Introduction to Feedly
Are you looking for a Google Reader replacement?
Or do you simply hunger for the best desktop and mobile RSS reader ever made?
For both the hungry and the hopeful,Feedlysatisfies.
But how did Feedly come to be the best?
And what happened to Google Reader?
For those of you who remember, Google Reader plunged into the RSS world like a double-edged sword.
On one edge, Google Reader provided its users with a near-perfect reading experience.
Sometimes the death of one thing can give birth to others.
1.1 What is Feedly and What Can It Do For Me?
Feedly aggregates, or collects,RSS feeds.
An aggregator captures, and organizes, feeds to simplify the consumption of news.
No longer do we need to constantly revisit the same site, wondering whats new.
Readers provide information consumers with huge advantages, as I outlined in theMakeUseOf guide to RSS.
Feedly possesses three advantages over most other RSS aggregation services.
First, it provides its own hosting service, meaning Feedly stores RSS feeds on its own servers.
When Reader died, so did the hosting service that virtually all RSS readers relied upon.
Second, Feedly is operating system agnostic, and the most widely used reader on the market.
Feedly is the only RSS aggregation service that includes both a internet tool interface and a first-party mobile app.
This means that it’s possible for you to access your feeds from the location most convenient to you.
Third, Feedly is attempting to resurrect Google Readers share feature in its Must Read category.
For Google Reader refugees, you may remember a feature that allowed users to share content anonymously.
Users in illiberal dictatorships freely shared content with one another without fear of government retribution.
Feedlys attempt at bringing back an RSS community just might be its best feature.
Even those who use RSS infrequently should want to use Feedly.
The reason why everyone could use an RSS reader relates to the utility in accessing content from any location.
Whether you casually, or religiously, consume data, Feedly can satisfy your needs.
Or if you only want news on your desktop, Feedly exists in the net web client as well.
It all stays in sync.
But how did Feedly become so fully featured?
Since then DevHD slowly added additional features to Feedly.
Second, you’re free to browse Feedlys database of RSS feed categories.
After youve imported your OPML (if you have any) you could then add individual RSS feeds.
To get your subscriptions, download a zipped archive from Google of your readers options.
First, download and unzip the archive.
Here are some directions onhow to export your Google RSS data.
The file youre looking for is subscriptions.XML.
To access this file, initiate the folder where your Google Takeout information lies.
launch the reader folder and you should see subscriptions.XML.
Next, navigate within your web client to the Feedly website.
If you dont have a Feedly account, you will need to link your Google Account.
Theres several ways to import OPML files.
If you already have a Feedly account, you’re free to import directly from the left sidebar.
To import from the launch page, hit the Import OPML in the center pane of the Feedly site.
Youll then be directed to log into your Google Account.
If you dont have one, you cancreate a Google account here.
Feedly requires all users to either already possess an account or to sign up.
After setting up your account, Feedly allows adding additional feeds through its launch window.
In the following window, copy and paste your URL into the box with the magnifying icon.
You might notice the topical listings below it.
Those boxes allow you to search for feeds by category.
I highly suggest playing around with those boxes as content discovery provides half the fun of Feedly.
Feedly can actually function without signing up for anything.
Its not necessary that you create a Feedly account to use the service but you really, really should.
Creating an account gives you access to many of the most important Feedly features.
Most important among these: An account allows you to keep track of read and unread articles.
2.2 Feedly Overview
Feedly comes jam-packed with features that any beginning user will want to learn.
From there, clicking on the Mini icon will add the site to your repository of feeds.
Unfortunately, this extension no longer works properly, as of August of 2013.
However Feedly announced plans to reactivate Mini in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled.
It can also schedule when you share an article.
Buffer shows up in Feedlys toolbar on both the mobile and surfing app versions of Feedly.
It works like this:
First you must connect your social media accounts to Feedly.
Second, after activating your social media accounts with Feedly, Buffer button.
Each of the social media options requires that you previously link those accounts with Feedly.
The linking process simply requires that you press one, or each, of the share buttons.
From there you receive a log-in prompt.
After logging in, you must agree to give Feedly access to your Google account.
After that, Feedly will share content to that particular social media account.
The Must Read feature is Feedlys attempt to recreate Google Readers lost share feature.
In a nutshell, users can designate an individual feed as Must Read.
Based on this categorization, Feedly will recommend new feeds, based upon the content of the feed.
Unfortunately, this feature doesnt appear fully functional as of August of 2013.
After adding it, check the box for Must Read.
Optionally, you could then add it to a folder/tag.
Then hit the Add button at the bottom of the pane.
The four options are: List, magazine, cards and full article.
One of Feedlys greatest innovations is that it remembers which layout you used for each folder.
Its best used for low-value folders.
Magazine: Magazine mode includes a thumbnail picture from the articles featured image.
Cards:Cards includes a bit more information than either list or magazine display.
Full Article:Full article includes the most amount of information, but covers the fewest number of articles.
I find full article most useful for feeds where I read the entirety of each item in the feed.
Feedly offers several basic looks.
On the downside, Feedly does not yet appear to offer customizable fonts with its themes.
Overview of Feedlys Advanced Features
Feedly includes a number of features that beginning users may find difficult to use.
Two of the most important elements of Feed are hotkeys and the Feedly internet tool extension Add to Feedly.
3.1 Hotkeys
For those looking to improve their reading efficiency, try hotkeys.
For Google migrants, Feedlys hotkey keymap will feel extremely familiar to that ofGoogle Reader.
Unfortunately, at this time, it doesnt appear to work.
However, it will likely receive a revision in the near future, so stay tuned.
While the official Feedly Mini extensions currently does not function, alternatives exist.
Theres an independently developed Add to Feedly extension, which approximates Minis function.
The extension will then redirect you to Feedlys main site.
Quite a few Feedly extension exist for other browsers, in particular: Firefox and Chrome.
On the downside, the majority of extensions exist on Chrome.
Feedly Notifier: This extension functions the same as Feedly Checker.
After installation Notifier will display the number of unread articles in red over the Feedly icon.
Feedly Checker [No Longer Available]: Its possible to check Feedly directly from your surfing app.
Just drop in the extension.
Feedly Launcher: This extension simply adds a launcher icon to the Chrome start page.
GGReader [No Longer Available]: This aesthetically minimal extension allows the user to reduce onscreen clutter.
Readly: Readly also attempts to make Feedlys web interface appear more like Google Reader.
Feedly Background Tab: Background Tab allows users to open tabs in a background tab.
This is particularly useful on slower Internet connections.
Users can let multiple articles load in the background, without opening the tab and waiting until it shows.
you’re able to also customize the shortcut key in the extensions options.
Feedlys official client ranks among the most beautifully designed and functional out all the RSS reader applications.
To change views, simply tap on a tag or folder, in the left pane.
To bring up the left pane, swipe from left to right.
The left pane contains all your folders.
By tapping on one of these folders, you will be able to read content contained within.
Once youve entered the folder, its possible to change your view.
Just choose one of the four icons.
From left to right: List, Cards, Magazine and Full Article.
To find additional content using the Feedly client, simply swipe from right to left.
I recommend trying both, particularly if you are new to using RSS readers.
Without Feedly, many RSS reader apps wouldnt work.
The official Android app for Feedly combined elegant design with raw functionality.
On the downside, it requires Android 2.2 and above.
A bookmark icon will appear beneath the articles content.
This brings up the content discovery pane.
From this location you could find new content.
Hashtags:Feedly also supports hashtags.
This is a particularly helpful feature for those seeking and promoting content relating to a specific subject.
For more information on acquiring a Feedly hashtag for your site, visitFeedlys site.
Differing views:All four of Feedlys views are available in the mobile client.
gReader [No Longer Available] offers one of the best RSS reading experiences.
Like JustReader, it works on a wide variety of Android devices, both old and new.
It also includes podcast integration and experimentally supports swipe gestures to mark as read.
The Press app [No Longer Available] is among the most visually impressive RSS reading apps available.
It also includes offline reading support and social web link integration.
MakeUseOf ranks it among one of itsbest apps for Android.
Check out our complete review and guide for Press.
The FeedMe appremains completely free.
Its currently the only ad-free RSS reader with Feedly support, other than Feedlys official client.
It uses a simple, straightforward interface.
If youre interested in getting started with RSS on your mobile unit, this is a great introductory app.
Its also among the best readers on all mobile operating systems.
Newsifyis an RSS news reader available on iOS.
Byline [No Longer Available], for iOS, features social integration, swipe gestures and offline mode.
Although optimized for the iPhone 5, Byline runs on all iOS products.
It costs $2.99.
Reader, available only on iPad, provides a tablet optimized RSS reader.
It includes folder support, drag and drop reordering of folders and more.
It costs $3.99 from the iTunes store.
ReadKit remains one of the best apps on all platforms for using multiple RSS accounts simultaneously.
It costs $2.99.
The app allows feed browsing by folder, social integration and includes keyboard support.
A folder system allows the sorting of feeds using elements, such as priority and subject.
I prefer creating folders with two uses priority and category.
For important subjects I append a letter and a number.
The most important subject material is marked A1.
Each folder includes also a subject.
So my most important tech feeds are labeled A1 Tech.
However, if you ever need to reorder folders, thats a snap.
To get started labeling folders, simply choose the Organize button at the top of the left pane.
Simply drag and drop subscriptions into the required folders.
As you move the folder the orders will automatically adjust.
Once you release, the folder will assume its new position.
These recipes allow the user to automatically perform actions using other web services based on preset behaviors in Feedly.
It sounds complex, but it isnt.
Theres actually so many recipes that its impossible to name them all.
This recipeautomatically adds a randomly selected Wikipedia article to your Feedly articles.
This is a must-have feature for Wikipedia fanatics.
This is highly useful for using your email to read feeds, rather than relying on the mobile apps.
If you have a mobile gadget that isnt compatible with any Feedly-enabled app, this is a great recipe.
Conclusion
Feedly offers features that no other RSS service can match.
Not only does Feedly provide the premiere RSS reading platform, it also supports its competitors reading platforms.
Rarely does a product so thoroughly dominate the market.
Image Credits
RSS Icon via Shutterstock
Kannon is a freelance writer for MakeUseOf.com and Feedly enthusiast.
you’re free to check him out onTwitter
