Robert Vrabel

To understand Google Reader you will have to understand RSS. Like anything doing certain routines get old, and newer ways are created. Instead of going out to all of your favorite sites to see what new things are posted, why not have the news come to you? RSS works by simply subscribing to a website feed, and anytime something new is posted it gets delivered to you similar to how e-mail works. The next time you login to read things it shows all your new items and automatically marks things as read as you read them. This saves time by not having to go out to a website and try to figure out what the new information is posted. It also saves time because ALL of your favorite sites are in one spot organized however you want it. Here is a very useful picture to explain RSS.

Sign up for Google Reader before continuing. Now lets discuss how to subscribe to a feed.

Subscribing to a Feed

Using almost any new browser will display the RSS icon in the URL address. Simply click on this and add it to Google Reader. It’s as simple as that!

Tips

1. Organize your feeds by adding them to a folder. Personally, i have some folders setup called News, Gaming, Web Development, Blogs, etc..
2. As you scroll down the list you will notice the items being marked as read (the number should decrease). Anytime you see a number next to a feed name, that means you have unread items in it.
3. You can easily share stories from a feed by clicking “Share” (this will send it to anyone in your Google Address Book who uses Google Reader. Next time they login to Google Reader they will see your share) or by hitting the “Email” button which will allow you to e-mail the article to anyone.
4. Reading an article that you would consider a favorite? Simply hit the Star button next to it to add it to your favorites. You can see all of your favorites by clicking “Starred Items” at the top.
5. You can also search all of your new and past read articles by using the google powered search input at the top of the screen.