Have you looked at using something like GReader’s shared items? I am only hooked into Chris Brogan’s shared items, but he usually hits some really high quality stories that will bubble through my reading list (where I read as much as I want, and figure the best of the unread content will come my way through Twitter or something).

It’s a great idea Connie! Thanks for sharing your new system. When my Twitter following capped 200 I struggled to adjust to the change. Now, at over 500 I’m enjoying the links that people post & it’s enough. The conversations on Twitter are so relevant.

@David - Shared items from Google Reader is still too much for me to keep up with, but I do think they’re helpful for a lot of people. Chris Brogan is obviously a good one to follow, and for anyone writing about technology, Robert Scoble’s link blog would be a must. I didn’t mention Facebook in my post, but I do discover a number of blogs to read by checking there.

@Connie - Twitter conversations have become very relevant, and the links I discover there are quite diverse — things I might not have clicked on except for the recommendation of a Twitter friend.

Thank you both for taking the time to comment.

Interesting perspective. Yes, consolidation is a good thing. I like the feed reader because I’ve got tons of blogs I’m following. I do find though that I click through frequently to comment and sometimes to get the context. Yes. There are some group blogs that I could subscribe to and drop the individual ones. I’ll start looking for those.

[…] media pro Connie Reece points to this evolution in a recent post, “Feed Reader Down, Reading Up.” In it, she explains how a combination of Twitter, Instapaper, group feeds, and sites like […]

Because I still have one foot not in social media, i’m still using a reader. I keep it at about 50 and several of those people rarely post. However, when they do I want to be there to encourage them, because I do actually comment occasionally.

This is one of the cases where the leading/bleeding edge can (and for sanity’s sake may need to) give up what the unsocial community is just getting to.

Along with my reading habits, I’ve also found that my searching habits have changed. Can’t remember the last time I did a “regular” search. I find myself always doing a blog search first– blogs are the best starting point for finding what I need. (Ironically, I usually end up using Google blog search. Lot’s of room for innovation in blog search…)

@Todd - My problem with a reader is not the tool itself, it’s my tendency to want to subscribe to too many blogs. It has taken discipline on my part to keep from stuffing it full of good blogs when there is only so much time I can devote to reading. The other drawback, as you pointed out, is that it’s an extra step to click through to a blog and comment. But I try to do that as often as possible, because I know how encouraging it is to get comments.

@John - You bring up a *great* point. My post really applies to those of us who are working in the social media / Web 2.0 field, who live at the “edge” and struggle to stay ahead of the curve. With my clients and friends, I’m just tickled when they use an RSS reader at all.

@Melanie - Interesting point that your search habits have changed as well. We tend to think of regular Google search as the be-all, end-all tool. I use the blog search a lot as well, and sometimes use different search engines when I’m pretty sure that what I’m looking for is not going to be easy to find on Google. One I haven’t tried in a while but used to be very fond of is Clusty.com. It brings related searches up higher in the results.

Connie - great post thanks for the insights. I find my self tapping into Twitter more and more. However, I’m not on as frequently as you and find that there is great stuff I miss so (even tho I tend to look at back pages)I still like to keep the feeds, even if my reading time has decreased.

Toby, I do spend a lot of time on Twitter and probably follow more people, so I see quite a few links. I’m trying to figure out a way I can read a reasonable amount of blogs everyday without the frustration of giving up and marking all as read. I’d like to get back to reading real books again, which means I have to cut back online time even more. — Connie

As you read in my own blog post, I haven’t been able to get myself off of my feed reader just yet. Still just trying to trim it down to just what I need–hopefully, less than 100 some day soon.

The one part I can’t give up on even as I start to follow more people on Twitter is the database of blog posts that I create by using Google Reader. Anytime I want to find something I read or just “Marked as Read,” I can always start there and search. It’s like having your own personal library of categorized articles, and it’s very handy for blogging/public relations.

I won’t ever get rid of my feed reader entirely; I just want to keep it at a manageable level. If the way you use Google Reader is working for you, don’t change it. I used to star items on Google, but found I wasn’t really using the feature. Could be because I was already so accustomed to using del.icio.us for bookmarks — and because I bookmark a lot of things that are not blogs, and therefore never showed up in Google Reader — it worked better for me to use del.icio.us tags on a post or to save it to Instapaper for later reading/bookmarking. –Connie

[…] that are important to them into the Twitter backroom for a chat is somewhat disturbing, as per Connie Reece’s comment that “Many of the bloggers I regularly read are on Twitter, so I have unsubscribed from their […]

[…] So far I am actually reading more posts, by more authors, and I have given up worrying whether I’ve missed something important. If it’s truly important, I’ll come across it some place besides my feed reader. Source: » Feed Reader Down, Reading Up […]

Hi Connie. My name is Mae. I’m a stay at home mom of two babies two months apart and a four year old. I’m a mommy blogger, vlogger, and mommy internet show producer. I am just getting started with Twitter and trying to build a network of interesting people. I saw your picture and came here and am reading your blog and yep! You certainly qualify!!

My Google Reader is mostly D List or below mommy bloggers. I like to find undiscovered gems that no one else reads. Too often we bloggers gravitate to the A listers and forget to check out some of the lesser knowns. With so many choices online these days, it’s harder and harder to get the word out about lesser known blogs or people on Twitter worth reading.

So HELLO HELLO and nice to meet you!

Hi, Mae! I’m glad you found me on Twitter; I’ve added you there. I agree about finding the lesser-known voices. In fact, I’ve got something in the works to address that problem — or at least getting people to think about it. See you online! — Connie

Sometimes when I have free time (which is generally… well ALL the time now that I don’t work), I will spend a day blog hopping from one to another. It’s kind of nice to find new things. Sadly some of my favorite blogs have now closed. I can’t keep up with all of my favorite people - even with the help of Twitter.

Hope this day finds you well. Cheers, Debs (sis of Michelle of Michelle’s Blog)

Hi, Debs. It was nice of Michelle to send you my way.

I agree — so many blogs, so little time. Even spending an entire day blog hopping, you barely scratch the surface. Thanks for stopping by, and please visit again soon!