One of the most important things writers can do to improve their skills is read. As such, we tend to be addicted to our blogs, and and we happily tap into our favorite reader app or social media account every time a client says, “I need to take this call.” When you’ve been doing it as long as I have and have accumulated as many sources, it can get overwhelming. 

Fear not my fellow junkies! There’s a tool that makes it easier than ever. Make no mistake – Feedly is more than just a simple RSS reader. It’s a customizable, magazine-style feed-o-rama that helps you organize all your favorite blogs (and discover new ones). 

Nuts & Bolts

Feedly operates as a browser extension and is available on Mac or PC for Chrome, Firefox and the most recent version of Safari. (Sorry, Internet Explorer users! IE doesn’t support an official extension framework and they don’t have the level of support for HTML5 Feedly requires. Besides, it’s 2010 – why are you still using IE, anyway?) Because it’s an extension, they can support more users and keep the service free (everyone likes free, right?). 

Feedly is based on Google Reader and Twitter. That’s where a lot of its powerful functionality comes from. Since your browser (through the downloaded extension) manages authentication using a Google account you already have, you never have to share your log-in credentials with Feedly. Also, any changes or additions you make to Feedly are made directly to your Google Reader account, so any other applications you have that also use Google Reader (i.e., NetNewsWire’s iPhone app) are also updated.

Features

The first surprising feature is Feedly’s ability to use your browser and social media habits to help you add and organize sources. For example, if you take a look at my Twitter account (@HireHeather), you’ll notice that I have a list called “Nerd Fun.” The first time I used Feedly, it actually created a category called “nerd fun” for me! Because Feedly lets you add your own categories, you can categorize your blogs and organize and view your pages in a way that works for you, even marking your favorites as must-reads to ensure they don’t get lost in the noise.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Feedly lets you share your favorite articles directly from the Feedly interface. You can tweet it, post it on Facebook or email it without leaving the page (it also supports Ping, Instapaper, Diigo, Evernote, Posterous, Tumbler, Del.icio.us, Google Reader and Buzz). It doesn’t support LinkedIn, yet (LinkedIn just recently added an API), but they have it on the to-do list. In the meantime, you can always just hashtag it “#in” if your LinkedIn is connected to your Twitter. I’m also a really big fan of the “save for later” feature – so you can always share things with Future You (who would’ve otherwise forgotten to read it or where Past You found it).

I could easily go on, but I won’t take all the fun out of it for you. The only negative things I’ve found about Feedly are that it’s a bit more difficult to add your sources on some browsers (which they’re working on) and that it does lack full documentation. If you do have a question, you may have to search the web or ask someone else (feel free to email me). But Feedly is actually so easy to use and so intuitive, these are small flaws when compared to the benefits it offers.

New Developments

I asked Feedly’s very own Edwin Khodabakchian (@edwk) what goodies they might have in store for us in the future. Edwin says they’re working on an app for iPhone and iPad (which I assure you I’ll download in a New York minute – at least as close to a New York minute as this Texan can get). Edwin also says they’re working on a feature called “mix.” No specifics on that yet, but the feature will allow users to embed part of their website as an HTML widget or Ning open social app. (Stay tuned to the Feedly blog for updates).

I also asked Edwin why they created Feedly. According to Khodabakchian, “There is a lot of great content available on the web. We wanted to create a better way to track and organize that content." Mission accomplished!

If you want to see Feedly in action, watch this video from user Heidi Allen. What’s your favorite feature of Feedly? Leave your comments here!

DISCLOSURE: I love Feedly and I wasn’t paid for this review. I just want to share great new services with my readers.