Blogs and Blog Readers

Feed readers are available to help keep track of blogs and news feeds that you follow. The feed reader updates as the blog you follow updates. As someone who follows many blogs, I’m excited to learn more about feed readers and feel as though it will be a valuable resource. I get overwhelmed when I follow blogs because I end up with many emails that I end up deleting and never go back to the blog post.  What I look forward to the most is having an opportunity to follow library associations, authors, and of course, my favorite blogs to keep up with the most up to date information on release dates and reviews.

Many free feed readers are available, but you may have to pay a fee for the service to specify further what you want to see.  In this post, I will highlight a few that were intriguing to me and then follow up with my favorite.

1. Feedly - In 2018, Feedly was one of the top 10 feeders. It is clean, clutter-free, and known for having every feature available from a feed reader.  For the free plan, you can follow up to 100 sources and organize them into three feeds.  There are options to upgrade your plan by paying an annual fee. 

2. NewsBlur - I love this feed reader because it allows the user to filter out less interesting content.   I also love that articles are displayed one after another, so you can keep scrolling instead of clicking around.  Another impressive feature is that you can share stories on social media or even within the app.

3. Inoreader - For a free reader, this one has the most features. It allows you to follow an unlimited number of feeds and what I like most is that you can use the search option without paying for a premium subscription.  The free version will have ads, but this one is great for beginners and advanced users. 

4. The Old Reader - This feed reader stood out to me because I often find myself sharing articles with my team or my team, sharing content with me.  Even if this is not something I choose to use to follow my favorite blogs, I think it is a great place to share content with team members with the same interests. The Old Reader is free with ads and 100 subscriptions.

5. Bloglovin’ - I love the layout of this feed reader.  One of my favorite social media sites is Pinterest, and I love how this has a similar design.  It still allows you to follow your favorite blogs, but the design is image-focused and includes buttons for you to favorite, comment, and share. I was very excited to use this app for my feed reader, but it is no longer available on iOS, and that is something that I am looking for in a feed reader. 

Follow this link to read more on the ten best reader apps.  This article is a little outdated, and some formats are no longer available for individual apps. Still, it is a wonderful article that breaks down the similarities and differences of the apps.

The feed reader that I decided to download and use is Feedly.  I love that I can access this app from my phone and have quick access to the blogs I love.  When logging in for the first time, I searched for content by industries, trends, skills, and fun, or simply type in the search bar a name, topic, or paste a URL. By having featured topics, I was able to find new blogs to follow.  I choose this blog reader over the others because I can organize my content into three feeds and only see what I want to see.  I want this to be a quick way to access blogs and not a time-waster.  I look forward to reading blogs but get frustrated with popups that send me down a rabbit hole.  I want to access my content and move on.

Blogs I follow:

1. Mrs. Readerpants - As a new librarian, I look forward to her weekly post on new releases.  She also has excellent content, articles, and book reviews listed on her blog.  I follow her because her content is refreshing, and her ideas are doable. 

2. Prosper 4ward Press - This blog is created and updated by the Instructional Technology Coaches in my school district.  I love supporting this group of teachers and appreciate their mission to advocate for our students by encouraging classroom use of the 4 C's: creation, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication.

3. TxASL - I love this blog because it advocates for Texas school libraries BY Texas school librarians!  It is up to date and has valuable information that relates to Texas libraries.  

4. Adventures of Library Girl - This is another blog that I follow because I find it relevant to me as a new librarian.  I can find booklists, library displays, library programs, and many other resources.  I can get lost in her blog!

5. Teen Services Underground - I work in a middle school library, and I find this blog helpful with book reviews, library programs, and make ‘n takes for our makerspace program.  

Find me on Tumblr!

https://thebendedcorner.tumblr.com/ 

Tumblr is a great place to follow librarians for book reviews, library displays, library programs, and my personal favorite, library funnies!