RSS: Google Reader vs. Netvibes

Since I’m already using Google Reader (GR), I decided to sign up and try Netvibes (NV) to see what differences there are in how these two subscription management (RSS) tools present the same service. Let me tell you, there are some differences! My initial impressions?

-Then-

Google Reader: “That’s nice.”

-Now-

Netvibes: “Whoa!”

Adding subscriptions through GR was pretty simple, and after a few add’s, I had the small sequence of clicks down pat. NV starts out in a pretty basic manner… but got a little confusing when some blogs would come up with 3 or 4 different options like “RSS,” “Atom,” “RSS 2.0” or RSS .95” or something like that and I’d panic with choosing “which one, which one?!”

But adding subscriptions to any RSS manager one by one would be time consuming… which is why I learned how to Import/Export my subscriptions from GR to NV. That is a skill I’m sure will come in handy again.

NV also offered a Firefox toolbar button – which I was only oh-so-happy to install (and it made me fall in love with Firefox a little more all over again). But it did make me wonder – what about those who have not yet discovered the joys that are Firefox? Do they have an easy-peasy button to escape tedious subscription adding?

Layouts also differ. GR’s layout is simple and clean with a static list to the left that shows the blog title and number of new entries. Clicking on the blog name provides all the posts to the right of my screen. NV offers little movable widgets for each blog and you can group them together and make different tabs instead of tags (Google) for similar-interest blogs (or however you want to divvy them up).

I am a dork for customization. One of my minor little gripes with GR is all the WHITE. Everything is just so white! With NV, you can customize using themes and wallpapers, and you can even have different themes for your “private” and “public” pages.

“Wait, where’s that one post I read…?” I like to “Star” my favorites and mark some posts as “Keep Unread” in my GR. I make regular use of those features. NV will let you mark posts as “unread” as you see fit which is nice, but their Star adds to “private/public activity,” not “my favorites.” Although I’m sure I’ll figure a way to readjust my thinking…

“Do you come here often?” NV is more upfront about their social networking interface than GR. I didn’t even know GR offered social networking features. Besides your “private” reader pages, NV offers “public” pages, a profile to set up, friends to add, and a comment wall reminiscent of Facebook.

Overall Google Reader is simple and straightforward. It keeps basic users (like me) happy. Netvibes appears much more involved and intricate. Set up at first feels a little intimidating, but the built-in walk-through and support helped to eliminate any “overwhelmed” feelings. GR has many of the same features as NV, but in my opinion, NV made theirs more visible.

Maybe that’s the trade-off… maybe NV only at first seems a little intimidating because everything is right there, while GR’s simple, clean-cut look is accomplished by having their features tucked-in in seemingly unobtrusive ways. I dunno.

Netvibes is definitely a step (or several) up from Google Reader and it’s going to take a little getting used to. I like Netvibes. A lot. And while it even offers a “General” page that reminds me of my iGoogle account, it’s going to be hard for me to make the RSS reader switch because right now it’s really convenient to see my GR subscriptions whenever I log into my Gmail (main email) account.

It’s amazing how we can deem ourselves a little inconvenienced by something as simple as a few extra mouse clicks. We’ll just have to see how it plays out over time.