I like video games, you probably do also. Well that’s all I’ve got… catch you later.
What do you mean that’s not good enough for you? What if you want longer articles? Back in my day readers did what they were told, but fine, if you really want to read something, then I guess I’ll just have to write some half-assed article about Google Reader, or something. Here’s my extremely interesting article on the Google Reader… after the jump.
*Sigh*. As an avid video gamer I have to make sure I’m up to date on all the latest video game news so I check a number of interweb netpages everyday. These range from Joystiq to Dark Zero, but are all about video games or technology. Right about now your probably wondering what the problem is, and in all fairness if I was reading this I probably would be wondering that as well. Now I’m not sure how many webnet interpages you check every day, but I’m guessing it clocks in at around 10 or so? Well over the years that I’ve been trawling the webnet I’ve gradually found more and more websites that I like, which means that I’ve had more and more sites to grace with my readership every day. This was becoming a bit of a problem when it got to the stage where I was loading up 26 tabs in my browser twice a day but, like the noble knight that I am, I was not one to be deterred. I knew that something had to be done, but what? And then the answer hit me (not literally of course, that would just be ridiculous), I had found a solution: I decided that I would start using an………….RSS reader.
After a bit of research I settled on Google Reader. It had a nice interface, was free and tied in nicely with the other Google services that I use. I signed myself up and keenly set about adding my feeds. After about 15 minutes of hard labour I was done. The reader was set up…all 25 feeds (the only one I didn’t add was a webcomic, which doesn’t load in Google Reader). All that was left to do now was admire my handy work.
As the weeks passed and more feeds were added I began to realise the error of my ways. However, it really hit me when I checked Google Reader this morning. Here is my Google Reader homepage as I viewed it this morning (the last time I checked it was the previous night).
Click to enlarge.
If you haven’t seen it yet, look at the number next to ‘All items’. Yep that right, 634 posts overnight. In fact, as I’ve been writing this, the number has gone up to over 700. So as it stands, I’m reading 700 video game or technology related posts EVERY DAY.
On top of off this I also check the GameFAQS Poll of the day, Cyanide and Happiness webcomic, Metacritic and QJ.net. This is ridiculous. I know I have to get rid of some feeds, but which ones? I love them all so much. Even Major Nelson.
I hate to drag this sorry excuse for a piece of writing on any longer, but I do have one tiny complaint about Google Reader: the boring interface. Now I know I said the interface was clean, but its also dull. For example, reading Sarcastic Gamer on Google Reader is nothing compared to actually checking the glorious wonder that is the Sarcastic Gamer homepage and seeing all those intrusive adverts yelling at you to buy merchandise (incidentally, buy the merchandise). The same goes with any website - actually visiting the site is far more interesting than viewing it on a an RSS feed. So I now find myself with a bit of a conundrum: Do I stick with the RSS reader and sap all life out of myself, or risk setting my browser on fire every time I simultaneously load up 26 tabs?
Hmm, tricky.
So here’s a question: How do you get your gaming news, how many sites do you check and how often?
Do you use an RSS reader or just check the sites directly? Maybe you only read Sarcastic Gamer, one of my personal favourite websites. You might have even got to this site by accident while looking for a good cat food retailer. If that is the case then try PetPlanet.co.uk, a truly great site with fast delivery times. I neither have a cat nor eat pet food, but PetPlanet looks good to me. Anyway enough about cat food, what was I meant to be talking about anyway? Never mind now, I’m just gonna wrap this up fast.
The end.
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24 responses so far ↓
1 dtcarson // May 26, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I use Firefox’s “Live Bookmarks” feature. Admittedly I’m not reading 700 new articles a day, but the live bookmarks gives me the most recent 10-20 per subscription (I’ve got 8, plus my “View New Posts” board bookmarks). It’s very easy to get bogged down in too much information, and I’ve had to step back. If hitting “View New Posts” on a board gives me 19 pages of new posts, odds are I don’t need to read through all of them, I just read the first couple and any I’m subscribed too.
Visiting the site is definitely more robust (I’m sick of that word), but using LB lets me visit only the part of the site I’m interested in.
2 phillymaniac14 // May 26, 2008 at 1:21 pm
i definitely use rss feeds. with the amount of time i spend surfing the net, it would be impossible to go to each indivdual website. also, i like the fact that google reader can be used not just on my desktop, but also on my iphone. it works super fast on edge. it is possible that i might experience overload with 100+ feeds (includes podcasts), but i’m not too worried.
3 JR Merlin // May 26, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Log in to Google Reader -> Settings -> Goodies. Drag the “Next” link to your bookmarks toolbar. That takes you to the articles that you’re subscribed to, in the order that you would read them, BUT, actually on the site they came from.
Curious as to why you’re not using the built in RSS reader in Flock, from what I remember, it’s not too shabby (I just didn’t need all the extra gubbins that came with Flock, and there were some extensions that I missed from standard FireFox.)
Back to the topic, RSS is the way to go. It allows you to be more productive with your reading. (out of interest, how many of the 700 did you sit down and read? Or are you like me, where you’ll skim through the headlines and read the ones that interest you?)
4 Eoco // May 26, 2008 at 1:39 pm
@JR Merlin
I hate the Flock RSS reader, it looks terrible in my opinion. I don’t use any social networking things or media streams or any of the other stuff that Flock does, I just prefer the favourites button and the look of it (I know its very very similar to FF).
As for your other question, I won’t read article that don’t interest me. I go through them all during the day, starring the ones that interest me. Then I read through the starred ones when I get home. It a two sweep job, that takes about and hour and a half.
5 JR Merlin // May 26, 2008 at 1:46 pm
@Eoco, but you seemed to have missed my advice on the next button
6 Master Devwi // May 26, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I have used lots of different RSS readers in the past. IE7, Outlook 2007, Google Reader, etc. But about two months ago, I finally settled on my favorite one: NewsGator FeedDemon.
NewsGator FeedDemon has a neat UI (IMO) and is easy to use. It has a great “clipping” feature so I can save news items (I can even turn a clippings folder into an RSS feed to share with other people). But, my favorite feature is the web synchronization. My RSS feeds, clippings folders, etc. are all synchronized to FeedDemon’s site. So, when I’m not at my PC, I can still read my RSS feeds!
Yes, Google Reader is also online, but it is only online. The performance isn’t as good and you have to have your web browser open. I like how FeedDemon is always running in your system tray (if you choose to do so) and it also remembers what tabs you have open. So you can close it and the next time you start it up, your tabs are just the way you left it.
Anyway, I know this was a long post, but for over 311 RSS feeds, I think NewsGator FeedDemon is the way to go. Oh, yeah, and it’s free.
http://www.newsgator.com/Individuals/FeedDemon/Default.aspx
7 smellmyface // May 26, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I use gametab, though thats limited.
8 Eoco // May 26, 2008 at 2:14 pm
@ JR Merlin
I tried the Next button, but it wasn’t for me. Firstly it does the RSS is chronological order, when I view my feeds in website order (ie. chronological order for each website. Not overall chronological order).
@Master Devwi
I’m having a look at it now.
9 Kiltman67 // May 26, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I use the Firefox extension Sage, and I can’t understand why everyone else doesn’t. It’s embedded in your browser so there’s no issue with opening links and I’ve never once felt there was a feature it was lacking.
As for my feeds, 33 of them are gaming related though there are some sites where I have multiple feeds (IGN, Joystiq etc.). Plus the obligatory Engadget and Gizmodo.
10 Eoco // May 26, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Engadget>Gizmodo
11 Meresin // May 26, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I use Google Reader. The number of articles that I end up netting per day is generally around a thousand, but I only skim the headlines and read the ones that really interest me.
12 Xenetic // May 26, 2008 at 4:00 pm
RSS is way simply way to convient to going back to checking websites manually, especially when you have 100+ feeds (like me) to check through.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with so much information coming at you, so I use this website.
Aiderss.com
It filters out your rss feeds, and give you the most popular post based on how popular a certain story is. This way you can keep your favorite websites, without being drowned in so many post per day.
13 DemonicDerek // May 26, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I have a google page from my supervisor at school so I just use that to have 4 RSS feeds a calendar and some sticky notes for stuff I need to write down! I also use it to know the moon phases… as if I really cared… it is more of a filler than an actual useful device…
14 dirt junkie // May 26, 2008 at 7:42 pm
god i love RSS!!
I use google IG myself again like your good self it ties in nicley with my other google services plus I can add little games to one of the tabs.
I have 4 tabs, Main; with my email and techy news from sites like engadget and coolsmartphone (I test windows mobile software and hardware) and a few web comics white ninja etc… the 2 tab is my xbox 360 tab with about 27 xbox related feeds. third tab is my PS3 tab with a few less feeds and the final one covers pc gaming as well as game delvopler feeds and all this on my homepage! friggin love it
15 CoffeeAddict94 // May 26, 2008 at 8:16 pm
You grab a group of select, trusted sites (that just threw out N4G and about 1/3 of your problem) throw them up in the Firefox Bookmark Toolbar, and scan through what looks good. I have an SG, Joystiq, Kotaku, and other fun stuff
16 Lurkero // May 26, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I’m hardcore. I go to every site everyday. Sarcastic Gamer, Gamespot, IGN, 1up, Penny Arcade, Ctrl+Alt+Delete, Newgrounds…you name it. There’s nothing like the real thing.
17 RatGeek // May 27, 2008 at 4:17 am
Google Reader’s UI is drab, and more than a little depressing, but it loads so much quicker for its simplicity…
18 1Colin1 // May 27, 2008 at 5:06 am
I read ab0ut 4 - 5 websites, so I just do it the old fashion way, could never really be bothered to see the same story written nearly the same 20 different times.
19 aniki // May 27, 2008 at 6:26 am
Pfft, lightweight.
I have 151 RSS subscriptions in my Google Reader account, and get over 1000 updates a day. I don’t know the exact number, because the counter tops out at “1000+”.
I love Google Reader, though. While there’s some slightly better desktop applications in terms of speed, the ability to access my feeds from any computer with a ‘net connection (and even from my phone) can’t be underestimated.
20 Jabbersii // May 27, 2008 at 6:58 am
If your think the interface is boring you could try http://www.userstyles.org they have a firefox addon called stylish with which you can download styles which automatically revamp the page you are looking at everytime you view it. it will work with most webpages, so long as someone has written a style, and if they haven’t you can write your own. I would at least try it out.
21 irish boy90 // May 27, 2008 at 7:58 am
i visit one site for news
Sarcastic gamer.
Only other sites i go to are Gamefaqs (for the polls)
and Gamespot (for reviews)
22 sebey // May 27, 2008 at 9:39 am
I use netnewswire on my mac now I used to use google reader for a bit when have about 200 rss feeds it gets a but show and so does your borswer i used bloglines but I now switched back to nextnewswire and I get about 1500 new items a day I have found a thing I like for cutting down on rss feeds called aiderss (google it) and I am a little hisitate to use it but hope you like and you are so luckly that you only get 700 newsitems a day by the way
23 Dakkster // May 27, 2008 at 8:28 pm
I cracked up when I read this part of the article: “and seeing all those intrusive adverts yelling at you to buy merchandise (incidentally, buy the merchandise).”
Good stuff
I tried using an RSS reader, but I always fall back on just checking the sites one by one (albeit in 10 different tabs or so). Old habits die hard, I guess, but I will check out Google Reader, since I always have a tab with Gmail up in Firefox.
24 dzer0 // May 29, 2008 at 8:26 am
I have about 20 feeds in Google Reader and about 10 more in Bloglines (which is superior in every way for mobile feeding). I have a ridiculous amount of feeds to parse through but just skim the headlines for posts that sound relevant and check bloglines while in bed with my PSP, itouch, or N810 (depending on whatever my wife has stolen that night).
Personally I like the hotkey aspect the best, ?J? is next feed, ?K? I previous feed for example. Using these shortcuts will enable you to whip right through your subscriptions in a timely and efficient manner. I also really like the ?share? and ?share with note? aspects, several of my friends also use GReader and we point out posts the others would miss or comment on them with our inside jokes and snide remarks; this usually generates about 10 new ?Friends Shared? posts daily from each but often are far more interesting.
I think it?s interesting that some people would even want the little banner ads and personal flare of the individual sites, I think it detracts from the raw information; perhaps I?m more ADD then most but I already have trouble wandering around aimlessly on the internet without more distractions.
Last it?s also fun to see what other feeds people are subscribing to that I may have missed. I?ve never heard of Dark Zero so I just added it to my list, check out Geekologie and Lifehacker and think about adding them to your list.
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