How to View Blogs (and even comment!) Directly in Google Reader

Oh, Google Reader. My true (blogging) love.

Back when I first started reading blogs, 8 years ago or so, I never used a reader. For one, I didn’t know what RSS really was, or what a reader was. But once I figured it out, I still wasn’t a believer.

“I like to SEE the blogs! The design is half of the fun for me! You really get a sense of the personality of a blog by being ON the blog!”

But as time went on, my list of “must-read” blogs got longer, and longer, and longer. I’ve never been great at organizing, so I’d forget to add one to my bookmarks and then months later wonder why I hadn’t read anything from such-and-such blogger lately. I would run into corporate filters that made some blogs completely inaccessible at work. I was leaving a lot of great blogs, blogs I loved, behind.

Finally, one day, I caved in to RSS and the reader, and a love affair was born. Now, I have anywhere from 150-300 sites I follow, and anywhere from 200-500 posts (depending on how many times in one day some of them post) in my reader at a given time. Some of them are for work, some are for personal, some are for fun, but they all feed into my reader. The ONLY way for me to remotely consider having so many blogs I visit is through a reader.

But that doesn’t mean the system is perfect. Bloggers still can choose to have partial feeds (my nemesis!). And of course, if I want to comment, I have to leave the safety of my reader and traverse the wilds of the actual internet. My downfall is leaving Reader…once I leave, who KNOWS when I’ll be back!

Well, if you’re like me and you LOVE your reader, but you also want to be able to see partial feeds, or leave comments, well, I’ve got a couple of awesome little tips for you. I learned about the first one from a handful of different people in a great “partial feeds are my nemesis!” wave a while back, and have recently found the second and third as other options. I hope you find them as helpful as I have.

A few simple clicks and you’ll be on your way to viewing blogs RIGHT IN Google Reader–and yes, you can even comment!

How to Read in Google Reader For Firefox Users

So you use Firefox as your browser? Great! Two simple little downloads and you’ll be on your way.

1. Add the Greasemonkey plugin to Firefox. (You’ll need to restart Firefox when you’re done).
2. Install the Google Reader Preview Enhanced  v1.2 script.
3. When you go into Google Reader next time, you’ll see a little “Preview” button down at the bottom.
4. If you click on either that preview button OR the title of the blog post, the blog itself will load directly in Reader:

Voilà!

How to Read in Google Reader For Chrome Users

For Chrome users, it’s even simpler!

1. Install the Super Full Feeds for Google Reader
2. When you go into Reader, you’ll see each post shows up with three tabs at the top:
3. Click on Links, and you’ll be taken to the blog, again, right within Reader.

And voilà, you’re on your way to visiting all your favorite blogs, right within Google Reader! Although, this still won’t help with web filters or autoplay music. Sorry about that.

As a bonus, I thought I’d through this little guy in:

The Google Reader “Next” bookmarklet.

This one comes straight from Google themselves! Hidden away under the Goodies tab under Reader Settings, you’ll find the “next” bookmarklet.

Drag the little button to your toolbar, and it will allow you to go through each of the posts waiting in your Reader in order, directly on the website. Think of it kind of like StumbleUpon for your Reader. I personally don’t love this one on a normal day, because I tend to read in certain orders depending on how I’m feeling, but if you just want to go in and make sure you’re visiting everyone, this might be a great help!

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