Can Microsoft Outlook RSS Feeds Replace Google Reader?
My experiment
Every day I start my morning with two applications: Microsoft Outlook and Google Reader. Outlook is for my email and Google Reader is for reading the blogs of people I find interesting. I’ve configured my Google Reader so that I can send interesting articles I read to Twitter or to my Facebook. I love sharing blog posts I find interesting. I noticed recently that my Outlook has a folder right below my Outbox that said RSS Feeds. So, I wondered if I could do my blog reading right from within Outlook.
Here are my screen shots
So, I set about adding the RSS Feeds for the blog posts I follow in Google Reader into Outlook. Here’s a couple of screen shots, one showing my Goolge Reader blog feeds and another showing the same feeds in my Outlook.
Google Reader snippet
Microsoft Outlook snippet
What I like so far
I do really like the idea that while I am at work and using Outlook, I can see the blog posts I follow without having to switch over to my browser. I know it is a simple click to open the browser, but it really is more convenient to be within the mail application I user everyday. And, my Outlook is more than just a mail application to me because it also houses all my contacts information and my calendar.
Drawbacks so far
There is one big drawback so far and it is almost a deal breaker (if your reading this blog Microsoft, this is the point in the posting I hope you pay attention to). That drawback is that I do not have the “send to” functionality that I have in Google Reader. Like I said in my opening paragraph I love sharing blog posts I find interesting with my Twitter stream and with Facebook. I’ve set-up my Google Reader so I can simply click “send to” at the bottom of a blog posting and choose to send it to Twitter or Facebook. I don’t have that option with my MS Outlook 2007 RSS Feeds. The other thing I would love to see happen is that when new blog posts come thru the RSS Feed I would like to get a notification in the bottom right-hand corner of my screen like I do for emails (although this is just a nice to have and not a deal breaker like the “send to” functionality).
I’d love to know. Is there anyone else out there using RSS Feeds in Microsoft Outlook to read blogs? What do you like? What do you dislike?
