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Google Reader - Reference Platform?
September 24, 2007

A short while ago, Google Reader quietly added search capabilites to their already excellent RSS reader. If you aren't already using this tool to access RSS feeds, it certainly deserves another look. It has been my reader of choice almost since release, and even though I go and try new products and updates to other readers, I keep returnning to Google Reader. Now, it is even better.
Why is search such an important feature in an RSS reader? Well, remember that Google Reader is holding the contents of all the RSS feeds to which you are subscribed. There is a historical archive of every feed item from every RSS feed from the day you subscribed (and even a bit before, for items in the queue) to today. In a sense, I have my own personal archive of New York Times headlines for the past year, of all the cool new tech tools from TechCrunch, and all of the updates from the AASL blog. And now, that archive is indexed and ready for search!

A few months ago, I remember I read something about a new online photo editing website on one of the blogs I follow. Sure, I could go to a search engine and plow through the millions of hits for searches; I could even get smart about my query and try and put in some site: or date restrictions. Still, I am going to have to go through the regular spam of all those sites that aren't the sites I follow. See, I know what I am looking for...I just have to find it. Enter Google Reader search. Now, I can just search for "online photo editor" within the archive of my RSS feeds and quickly find the correct post.

If you started a reference portal in Google today with carefully selected and reviewed feed sources, you can start to grow your own search engine. Even better, there are tools to make Google Reader more "reference friendly." After searching and finding the RSS feed item (be it from NYTimes, EBSCO, Google News Alerts, or anywhere else) you can instantly e-mail the item to someone to answer their question. But wait, there's more! Have a class coming in to research a topic? Use your Star tool to quickly highlight items and place them on a special page. The Sharing tool provides additional support for creating public item displays.

Why not get started today? The sooner you begin building your Google Reader reference platform, the faster your reference archive will grow! 

Posted by Chris Harris on September 24, 2007 | Comments (0)