I learned about this during Armchair BEA. I'm sorry I can't give credit, but it was just one of those many posts I read, and I thought "I'll try this." Not realizing how MUCH I was going to appreciate this tip. If you are the one that posted about this, please leave a comment, and thank you!
Why I like it? If you put this button in you bookmark bar, you can use it to go through your Google Reader posts. It opens up the actual blog page. You aren't just reading the posts in a reader. Therefore, there's no extra clicking to leave a comment. You can appreciate all the beautiful blog designs (although, I can't reiterate enough -- as so many others have -- that white text on black background is very difficult for some of us to read. Just sayin'.)
You get to see the formatting the way the author intended. I didn't realize what a difference this makes. One thing I found annoying about some blogs is that they present a "Summary" which is labeled, then it runs right into their review -- so it's difficult to tell where the summary ends and the review begins. On many of these blogs, if you see the original formatting, there is some sort of break or indication other than the word "Review" that makes it easy to tell.
I notice blog buttons to add to my own blog. I notice buttons to follow on twitter. And...the bloggers are getting a "hit" on their blog for my visit, unlike using a reader, where the blogger has no way of knowing you read their post. (If there's a way to track this, let me know, but I've asked before and I think that is correct.) It's just a win-win, as far as I can tell.
How do I get this button? In Google Reader, go to Reader Settings (click on the little wheel thing at the upper right of the screen.) Click on the "Goodies" tab. Under "Put Reader in a Bookmark," click on the "next" button and drag it into your bookmark bar.
That's it. It's easy, and now every time you want to read a new blog post, just click on that button. You should give this a try. I've been commenting a lot more since using this feature. I feel like I "know" your blogs better since I see the whole thing every time I read a post. Let me know what you think.
Pretty cool - I just installed it. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting. I have been in the settings area, but have not played around with it a lot. Thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this!! I just installed it and I love it!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great hidden tip - thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely going to install this. It's true -- I always feel more connected the blogs whose posts I actually visit instead of read in the reader. This is awesome. Thanks so much for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE this tip! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this tip. I also like that you can put a next just for certain tags.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip! I just installed this and think it's going to save me a ton of time! :)
ReplyDeleteI found this tip through Alexia!!! Thanks for posting this!!!
ReplyDeleteAngie
I found this through a post that referenced it on their blog. I don't know how I missed it when you first posted it. Anyway, thanks for the tip. I'm definitely going to try this out!
ReplyDelete