This is a feature I’ve wanted to see for quite a while now, but it took a guy working in his spare time to implement a feature that should be basic. Google engineer Steve Lacey explains what it is and why he did it:

As a blogger I like to include a blogroll on my site so that friends, family and other readers can take a look at what I like to read. It’s also a nice way to give a shout out to the authors of the blogs that I like. However, maintaining a blogroll can be a bit of a pain as your subscriptions ebb and flow.

As a heavy user of Google Reader, I figured that the best way to get a blogroll would be to have Reader generate it for me, based on my subscriptions. This didn’t seem to hard, so I chatted to the Reader team and then set about implementing a this feature in my 20% time.

Well, now it’s ready for prime time! Head over to the "Tags" section on the settings page, make one of the tags you use for subscriptions public, and click on "add a blogroll to your site." For an example, head over to my personal blog, and you can see my blogroll in action over on the right.

I actually went over to Lacey’s blog and spotted something quite odd. Above, Lacey says he’s a heavy user of Google Reader, but his blog links to his personal Bloglines account, which is GOOGLE READER’S MAIN COMPETITOR.

I understand why Lacey links to Bloglines, though. Google Reader offers a superior way to read your feeds, but until now there’s been no easy way to share your feeds with your pals. Sure, Google let’s you create a running list of items you’ve shared. But Bloglines lets your friends look at your actual Bloglines account. And the company has supported blogrolls since forever. Google Reader is just now catching up. Thanks to Lacey.

Oh, if you still don’t know what a blogroll is, check out the life partners and cheap thrills lists in the right-hand column. Those are blogrolls I made using del.icio.us. Like blogrolls created using Google Reader or Bloglines, I never have to edit my blog or use HTML, I simply have to add a link to del.icio.us, and it shows up in my blogroll. Effortless.

Tags: , , , ,