After it was announced that Google Reader will be shut down in July, some of my Twitter buddies asked me what I plan to use in the future as a RSS reader.

I have already switched to RSS Owl.

Pros:

- faster and more powerful than Google Reader
- portable program that does not require installation (choose the version labeled "rssowl-2.1.6.windows.zip"). You can take it on a USB drive if you wish.
- keyboard shortcuts
- social media sharing integration (Buffer, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
- Easy export and import of your RSS subscriptions as an OPML file
- open source (just like WordPress, Firefox, WebKit, etc.)
- free

Cons:

- it is a downloadable program, not a website

For an online RSS reader, I would recommend Feedly in "Google Reader view". However, I prefer RSS Owl because it is faster and more customizable.

You can make Feedly look like Reader by going to preferences and changing "Default View" to "Condensed".

Why use RSS reader?

RSS is the most efficient way to collect information from multiple websites in one location. If you need to do that, that's the way to do it.

From Rex Hammock:

"I used to attempt to get my friends to use a newsreader. For whatever reason, most never quite got it. It’s one of the few things I use that I consider a competitive advantage and a tool I couldn’t operate professionally without. I decided to stop wasting time trying to give that secret away."

Please share your opinion via Twitter or in the comments section below.

References:

Google Reader was a Google Pigpen product | Rex Hammock's RexBlog.com http://bit.ly/XMB5A0
Which is the Best Alternative to Google Reader http://bit.ly/ZFKLKT

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CasesBlog/~3/7fJLpWitN88/what-is-current-best-rss-reader.html