The final countdown to the end of Google Reader is on. In eleven days Google Reader will be closed. I’ve tried a bunch of alternatives to Google Reader over the last few months. These are the five that I recommend using.
Feedly is a great service for reading your favorite RSS feeds on your
iPad, Android device, or in your web browser. Feedly will import all of
your Google Reader subscriptions for you with just one click.
I enjoy using the visual layout of Feedly which I feel enables me to browse through my RSS subscriptions more efficiently than if they were just in a list like in Google Reader. I also find it very easy to share from Feedly to Google+, Evernote, Twitter, and many other services.
Flipboard is an iPad and Android application that allows you to read your RSS subscriptions in a magazine-style format. This spring Flipboard introduced the option to collaboratively create iPad and Android magazines by sharing items from your feeds to your magazines. Watch the video below to learn more about collaboratively creating digital magazines with Flipboard.
The Old Reader is
a free service that you can use to subscribe to RSS feeds and read all
of the latest content from those sources in one place. So that you don’t
have to re-subscribe to the blogs that you love, The Old Reader will
allow you to import your Google Reader subscriptions. You’ll notice that
The Old Reader looks and acts very similarly to Google Reader. The Old
Reader will allow you to share posts, write notes about posts appearing
in your account, and organize your subscriptions into folders.
Feedspot is a simple Google Reader replacement. It doesn’t have any of the visual
effects of Flipboard or Feedly. What it does have is a clean interface
that may remind you a lot of Google Reader. In fact, it even uses some
of the same keyboard shortcuts as Google Reader. Learn more about
Feedspot in this Tekzilla video.
FlowReader is a
free RSS reader that I tried earlier this week. I have to say that they
couldn’t make it easier to import your Google Reader subscriptions. To start using FlowReader
just visit the homepage and click “Import Your Google Reader Feeds
Now.” After clicking that button authorize FlowReader to access your
Google Reader feeds and all of your feeds will be imported into
FlowReader. If you are using categories in Google Reader, those will be
imported too. After importing your feeds you can connect your social
media accounts like Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. You can also connect
Evernote, Instapaper, and many other bookmarking services to your
FlowReader account. FlowReader lets you read your feeds in full article
view or in a headline-only view.
Applications for Education
I’ve always believed that as educators we have a responsibility to continue to read and learn about ideas shared in our field. Creating a set of blogs and websites that you subscribe to is a great way to read and learn about new ideas in our field. These Google Reader alternatives make it easy to create a set of subscriptions and read them on your favorite device.
I have also tried Zite, Netvibes, NewsBlur, and Pulse. You might also want to take a look at MyLinkCloud’s support for RSS feeds.
