Google Reader Alternatives: NewsBlur

A couple of weeks back I wrote a post about Google Reader being retired, and what the various options were for someone who was looking for something new. I mentioned at the time that I couldn’t write about NewsBlur because they were slammed so hard that the site was unusable. They’ve either beefed up their servers, or their code because now it’s running steadily. And it is fantastic.

NewsBlur has a very simple interface. You have folders, you put the feeds in folders, and then you read either based on feed or on folder. You can read in either original, feed, text, or story mode depending on your personal choice.

NewsBlur caches your feeds, so they don’t take so long to load. Particularly handy when you’re on 3G. This feature is probably why the site was hit harder than the others on Google Reader day. This is also likely why if you follow more than 64 blogs, they ask that you pay a fee of $24 a year.

But my favorite feature is story sharing. Not sharing on social networks (which you can do) but sharing with the entire NewsBlur community. When I read blogs I tend to stick with techy/geeky/indy blogs. But looking at the “Global Shared Stories” gives me the opportunity to see what else is out there with minimal effort. You can follow your friends and see what they share as well (You can follow us at http://puregeekery.newsblur.com).

I’m sorry feedly, but NewsBlur has taken my number one spot.

Import from Reader? Yes, with sorting
Access Via: Web, iOS App, Android App
Use this if: You’re into discovering new blogs and topics. If you want your blogs auto filtered.