Frustrated of having to launch your browser everytime you want to read RSS feeds in your Google Reader ? DailyApps points out to a cool new Adobe Air application ReadAir which lets you read your Google Reader just like any other Desktop RSS reader.

ReadAir, a desktop interface for the online Google Reader comes with a cool new Mac OS X like skin which perfectly blends in if you have a Mac. It also looks equally good on WIndows systems as well. The ReadAir features the same layout as the online version of Google Reader. So you will have no problems in starting using the application.

But some features are missing. There is no offline mode for ReadAir at present, but the developer has that on his to-do list. Some of the other items on his to-do list are Keyboard shortcuts, Windows XP/Vista themes and custom themes as well.

To use ReadAir, you will first need to install the Adobe Air Runtime, and then the ReadAir installation package.

ReadAir looks pretty good for its first release. So do give it a try.

I am sure you will like it.

Remember Measure Map ? The Google Analytics for blogs. Measure Map gave you some interesting stats about your blog based on your posts and your visitors.

Google had acquired the service back in February 2006. And like most other third party services acquired by Google, it faded into oblivion. But Techcrunch is now reporting that Measure Map is staging a comeback.

Google Analytics will now add support for blog tracking using Measure Map. The same friendly interface but now on the reliable Google Analytics engine. The earliest users of the Measure Map service have received an e-mail to try out the new service.

Sigh. Why do all new Google services have to be invitation only.

Waiting for my chance to see the new Measure Map !

Saw two new Google Adsense ads experiments on my blog today. Had seen those type of ads mentioned in other blogs before but this is the first time I saw them.

The first type of Google Adsense ad shows a list of products (related to the post) available at eBay for sale. Look at the screenshot on the right. This ad was appearing on this post of mine. No “Ads By Google” on this ad. I think this ad will increase CTR.

The second one is the ad which is displaying a “Show More link” below the ads. On clicking the link I was taken to a page with more contextual ads.

Have you seen these ads sometime in your blog ?

Everyone loves Google Reader. And everyone loves the feeds they subscribe to in Reader. Now its time to show to the world what blogs you read.

From Google Reader Blog

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.

Google Reader has added a feature which enables you to make a blogroll right out of your subscriptions list. Here’s how to do it :

1. Go to Settings — > Tags.
2. Make the tag public whose subscription list you want to share.
3. Then click “Add a blogroll to your site”.
4. Get the code and paste it where you would like to display the blogroll.

That is it. Simple…. Get your blogroll now !

Google Reader Blog - Attack of the %20′ers

Two weeks ago, Google had given a sneak peek of better ad management in Adsense accounts. Today the feature has started rolling out. And now I have got that Simplified ad management enabled in my account.

What does Simplified Ad Management mean ?

Using the new ad management feature, you generate the same Adsense code but now you will give your ad unit an unique name. So the next time you need to change the colors, you just go to your Adsense account —> Manage Ads and change the ad unit from there. The changes will automatically be reflected in your blog / website.

No more editing your blog’s template files. Simple isn’t it ?

Do I need to update my existing Adsense code ?

Any ad code you’ve generated in the past will continue to work as normal. However, the old ad code will not be automatically updated to include this feature.

Is this new ad management thing useful ?

Now that this thing is enabled in my Adsense account, I have got a taste of it. And from what I have seen it is not going to much useful. The only thing you can change for your ad units is the colors, or the channel. You cannot change the size or the type of the ad unit (text / images / link ).

Anyways if you have a Wordpress blog and do not like to edit the template files every time you need to change the ad code then I would recommend Google Adsense Deluxe. It does a much better job as an ad management system.

What do you think ? Is this new Ad Management thing useful ?

Inside Adsense - Simplified ad management is rolling out now