Will Google Reader Become the Next Digg?
I’m going to post my official agreement with what Robert Scoble and others are saying about Google Reader becoming, with a little work, the next Digg. Only this time around, with a lot less noise and more news/tech content that’s truly worthy of sharing. I mean, that is Digg’s downfall, right? Iffy content and noisy comments really limit what Digg can be to serious information consumers.
I’ve thought this very same thing about Google Reader once I started using it as my primary news feed (over excellent Mac apps like NetNewsWire and Newsfire), but I never really fleshed out the idea, and I suppose that’s my fault (I blame Christmas shopping and assembling wooden train sets consisting of 54,500 pieces). But here we are with some pretty big names speculating about this very idea: that with a little luck and effort, Google Reader could very much be in the game against Digg, perhaps even better.
A few things have to happen first, and Steve Rubel says it best:
The catch is a) people need to be using Google’s sharing features and b) they would need to add a feature that displays how many people have shared each post.
So yes, a pretty unknown feature of Google Reader would have to crack the zeitgeist, but that’s not terribly hard to do, especially when the blogosphere is going nuts over Google Reader (I’ve had several people email me thanking me for recommending Google Reader to them). If anyone can strongly encourage a web usage metaphor, it’s Google.
So the sharing thing + share count idea is great and all, but think about it one step deeper, as Scoble has:
Imagine what’d happen if Google bought TechMeme, and used its algorithms on Google Reader feeds too. Hmmm.
So then you have a mathematical underpinning to help real content rise and chaff fall away, which is exactly what makes TechMeme such an incredible site. And when it comes to using algorithms to define and clarify information delivery to consumers, well, I think Google’s got a few people who know a thing or two about this. Just guessing.
The more I watch Google, the more I agree with Dave Winer’s sentiment that Google is becoming the dominant software vendor to many, many people these days.
Technorati Tags: google, google+reader, digg, web+2.0, social+web
Still sticking with Bloglines. Challenge is, that once you get used to using a reader like bloglines or Google Reader, it is hard to switch.
My initial look at google reader was that it was an almost exact copy of bloglines, including the ‘J’ & ‘K’ hotkeys. I did noticed that it seemed to be a bit faster which is a bonus. I’ll probably sit on it until I hang out in an airport with you again.
PT
Trebz — Google knows that Bloglines has a huge following, and therefore they mimicked the main hotkeys to ease things for those looking to transition.
Isn’t there a way to directly import your Bloglines feeds into gReader with pretty much one click? I don’t know for sure seeing how I’ve never used Bloglines.
Lazy day today, so I spent some time using Google Reader. The subtle touches are very nice. This version is very solid, and I think is actually better than bloglines. The first version was crap, so it took my a while to be convinced that the latest version is indeed solid.
I haven’t tried the mobile version yet, but the screenshot I saw of it look like it will meet my requirements.
I aslo haven’t tried the sharing features yet. I never really used them on bloglines either, but it is something that I have wanted to do for sometime. If the sharing features are solid, I may make the full out switch.
One complaint so far: Where the #%$ is the ‘mark all read’ button? I have imported a lot of feeds as I have been using bloglines well before most people knew what RSS feeds were.
Ok, so I found the ‘mark all read’ option. Works both at the folder level as well as at the blog level. Very nice. Ignore my complaint above.
PT — is there a button to mark all as read, or are you just clicking the link? I use the link when I want to mark all items within a given feed as read.