
Bit of a melodramatic public service announcement today, but the moment we've all been dreading is almost here. Google Reader will cease to exist on the 1st of July and although I've not been running around like a headless chicken, I'm somewhat bewildered that one of my favourite ways of reading blogs will be coming to an end. I think I now understand how Take That fans felt when they split up (I was never that bothered at the time and preferred Eternal) as this handy way of keeping RSS feeds has pretty much changed my life. To add a bit of context, I've apparently read 267,871 items since September 14th 2008 and seem to power through over 2000 articles every month. Please tell me I'm not alone with my crazy stats? When I first discovered this corner of the internet, I had a few RSS feeds in my bookmarks and somehow stumbled across Reader when looking for easier ways to keep up to date with things. Since then I check it several times a day and get a smug sense of satisfaction on the rare occasions I can get everything down to zero. I thought I'd share a few alternatives so that you can still get your fix here and I'm also open to any other suggestions if there's something I've missed.
How To Follow IWYTK
Previously I've used Bloglovin as more of a bookmarking service for places I want to remember but recently I've started to import most of the blogs I read and sort them into handy categories such as 'Pretty Pictures' and 'Whimsical Vintage.' This means if I'm having a busy week, I can quickly skim through the 'Friends' category and feel that I know what's going on with my nearest and dearest. They've upped their game with a new iPad app and the profile feature, so you can now have a nosey to see who people are following and find any similar blogs you might like. I think this feature has a lot of potential if they can hone it down bit better, though I'm not going to dispute that it says I'm 'similar' to Natalie Off Duty. I'll take that, thank you very much.
Although I signed up to Feedly early on, I've been in denial and not using it too much, so I'm still getting used to the interface. Fortunately I've downloaded the apps to every possible device and categorised things so that all is ready for the big day. Once you have it installed, it's easy to add any new blogs via the icon that appears on screen and you can read articles in more of a magazine layout, as well as the traditional way you might be used to. The best thing is that it remembers any starred items from Google Reader, meaning that I don't have to painstakingly go through and bookmark all of the random posts I want to keep. I will probably use this for the more wordy blogs I read, such as The Cut and Thought Catalog as they update so frequently.
I like a few blogs on Facebook and it can be nice to see them pop up in my feed every so often, amongst all of the engagements *shudders* and statuses about the weather. As well as including new posts, I try to post any interesting snippets of information I've found as a result of said blog reading plus anything I'm coveting at the moment. This Topshop skirt has gone down well, so I'm going to try and hunt it down tomorrow!
E-mail
In the sidebar you will see a little box indicating that you can follow by e-mail, if that floats your boat. It might be preferable to separate anything blog related into a certain folder so that they don't get mixed up with spam and 70% off sale blasts. I've noticed a few blogs have newsletters and although I wouldn't rule it out in the future, I want to actually make sure I have enough to write about first and that all of my organisational issues are sorted.
How are you going to cope with the demise of Google Reader? I guess it's just a natural result of things updating and moving on (anyone remember Geocities) though it does seem a bit premature. I can always start a support group if needed, so stay strong!
P.S I'll still be keeping GFC up for the time being but I'm preparing myself for the worst, or at least a Google+ amalgamation.
P.S I'll still be keeping GFC up for the time being but I'm preparing myself for the worst, or at least a Google+ amalgamation.







































