"I Never Remember to Check Your Blog"

In chatting with people recently about blogs, I realized something.  Most people are trying to remember in their brains (as my children say) what blogs they like, where they are and to check those blogs from time to time for new posts.

As a woman with a sieve for a memory and an addiction to blogs, I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  Google Reader.  Okay, its not really a secret and its not little.  But it is a fun saver.

Here's how it works.  You get an account with Google (it is easy and free).  Once you're logged on, pick the tab "Reader."  When you come upon a blog you like, highlight and copy its URL from that long little window at the top of your browser (like http://www.sourcesara.blogspot.com), then slide back over to Google Reader, choose "Add Subscription" and paste the URL into the form.  Then click add.  Easy peasy.

On the right side of your screen, Google will magically present the 10 latest posts from the blog.  One the left side of your screen is a list of the blogs to which you are subscribed.  And every time one of your beloved blogs is updated, the blog will show as updated in the left column.  Groovy, isn't it?

Now, one the top right of your screen, click the "settings" link and look it over.  You can fuss things around - I think the only thing I have changed is the "mark posts as read when scrolled over."  I like to do my own marking, thank you.

Marking?  Well, it turns out once you mark a post as read, it disappears. So I will often glance over the latest blog posts, mark most of them read and save one or two to savor later.  

Now, don't be afraid to sign up for plenty of blogs.  Turns out, most bloggers only post 1-2 times a week.  Many even less.  Of course, there are some that post 7x a day.  But you can delete those blogs later if you find them overwhelming later.  Just choose "manage subscriptions" from the bottom left of your browser and delete the boring or bothersome ones.

The only thing left to remember is to log into Google Reader.  Look around the internet, there are least 100,000,000,000,000 blogs for the subject most near and dear to your heart. For instance, my search for "gingerbread house blog" yielded 465,000 results.  Once you find a few people who interest you share and voice/tone you enjoy, connection and curiosity will do the remembering for you.

Your brain is now available to retain and recall more fun information (such as where you've put your cell phone and car keys).  And your can relax knowing Google is storing up late night reading fun while you carry on with your day.