Google Reader - I love this thing!

I'm a new user of Google Reader.  Boy oh boy have I been missing out.  I wanted to share this post with you just in case you too haven't found out one of the best parts of the internet.

Google Reader is a way for you to keep up on most all of your favorite sites.  And it keeps them all in one place, loading fast and moving through post after post oh so quickly.  No longer will you have to go to each site to see whats new.  And going on vacation is so easy, because you can pick up from where you left off.

Let me show you some screen caps and share how this tool works!

First, you have to have a gmail account.  Registering is easy and painless.
GMAIL

Okay, now that you're registered, you just need to go to your Reader account (which is open for you if you have a gmail account).  You can find the reader by going to this url http://google.com/reader or by going to Google and clicking on the MORE link and then finding READER in the drop down box.




Now you just visit your favorite site and copy the URL.  Open your Google Reader page and click on Add a subscription.


A box comes open and you enter the URL and click add.  One of the neat things about this little box is you can type in any url or subject matter and Google will search it for you!

Now earlier, I said if you go on vacation it's easy to pick up on your favorite site where you left off.  This is true, because it shows in bold lettering which sites have new posts and how many are new.  You can see below on this screencap how many new posts in total there are and which blogs they're talking about.


I went a little overboard and actually categorized some of mine.  You can if you want, but it's not necesary.

The only other thing about this great tool is a few buttons once you're in.  One of them is the most important button of all.


The blue >> at the top next to the website is the "go to" button.  Click that and be transported to the main page of the site.  Click any title and be taken to that post.  At the bottom of the page, you'll find previous and next.  This is the easiest way to scroll through posts that don't interest you.  But that mark all as read button... that's the best!  Once you've clicked and marked that site as read, the next time you come back to reader, it shows any posts that have been added since the last time you visited!

Now you'll never have to wander through the internet alone again... not with Google Reader by your side. :)