If you’re reading this, then you’re probably no stranger to RSS. Which means that chances are you’ve come in contact with an RSS reader at some point in time. Choosing the right RSS reader can be difficult, and it’s important to weigh the features, functionality, layout, and design of a reader to make sure it suits your individual needs.
Personally, I’ve never seen the need to go beyond Google Reader. Sure, there are plenty of other options out there, but for some reason Google Reader has always felt like the best solution for me. But in the wake of the rapidly growing social web, my dear Google Reader has left me longing for something…more.
Sure, there’s always been the ability to star and share within the Google eco-system, but to be fair I’ve never put much work into building out my social graph on Google. As I’ve become more entrenched in my use of social media tools, I’ve begun longing for a more open Google Reader. Something a little more social. I mean, I’m a fan of staying in on weeknights and cozying up with a good read, but every so often you want to socialize, right?
Well, the fine folks behind Google Reader have been slowly moving in that direction, and yesterday they unleashed a new release of the popular RSS reader — chock full o’ social goodness. In the release, one new feature allows you to add sites like Blogger, Delicious, Digg, Facebook, MySpace, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Twitter to the new “send to” drop down menu at the bottom of each RSS feed post. Clicking on one of these sites automatically submits a post using your account on those networks, with a link back to the original source. Cool, right?
I know what you’re thinking. You’re probably asking yourself, “Self, what the %$@# does this have to do with Current.com?” That’s a good question, with a darn good answer. You see, Google didn’t stop with just those seven sites — they also added the ability to add your own site to your “send to” list. It takes a little prep to setup, but you can now add Current to your list and clip stories directly from within Google Reader.
Here’s how:
Open up Google Reader and click on “Settings” in the upper right
Click on the “Send To” tab, and click on the “Create a custom link” button
In the name field, type Current
In the URL field, paste this link: http://current.com/clipper.htm?url=${url}&title=${title}
In the Icon URL field, paste this link: http://i2.current.com/images/current/icons/favicon.ico
Your settings should look like this:
Click save, and you’re all set to start clipping content directly from Google Reader to Current.com.
Select Current from the “send to” dropdown list and you’ll jump right over to the Current.com clipper with the title and URL pre-filled for you automatically. Note: not all feed URLs play nice with our clipper when it comes to images, so you may still need to click “select new media” in the clipper, and pick the appropriate image before you submit.
Sweet, right? But wait, there’s more!
If you’re a member or owner of a group on Current.com, and you’re constantly on the prowl for good content to submit to your group, you can take this customization of Google Reader one step further to send content directly to a group of your choice. All you need is the “group slug,” which can be found in the URL of your group on Current.com. Let’s use the SF&F and Comics group as an example (I’ve highlighted the “group slug” in blue below):
Using that slug, here’s what you need to do:
Open up Google Reader and click on “Settings” in the upper right
Click on the “Send To” tab, and click on the “Create a custom link” button
In the name field, type Current: SF&F and Comics
In the URL field, paste this link: http://current.com/clipper.htm?url=${url}&title=${title}&groupSlug=sf-f-and-comics
In the Icon URL field, paste this link: http://i2.current.com/images/current/icons/favicon.ico
Your settings should look like this:
And now when you use your “send to” dropdown, you’ll have multiple options to choose from to submit to Current. Woot! Submit direct to your groups! You can set up as many custom links as you like, and point to any group you are a member of (or own) as long as you pull the correct group slug. So, you could literally trick your Google Reader out to point to any group you are actively participating in. Talk about a time saver!
For those interested, here is the story I clipped about a campaign against the use of the word “gay” in gaming culture, as seen in one of the screenshots above. Pretty interesting, so take a look.
So, now with a little setup time, your Google Reader could become the best clipping tool in your Current.com arsenal. Thanks, Google!
Yo Currentians!
