Google Reader - ahead, yet catching up
It might seem funny to say that Google Reader is ahead, yet catching up…so I’ll explain. First, I’ll put the disclaimer out that:
- I work for Yahoo!
- I work on a product that has an integrated feed reader
- I’m a Google Reader user
- Before Google Reader, I used Bloglines
With that out of the way, I’ll explain what I mean in the headline. I use Google Reader because out of all of the feed aggregators I’ve used, it’s by far the most comfortable to me. Bloglines was comfortable once upon a time, but then it just went to hell (I have several posts chronicling the Bloglines downward spiral). Google Reader just feels right when I use it. It’s easy, doesn’t get in the way and it fulfills my main requirement of being a web-based reader (aside from a web browser and a terminal window, I really don’t need another desktop application).
So why do I say it’s catching up? Well, they only just added the ability to email posts to other people. The reader built into Yahoo! Mail Beta has allowed this since November 2005. Moreover, the reader in Yahoo! Mail Beta allows you to drag and drop feed items into mail folders so you can save them for later.
Anyway, it’s good to see Google Reader catching up in the places where it’s behind. Still, maybe someone will give them a hard time for copying Yahoo! for once (it’s always the other way around). 
May 7th, 2007 at 9:08 am
Ryan, I agree that Google Reader is catching up and has moved beyond Bloglines. The Google product has been better ever since they changed to this newer version a while ago.
My issues with the Yahoo Mail Beta Feed Reader is that I’m unable to add certain feeds for one reason or another. I end up adding the feed if possible to My Yahoo page and later it shows up in the Yahoo Mail list.
Also, some feeds always show that each entry is unread after an update. This may not be an issue on the Yahoo side, but a problem with the feed itself.
However, my favorite is still NewsGator. They allow POP access to all my feeds, so Yahoo Mail Beta is still in charge of email, but also where I read all my feeds! I simply press Shift+m, the POP mail arrives, filters apply, and I read the feed when I have a chance.
Thanks for a great product.
May 7th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Actually, we’ve always had an email functionality, it’s just that it was rather crappy until now
The new version is inline (faster than a tear-off) and preserves formatting among other things.
Mihai Parparita
Google Reader Engineer
May 7th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Mihai, shows you how much I use that feature.
May 7th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Dave, yeah…notice in my disclaimer that I mentioned I work on Yahoo! Mail yet I use Google Reader.
Make of that what you will.
May 8th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Ryan, with all due respect to the powerful Yahoo! Mail, I hope you’re not trying to compare the gadgetic feed reader in Y!Mail with Google Reader… if so where are my feed categories in Y!Mail??? , how can I import an OPLM…
“Also, some feeds always show that each entry is unread after an update. This may not be an issue on the Yahoo side, but a problem with the feed itself.”
Nope it DOES come from Yahoo! Mail, or else all my feeds that properly work in other readers suddenly become broken when viewed thru Y!Mail…
May 8th, 2007 at 9:13 am
You could, however, compare the Yahoo Mail feed reader with the GMail feed ticker… would make more sense to me.
May 8th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Guillaume, I think you missed the point. The point of the post is, Google Reader is the best web-based reader out there…but it’s still cherry picking small features here and there from lesser readers. Hence…ahead, yet catching up.