I have a new favorite tool–it’s Google Reader. I’ve been using it to keep up on blogs for the past few days, and I like it better than any other tool I’ve used (like Bloglines or Net News Wire, etc.). Google Reader easy to use and it lets you share your favorite posts. I’ve also put a sidebar list of posts I’m sharing–you can see it by scrolling down below my profile. I also like the interface–the only thing you can’t do within the reader (and you can’t do this in any reader I’ve found), is comment. That’s ok, because I like to click over to folks’ actual blogs too, so I can see their sidebars, etc. I love to read lots of blogs and keep up with commenting, but sometimes I feel like I’m just dealing with too much digital information. I’ve done a lot lately to lighten the load. I’ve unsubscribed from almost every opt-in I receive via e-mail and I changed all my yahoo group subscriptions to web only. Now, I don’t get e-mail all day long, and most of what I get I really need to read. It’s refreshing and it leaves me more time to blog and read blogs.

Of course, the stark reality of it all is Google Reader loves me too. As with GMail, they track everything I do–it helps them sell targeted advertising that keeps the whole Google behemoth moving. Interestingly, they’re not subversive about the whole tracking thing. In fact, you can see your own blog reading statistics by clicking on their “trends” link on the google reader home page. It tells you what you read most, etc. I haven’t been using it long enough to have much data, but my curiosity was piqued.

How do you manage all your digital information?

Google Reader