Inoreader

I would never manage to read all the blog posts I follow if I didn't have a way of seeing all those posts aggregated in one spot. My RSS Feed Read of choice is Inoreader.

While rabbiting on in a Facebook group today I confused one of the group members so, instead of typing out some instructions I used Google Hangouts to recordVthis little video. It may be of interest to you or your genimates.

The Honeymoon is over

When I read Tamura Jones' post on Google+ this morning about the closing down of TheOldReader I had a feeling of Deja Vu. (You can read the story at TheOldReader Blog).

I read the blog post then opened up TheOldReader in my browser, there was a message in a red banner at the top of the screen
" We have disabled user registration at The Old Reader, and we might be making the website private. If we do, unfortunately your account will not be transferred to the private site, so you might want to export your subscriptions as OPML and start looking for an alternative solution. More details are in available in our blog: http://blog.theoldreader.com"

That's it, my short honeymoon with this product that I enjoyed using was over. I totally understand the reasons why the volunteers who hosted the site have made this tough decision and I thank them for their efforts.

I needed to find an alternative and quickly. I went to TheOldReader settings and downloaded an OPML file of my feeds because I have only two weeks more access. I will be following my own advice and doing this regularly from my new reader. Not wanting to let the grass grow under my feet I registered with InoReader that was recommended by a few people around the traps.

My OPML file has been imported to InoReader and it looks as though all my Folders and Feeds (and in alphabetical order too) are there. The interface looks familiar (Google reader comes to mind) and I already feel comfortable navigating the site. Although it doesn't have an Android app yet it has a mobile browser interface so I can use that on my mobile devices.

I may have missed reading a few blog posts during the migration but I can live with that.

I hope this is the beginning of a long relationship not just a short fling.

Do you back up your RSS feeds list?

Before the demise of Google Reader I moved over to The Old Reader and I have been very happy with that product.

Earlier this week I became concerned when The Old Reader went down and stayed that way for a few days. It is now up and running again. During this time they honestly reported about their problems and kept users informed via their blog.

They had  experienced some disastrous hardware issue when migrating to new servers. While I was fairly sure that the people behind The Old Reader would get things going again I was concerned until the site was finally online again.

What if I lost my list of feeds?

My collection of feeds is dynamic, it changes constantly as I add and delete from the list. If necessary I could import an old .opml file into another product but the last one I have is when I moved from Google and this is very out of date. I could not rely on my poor old memory to reconstruct the list.

So now I have added another task to my backup regime. I will regularly export an .opml file of my RSS subscriptions from The Old Reader so that if some further drama occurs I will have a reasonably accurate file of those subscriptions. The Old Reader issue this week was a real wakeup call for me.

Do you regularly backup your RSS subscriptions?

Out with the old and in with the new...

...but it doesn't seem so new. It seems as familiar as an old pair of slippers.

Since I heard about Google Reader's demise a while ago I have been in denial and have just gone about using this fave tool as if the end wasn't in sight. I have now negotiated through Kubler-Ross' stages of grief and have finally reached the final stage: Acceptance.

Google Reader had to go. I was looking for a replacement RSS Reader that had an App for Android but I didn't want something all glitzy and graphic like Feedly. Today it dawned on me that I could use The Old Reader in the browser on my Android Tablet to keep up with feeds; an Android app would be nice (and they say it's coming) but using the browser does not cause any drama for me. On the odd occasion I use my Android phone catch up on my feeds I'll just have to manage. I chose The Old Reader because it had a range of good reviews from various sites and it was like Google Reader.

The process of setting up an account and importing my Google Reader feeds didn't take too long. The Old Reader sent me an email once all of my data had been imported into their program. The only hitch is that The Old Reader shows that I have a lot of unread posts and this is not accurate. So I need to go through my folders and mark most of these as Read.

Ready to read with The Old Reader

I've been playing around today and found using this tool so easy because it is familiar. I've deleted subscriptions, added a few new ones and dragged and dropped items just like in Google Reader.

One thing I am missing is that I don't have any followers so I don't know how the Social functions of this program work. You can connect with me on The Old Reader with my user name - GeniAus.

Will I be seeing you there?

Geniaus has more than just blog posts.

As the busyness of the festive season nears time to write blog posts is at a premium. However, this blog has changing content when there are no posts.

** The Twitter Updates Box on the left of the page records URLs of genealogy sites I have recently explored.

** The next box "Geniaus' new links on Delicious" provides a list of the genealogy links most recently added to my Delicious account.

** Further down in the left hand column "Geniaus' shared items" provides links to articles that I have recently read through my RSS feeds and consider of interest to other Australian genealogists.

I encourage visitors to my blog (now numbering around 200) to browse thes boxes and take a look at the links found therein.

HOW TO: Use Google Reader Like A Rockstar

HOW TO: Use Google Reader Like A Rockstar

Wonderful tips on how to use Google reader efficiently. Extremely relevant to genaelogists who subscribe to multiple RSS feeds and blogs