | Saturday, 30 June 2007 at 03:51 PM
I started using FeedDemon as a reader but still have my Google Reader as well. I totally share posts like one Dave did about something techie and geeky and another one a weight loss person did that was good advice, blah blah. I think it is just a way to let your readers see what you are liking right?
Posted by: Hilly | Saturday, 30 June 2007 at 05:42 PM
i use bloglines. I will have to check out google reader I guess.
Posted by: August | Sunday, 01 July 2007 at 06:50 AM
That's so awesome! Thanks for the tip!
I'm also iPhone-less... and I will be for at least another year (which is when my current contract expires.) After that... well hopefully it will have dropped in price!
Posted by: Bre | Sunday, 01 July 2007 at 08:35 AM
Neil, I don't consider it hijacking since they get credit. I would hope most people would be honored to be thought of highly enough to be included in another person's shared list. I would hope. But, you never know.
Dave, I was comparing to the high-end model, so $299. But Steve Jobs came out and said his goal is to soon be selling the iPhone for $99.
Hilly, you get me to switch to Google Reader and now you switch on me again? Did I do something to make you want to leave me in the dust like this? *sniffle*
August, actually, Google Reader will import your information from Bloglines. I was on BL as well until Hilly convinced me to switch. Easy, breezy, Japaneezie.
Bre, it has to go way down. And you just bought a Mac, too. So you've got some saving. ;-)
Posted by: kapgar | Sunday, 01 July 2007 at 10:19 AM
Hilly got me to switch to FeedDemon, as well. I can barely maintain my blogroll and my feeds, let alone try to share feeds with others.
Posted by: Karl | Tuesday, 03 July 2007 at 08:06 AM
You just read too many. I'd hate to see how many there are.
Posted by: kapgar | Tuesday, 03 July 2007 at 11:10 AM