Bravo for Bloglines Beta: Finally an RSS Reader with Comments!
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Finally: read comments and leave your own without leaving your Bloglines BETA!
Finally. See the whole blog from your RSS reader (how could you go a week without new papa and writer extraordinaire Scott Schwister beaming at you from his blog? How can you miss my latest “Iraq War Costs” sidebar widget and all the other furniture I arrange for your edification and comfort?).
Better still - and this is the revolutionary moment in RSS history I’ve been waiting for, seriously - read both posts and comments in your aggregator window - and leave your own comments there too. What a time-saver and idea-expander, all in one tweak. Check out the beauty (and click both images for larger view):
Note that you have to use “3-Pane” view, “Preview” tab.
Regular readers know I don’t often blog about tools anymore (and long-time readers know I cursed Bloglines for a solid week over their ImageWall last summer, until Bloglines graciously listened and compromised). But this one deserves trumpeting from the rooftops - because finally, RSS Readers are not conversation-stoppers. THANK YOU, BLOGLINES BETA.
(And I know, I know - shared feeds on Google Reader, etc. But that doesn’t add anything that del.icio.us doesn’t already offer. And I’ll take a good comment thread over another post-only view any day. Blogging is about conversations. Don’t believe me? Check out the 20 comments in the “Science, Religion, and Goodness” post, or the 20 more in the “Leaving Teaching to Become a Teacher” post - that’s where the meat is.)
If you like this post, please spread it: 
- Why I’m Liking Google Reader Better Than Bloglines
- A Pox on Bloglines…and Google Reader
- Hello, Google Reader
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Oh no! After I just got used to using Google Reader for the “sharing” feature–now I’m tempted to go rightback to bloglines!
Cathy Nelson
30 Dec 07 at 1:01 am
I see del.icio.us linksharing or networking as the way to share posts, so GR is redundant there.
To me, RSS readers have always been more a negative than a positive because they tempt us with laziness over learning - by excluding the comment threads. That’s where the learning and thinking really start, when blogs are at their best.
To me there’s no question on this one!
Clay Burell
30 Dec 07 at 1:05 am
I’m the same as Cathy and just switched a few months ago, but at least exporting and importing feeds using OPML means going back to Bloglines shouldn’t be that difficult.
I also think you’re right Clay about RSS laziness. I’ve followed some blogs for years and rarely comment, because of having to leave the reader and loading another page. I also like, if your screen shot is correct, being able to see how the blog looks in terms of formatting to associate a visual connection to the writer. That’s been another frustration for me using Bloglines and now GR. Writers spend so much time with layout and yet I rarely experience it.
Derrall Garrison
30 Dec 07 at 4:06 am
Derrall, you pegged it exactly. Our reading and thinking is short-circuited by good old human laziness - even down to clicking a link so we can read and leave comments.
And yes, you can see the entire blogpage within Bloglines Beta. And as you say, there is much to “learn” through the visuals and widgets we all add to our blogs.
And yes, exporting an OPML file from Google Reader (or any other one), and importing it into Bloglines, is a 2-click action.
Uh-oh - TWO CLICKS? FORGET IT. TOO MUCH WORK.
Clay Burell
30 Dec 07 at 1:22 pm
This may be the bump needed for me to switch from GR. You and Derrall are on to something with that bit about RSS laziness. I think the laziness flows in the other direction, too. I’m a prime example of the lousy/lazy blogger who barely gives the time of day to layout, visual presentation, and all that widgety jazz. For me, the text-centric display of the RSS reader has been a comforting crutch. When I was in the classroom, my bulletin boards were pathetic. But, hey, what belongs on display is students’ work, not mine, right? It’s gradually dawning on little dull me, thanks to some good examples out there, that presentation IS important. So just as I’m thinking about ringing in the new year by spiffing things up, and maybe even a complete template overhaul, there you go putting my beaming self up as an example. Too funny.
Your comments about beating RSS laziness ? Spot on, as usual.
Scott Schwister
30 Dec 07 at 5:11 pm
Know what else is funny, Scott? I originally wrote, “How can you go a week with Scott beaming at you?” etc. Should have been (now is) “without”.
Tee hee.
Clay Burell
30 Dec 07 at 7:10 pm
That’s what the right click –> open in a new tab feature in both firefox and IE7 is for. I frequently comment and follow rabbit trails in blogs and can’t imagine having to go back 15 times to get to my iGoogle page. Maybe I’m just tab happy.
I also take the time to go back to posts I’ve enjoyed reading (many of yours included, Clay) to check in on comments. But then again, I’m compulsive like that.
So no switching for me, but I’ll definitely put it in my list of iGoogle alternatives for when I teach it again.
PS…Hi from Salem where we still have snow at 1000 feet and it’s frozen to the valley floor.
moseylissa
1 Jan 08 at 4:53 am
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Ah, moseylissa, you seem a rare breed.
I can only say my own commenting and, as importantly, reading of comments in my feeds has increased radically since switching to Bloglines Beta.
I just suffered from laziness and impatience with loading tabs, etc. Wish I were more like you - but glad Bloglines lets me have my lazy cake and eat it (effortlessly) too.
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1 Jan 08 at 5:04 am
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