Not really.  It’s not an ode.  More of a very sad farewell post.

I’ll be honest and say that I was extremely disappointed when I first saw the announcement that Google Reader was going to be disbanding.  I have used my reader for years and it’s been a great way to sort through blogs and keep track of what I’ve read.

Well…I finally asked my Mom and sisters what they were switching to and they all recommended Feedly.  I finally decided to give it a try.  If you switch over before July 1 (when Google Reader shuts down) you can easily import all your blog feeds over to Feedly.

So far Feedly seems much the same as Google Reader, although obviously the presentation and aesthetics are different.  I wish I didn’t have to get to know a new program, but since I needed to switch…Feedly seems like a good option.  You can still have your blogs categorized and it will show the new posts.  (Note: When you first import your feed, there will be no unread posts, even if you had unread ones on Google Reader.)

One thing that (so far) I think I actually like better than Google Reader is that when you click a blog category on Feedly a list of all the blog names and post titles comes up.  I can easily go through and see which posts interest me.  If you want to read a specific post, you just have to click it and it will fill the Feedly screen.  If you’re not interested in a post, on the right-hand side you can “mark as read and hide.”

So…as much as I wish that things in my internet world could stay the same…..Feedly does seem like a great option for blog reading.  I’m sure I will acclimate to it quickly!

-Bonnie