Skip to main content

Featured Post

Waltzing in the Music City | Weekly Snapshot

Posted on
If you're in the US, do you have Monday off from work or school, to observe President's Day? All of us at our home do, which is lucky because this isn't a day that every company or institution observes with a day off. Even though it's not been too long since the Christmas and New Year holiday season, I'd been pining for a vacation for a while - something either low-key or relaxing that even the kids will enjoy.


Currently This post is coming to you from the Music City - Nashville - where we are spending the long weekend. We are technically here only for two days and will leave early on Monday so that we are home in time to pick our dog from boarding. Although I don't personally care much for the music scene other than to listen to what's popular on the radio, I had been hoping to stop by Nashville someday and check it out.

We are staying at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, which is a sight in itself, with its acres and acres of gardens and walkways. It's def…
Post a Comment

Feed woes: Question for you

Posted on

Like everyone else in this world, Google reader's shutdown news has been highly distressing to me. Even though Google had closed quite a few of its services in the past, I had never really worried about Reader because, hey, why would that ever be closed? Who doesn't use RSS? Apparently, not many, it seems. At least, that was the general consensus in the web. If Google doesn't have the whole world using one of its services, then they think it's a candidate for the chopping block. Really, this is ridiculous. If they're closing it because they want more people to start using Google Plus, then they are even more ridiculous. Killing off good products so that crappy ones can survive. 'Nuf said.

(Picture source)

On top of that, I've been having trouble with my feed, at least for my last two posts. I am still using Feedburner, even though many have moved out of it, thanks to strong rumors that Feedburner is also shutting down. After Google Reader, I don't doubt that anymore, and it was just laziness that kept me from shuffling out. Which brings me to the point of this post - which feed subscription service do you use? FeedBlitz? Feedcat? Something else? I checked out FeedBlitz but looks like you have to pay if you want to manage email subscribers, and last I checked my Feedburner page, I had about 80 email subscribers.

I am hoping to migrate during some time this weekend. As for Google reader alternatives, I don't think I like anything yet. I'm hoping that Google will come back saying "April Fool"!

Tags

Comments

Jayme said…
I checked out several different sites and platforms and I am now using feedDemon. I am a creature of habit and it is the most like google reade with few more bells and whistles - and you can import all your other sites straight from google reader to get started.
Another plus is that it is not a search engine, but an app to your computer, so you don't have to download anything else to use it. Check it out
March 15, 2013 at 7:03 AM
Roberta said…
It seems that Wordpress blogs have native feeds. For those of you on WordPress and need step-by-step instructions like me,here is a detailed discussion of your options:

http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Feeds


Good luck, I feel your pain.
March 15, 2013 at 8:39 AM
bermudaonion(Kathy) said…
I don't know what to do but at least we have some time to figure it out. I used the feed services provided by wordpress.com
March 15, 2013 at 10:40 AM
Jaime said…
I hate to tell you, but I think FeedDemon is going to be shutting down once Google Reader does, since it just syncs with Google Reader.
March 15, 2013 at 10:41 AM
Jaime said…
As far as Google Reader is concerned, I've moved over to Feedly. Right now it's just syncing with Google Reader, but they are developing their own clone and hope for a smooth transition once Reader goes away.

As for a Feedburner substitute, for my own blog I'll just use the built-in Wordpress feeds. I don't think I have email subscription turned on for my own feed anyhow. But I have several feeds from my work that need that email subscription, so if you come across anything good, please let us know!
March 15, 2013 at 10:43 AM
Tina Reed said…
I tested out Feedly and NetVibes all day yesterday and I am going with Feedly. Easiest transition and still easy on my eyes. As for RSS feed stuff, I not using a service I just use point people to the RSS feed generated by WP. I know there is stuff you can do with a subscription service but I was using FeeCat and Feedblitz after the rumor hit and they both sucked. For me, anyway. Delivery was spotty and out of order when I subscribed using them.
March 15, 2013 at 4:53 PM
Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com said…
Regarding feed, I try not to worry about it. I'm hoping it won't go anywhere.
As for Google Reader, I'm soooooo sad about it. I want it back. Nothing I've found yet is quite the same. For the time being I'm using BlogLovin and Feedly.
March 15, 2013 at 9:24 PM
Vasilly said…
It would be nice if Google said April's Fool about shitting down Google Reader. I've started transferring my subscriptions over to BlogLovin and The Old Reader which looks just like GR.
March 16, 2013 at 2:56 PM
Aarti said…
I use Mail Chimp for my Feedburner replacement. Heidenkind had up a really great post on how to transition over. I don't think it's quite ideal as it shows your whole blog rather than just the most recent post in any newsletter update (at least, I haven't figured out if there is another way to do it). But it works OK.
March 17, 2013 at 11:47 AM
Marg Bates said…
I got the impression that this decision to close GR is about pushing people to use Google+ too, something that I have no intention of doing because I just don't see the point of it! I must confess I haven't actually thought much about the email subscription part ot if! Need to spend some time on it!
March 18, 2013 at 6:41 AM
Jason Brown said…
Aths -
It is all about Feedly.
seriously, go check it out.. i was unhappy about google reader, but Feedly won me over in about 5 minutes.
imports all of your info from Reader, so it is a cakewalk transition
March 25, 2013 at 11:11 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hell-Heaven by Jhumpa Lahiri (Short Fiction Review)

Posted on
I first read Jhumpa Lahiri years ago, when her Interpreter of Maladies was making a huge buzz. At the time, I didn't catch any of the buzz, but for some reason, when I saw the book on the shelf at the store I was browsing in, I felt it just might be a decent read. Funnily, I read the entire short story collection without complaining about it, but for some reason, I cannot read any collection anymore without agonizing over its disjoint nature.

I did enjoy Interpreter of Maladies, but I did get bothered by the thread of loneliness and infidelity and distrust that laced through the stories. For that reason, I have been reluctant to read Unaccustomed Earth. However, when I came across Hell-Heaven at the NewYorker - a free short story from her book, I decided to go ahead and read it. I can't resist the pull of stories set in India or featuring Indian characters, and it is that same aspect that hooked me throughout this story.


In Hell-Heaven, the narrator contemplates the relations…
13 comments
Read more

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Posted on
Maybe that’s what religion is, hurling yourself off a cliff and trusting that something bigger will take care of you and carry you to the right place.
Bernadette Fox has a reputation. While her husband and her daughter Bee love her, there's barely anyone else who share the sentiment. Her neighbor Audrey loves to gossip mean things about her with her close friend, Soo-Lin. The other parents of kids at Bee's school look down on Bernadette because she doesn't involve herself in school affairs. Bernadette herself goes out of her way to avoid company.

And then one day, Bee comes home with an excellent report card and asks for her reward - a family trip to Antarctica. The very plan throws Bernadette into a panic but she has no other option. She hires a virtual assistant, based out of India to take care of all her demands, including getting prescriptions at her local pharmacy, doing her online shopping and taking care of some of the logistics of her trip. (It is ridiculous! Bern…
27 comments
Read more

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (Short Fiction review)

Posted on
With the Hunger Games hype that engulfed us last week, it was hard to avoid all the discussion of similar works that existed. Of the many titles that I came across, two stood out particularly - a short story called The Lottery and a Japanese novel (and movie) called Battle Royale (which I'm reading right now and just cannot put down). The novel will be fodder for another post, so for now, I just want to rave about the awesomeness that was The Lottery.

In contemporary America, villagers across the country are gathering on the 27th of June (and some a day earlier) for an annual event called the Lottery. Children, women, men, all come to the main square of their village or town, where the lottery master keeps a black box full of paper chips. One of these chips is marked has a special mark on it to identify the winner (the person who draws that chip). Not everyone draws however, but only the head of the family. Husbands are viewed as the head of their families/households, and if the …
19 comments
Read more