Google Reader published time useful for Twitter updates

February 13, 2008 / Filed under: Google, RSS, Tips, Twitter

Google Reader recently added the ability to view the published time of any item.

Screenshot of Google Reader

The published time is the time the item was published on the actual site (provided in the feed). This differs from the received time, which is the time that Google Reader picked up the item.

Received times can vary depending on how often the application publishes an updated feed. Google Reader also limits how often it checks for updated feeds, meaning items won't show up in Google Reader right away.

Useful for Twitter

This is all fine and dandy for blog posts or articles, which are not super time-sensitive. However, for status-update applications like Twitter, I'd like a more accurate display of when the update occurred.

For those that wish to avoid the constant barrage of status updates via IM or SMS, using the RSS feed is a great way to follow someone on Twitter. However, since the RSS feed is not updated as frequently, there's a slight disconnect. After all, Twitter is not so much what you say - it's when you say it. Twitter is about the here and the now.

Using Google Reader, you now know the exact minute that each Twitter update occurred. As you can see from my screenshot above, there can sometimes be a five hour gap between when it is posted, and when the RSS feed is updated so Google Reader can pick it up.

Comments/Mentions