Google Reader

I have had a Google account for quite awhile, but had not used Google Reader until today. I started with subscribing to my blog and to a couple of coworkers' blogs and putting them in a folder. Then I explored a bit and was surprised to find that the first three websites that I visited did not have feeds to subscribe to! However, I suppose I can use Twitter to follow the latest on these sites. I successfully subscribed to the Unclutterer and a Dallas news feed, and then found several other interesting sites that Reader recommended for me. I subscribed to a few of those, as well. Overall, I thought it was quite simple to use, and it is nice to have the latest updates appear, rather than always having to check your favorite sites every day. I need to play with it more to find out how to better organize everything. For instance, what if I want to view updates from just one of my subscriptions rather than weeding through updates from the others? I am also curious as to what a bundle is.

I can see library staff and patrons being able to use this tool for library updates. So, if there were an FPL feed, it would contain updates on the latest events, materials, etc. I could also see that having categories of feeds might be helpful. For example, a Frisco mom might want to know all updates about storytimes, but not be interested in adult programming or materials. And of course, someone else might not want to go through all of the storytime updates, as she is more interested in author visits, the latest materials, or the Storytelling Festival.

I don't know if I personally will be a longtime user of Google Reader since I just started. But there is only one way to find out. Explore and experiment!