Business Credit Cards

By Laura Milligan

Google Reader is already a tool that can be used to boost your productivity throughout the day by letting you view your favorite blog’s feeds and posts in one spot: through your Google account. But for those of us who tend to get bogged down in a lot of useless subscriptions and really need to cut down on the minutes (or hours) we spend procrastinating each day, there are a lot of little hacks to make Google Reader more productive. We’ve compiled a list of over 50 of our favorites here.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Use these basic but necessary keyboard shortcuts to make searching, organizing, sharing and reading your feeds more efficient.

1. /: Use the forward slash to move your cursor to the search box and start looking for new stuff or saved items.
2. g then u: Type g then u to go to your subscriptions.
3. g then d: This shortcut will take you to the recommended page. If there are no recommendations, typing g then d will take you to the browse page.
4. 2: Press 2 to see your subscriptions in a list view or headline view.
5. ?: Find more keyboard shortcuts just for Google Reader by pressing the question mark.
6. Shift-s: Pressing Shift-S will share or un-share the selected item.
7. s: Star and un-star your highlighted items simply by pressing s.
8. Shift-o: Open up the highlighted subscription or folder with this shortcut.
9. g then h: Press g then h to go back to the Google Reader homepage.
10. g then shift-s: This shortcut will take you to the “Your Shared Items” page.
11. shift-n/p: n/p stands for Next/Previous, and using this combination will select the Next/Previous selection or folder.
12. v: Open up the original page of the selected item in Google Reader.
13. e: Quickly e-mail a page or other selection by pressing e when you’re in Google Reader.
14. r: Check to see if anymore unread updates have been added when you hit the r button in the navigation.

For Firefox

Firefox users like their browser’s speed and ability to add on new scripts or buttons. Check out several Google Reader-specific hacks for Firefox here.

15. Enhance Google Reader Preview: This script adds a Preview button so that you don’t have to open up an article or post all the way to read it.
16. BlogThis2Me: The BlogThis2Me script lets you “blog Google Reader’s “BlogThis!” to your own blog system, not to blogger.com,” as long as you have Firefox and Greasemonkey.
17. Smart Google Reader Subscribe Button: this script “adds an overlayed check icon when you’re subscribed to at least one of the feeds that the site advertises via auto-discovery.”
18. Gbutts 1.5.1: Gbutts is short for Google buttons, and you can add your Google Reader button, as well as any other Google buttons, to your Firefox address bar.
19. Better GReader: Better GReader works with Firefox adds a menu with extra options and features like Smart Subscribe, Preview Inline, Optimized Skin and others.
20. Google Reader Watcher: Google Reader Watcher is an add-on that makes Firefox check your Google Reader for unread fees. This download does not require Greasemonkey.
21. Quick Hide Message: Shave off milliseconds with this script, which “quickly hides the message displayed in Google Reader after performing renames, folder changes,” and other actions.
22. Auto Add Feed: The Auto Add Feed script only adds feeds to Google Reader, instead of asking you where you want it to be saved.
23. Title Unread Count: This hack moves the unread count in Google Reader to the front.
24. Greasereader: Add even more hot keys to your Google Reader systems by reading this guide.
25. Google Reader All Starred: Extract all of your starred items as links from Google Reader so that you don’t have to download each one.
26. Google Reader Read by Mouse: Set up this script so that you can use a mouse-only system to read your feeds. It uses mouse buttons for the following actions: next item, previous item, and more.

Real Time Savers

If you’re serious about making your Google Reader visits more efficient, learn how to categorize by priority, use the “next” bookmarklet, and implement scripts that let you autoscroll, review your subscriptions and more.

27. Categorize by priority: Stepcase Lifehack recommends categorizing your feeds by priority so that you don’t get bogged down in irrelevant articles.
28. Google Reader Autoscroll: The autoscroll script lets you “view and mark items as read by means of a mouse wheel and keyboard shortcuts.”
29. Mark All as Read: If you only want to read one article from a feed, you can mark everything else as read to weed out your extra entries.
30. Google Reader Scroll Reducer: With this script, you’re able to comment on and view the original site without having to scroll to the top of page to get to the URL.
31. The “Next” Bookmarklet: The Google Reader Blog discusses this hack, which “allows you to use Google Reader through just one link — clicking on it takes your browser to the next unread item in your reading list.”
32. Review your subscriptions: Are you still getting subscriptions for some obscure hobby you were only interested in a year ago? Go through your subscriptions and delete any that you don’t really want emptied into your account regularly.
33. Print Button v2.0: The Google Reader Print Button v2.0 allows users to print either the selected content or everything that’s displayed on the page in Google Reader.
34. Gmail + Google Reader: Add Google Reader into your Gmail account so you don’t have to constantly switch back and forth.
35. Google Reader Filter: Get rid of duplicate and unwanted content with this script.
36. Tag your items: Take advantage of the tagging feature on Google Reader. It’s there to help you stay organized and more productive.

Social Media Hacks

How much time do you waste each day checking all of your social media accounts? These hacks let you sync up Google Reader with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google Chat and more.

37. Google Reader + ma.gnolia: This basic script lets you add a Google Reader post to ma.gnolia.
38. Google Reader Digg News: Add a Digg button to your Google Reader posts with this script.
39. Tumblr: Sync up your Google Reader and Tumblr with this script. You can attach your reblog button or Share-on-Tumblr at the bottom of articles on Google Reader.
40. Managing Your Shared Items: This post from the Google Reader Blog shows you how to add and remove friends from your Gmail or GChat account.
41. Google Reader and Flickr: Now you embed Flickr videos into your Google Reader, so you don’t have to switch back and forth to share with extra friends or read their comments.
42. Facebook Sharer + Google Reader: Share your favorite posts and articles with Google Reader friends and Facebook friends.
43. Google Reader + del.icio.us: Use this script to define tags and links for a faster way of posting to del.icio.us.
44. Google Reader + Twitter: Use this script to add reader posts to Twitter.

Add-Ons and Solutions

Try out these add-ons to customize your Google Reader experience and streamline your Google accounts.

45. Google Reader Notifier: This extension keeps you updated by showing you how many unread items you have in your account.
46. Add a Search: Add a search engine to your Google Reader account to make searching for items faster.
47. Google Reader Optimized: Use this script to view Google Reader in a larger space. The last official update was in 2006, but Google Reader users have submitted updates.
48. Google Reader Romeo Script: Check out this script to access Google Reader from your cell phone — if you don’t have an iPhone.
49. Google Reader Button for Internet Explorer: IE users can add on a Google Reader to their browser using this tutorial.
50. iPhone Skin: iPhone users can easily view Google Reader on their phones with this special skin from developer David Cann.
51. Iris: View your Google Reader subscriptions in a Firefox sidebar.
52. Go behind the scenes: If you want to know how many people have subscribed to a certain feed, you can use this tutorial to speed up your search times.

Greetings! Welcome to the 20th edition of the Carnival of Business and Entrepreneurship. We have selected 28 posts for this edition. Here you go:

Andy Boyd presents 17 Inspirational & Outrageously Cool Office Interiors posted at The News In Print. When it comes to increasing productivity, a great interior office design is a good start. These cutting edge offices inspire staff to produce their best work.

Brian Terry presents 6 Hot Tips For Successful Split Testing posted at Big Selling Website Design.

Heather Johnson presents 7 Ways to Retain Loyal Customers posted at Business Consultant.

Brad Trnavsky presents Leadership Vs. Management - Sales Management 2.0 posted at Sales Management 2.0 - Featured Blog Posts. A very short article about leadership vs. Management and how to find the right balance.

Fred Black presents What Can You Learn from Watching Big Product Launches? posted at Fred Black: Internet Business Blog..

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Build A Business Before You Go Solo posted at The Digerati Life.

David B. Bohl presents Tips for Setting Boundaries in Your Life and Work posted at Slow Down Fast Today!. Setting boundaries prevents misunderstandings, hurt feelings, awkward situations, grudges and other interpersonal torpedoes from endangering your relationships.

Charles H. Green presents Discounting and Winston Churchill posted at Trusted Advisor Associates. Discounting from a previously quoted price says something about you, and it isn’t usually something good.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Cautionary Verse posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Susan Tatum presents What technology buyers don’t want to see on your website posted at TechnoBuzz.

Shawn Driscoll presents How Do I Maintain Energy, Focus, Motivation and Drive? posted at Shawn Driscoll.

Steve Faber presents - Increase Targeted Web Site Traffic – It’s All in a Name posted at Home Based Business Success.

GP presents Nothing Succeeds Like Success posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn. To quote Thomas Edison, Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Mike Smith presents 50 Guerrilla Marketing Tactics You Should Be Using posted at Bootstrapping Blog.

Andrew Trinh presents How to Accomplish Goals posted at Trizle.

GreatManagement presents The 4-Hour Work Week: What Would Excite You? posted at The GreatManagement Blog. If you could reduce your working week and had unlimited money, what would you do? What excites you?

John Phillips presents The Reinforced Glass Ceiling posted at The Word On Employment Law. Life in the fast lane.

Paras Chopra presents Why (Most) Internet Startups Suck? posted at Paras Chopra’s Blog.

FMF presents An Example of Turning a Hobby into an Income posted at Free Money Finance. How to turn a hobby into an income.

Patti Blevins presents Home Based Business Opportunity to Work At Home posted at Patti Blevins.

Lorraine Cohen presents 3 Places To Manage Your Clutter and Free Up Your Energy! posted at Powerfull Living. Whether you realize it, clutter is a huge energy drainer. While most people think of clutter as being physical stuff, there are many more ways we become exhausted and drained.

Jack Keifer presents Finding The Magic Pill For Unlimited Income Online posted at Jack S. Keifer.

Melanie presents 40 No Charge Sites for your Press Release posted at Rembrandt’s PR and Writing Blog for Startup Success. Get valuable PR and writing tips to help your business increase sales, awareness and credibility!

Bull Returns presents Stock Investment Resource: Stock Market Investing Tips - Growth vs. Value Investing posted at Stock Investment Resource. The pros and cons of investing in growth vs value stocks.

Stephan Grindley presents Enterprise Asset Management Software - a Great Way to Manage posted at Asset Management Articles.

Rich Maltzman presents Project Managers: Don’t Get the Point! posted at Scope crêpe.

Phil for Humanity presents The Types of Managers << Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity. Ever wonder what types of managers there are? Well, wonder no longer, because here they are…

Terry Dean presents Art of Persuasion posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

That concludes this edition. Next edition of this carnival will be hosted here on May 16, 2008. Submit your blog articles using our blog carnival submission form.

Greetings! Welcome to the 19th edition of the Carnival of Business and Entrepreneurship. We have selected 21 posts for this edition. Here you go:

Dave Cohen presents How To Be Excellent (Or, Principle vs. Technique) posted at Experience Designer. A few simple principles for getting your attitude in the right place for learning all the skills you’re going to need.

Steve Faber presents - The Best Home Based Business Opportunities For a Bad Economy posted at Home Based Business Success.

Debbie presents The Benefits of Small Business Blogs posted at American Small Business News.

Miami Phillips presents Relationship, money and other challenges we face! posted at Self Improvement Lounge. Good post about the relationship we have with money and why we want it…

Joe Manausa presents The Real Estate Market - When Will We See The Turn? posted at Tallahassee Real Estate Blog.

Bull Returns presents Stock Investment Resource: Stock Market Investing Tips - Is Small Cap Value The Key For 2008? posted at Stock Investment Information. Small cap value stocks performed poorly in 2007. Will 2008 see a resurgence of small cap value?

Fred Black presents What Can You Learn from Watching Big Product Launches? posted at Fred Black: Internet Business Blog..

Mohamed Bhimji presents Help! My WordPress Has Been Hacked! posted at Internet Business Opportunities.

GreatManagement presents “I’ll Start Tomorrow” posted at The GreatManagement Blog.

Stefan Töpfer presents Do you have concern for your business or only for yourself? posted at The Small Business Blog. You need to think of your business first, before you worry about yourself.

Jose DeJesus MD presents Improve Consistency in Your Business posted at Physician Entrepreneur.

Rena Williams presents A Review Of Success In 10 Steps posted at Balanced Success.

Davexplorer presents Lakshmi Mittal posted at Millionaires Ladder.

Vicky Ayala presents The Top 10 Contact Management Resources to Keep Your Business Organized posted at Internet Mogal.

Shan T presents Is Passion a key to a successful blog? posted at Our Dream Plan.

Andrew Trinh presents How to Make Good Decisions posted at Trizle.

Mitchel Harad presents Save Money at the Office posted at Holy Cash Cow. Easy and effective money saving tips for businesses of all sizes.

Gwendolyn Cuizon presents Globalization and Commanding Heights posted at Gwendolyn Cuizon.

Charles H. Green presents What’s Your Trust Quotient? posted at Trusted Advisor Associates. Trust is essential in business. Do others trust you? Should they? Take the trust test, find out, and learn how to become even more trustworthy.

Garry presents eBooks as a Business Opportunity, How to Make Your Own posted at 2 Million Dollar Bills.

Terry Dean presents 7 Step Easy Writing System posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

That concludes this edition. Next edition of this carnival will be hosted here on May 09, 2008. Submit your blog articles using our blog carnival submission form.

By Christina Laun

Researching family history used to mean spending hours pouring through archives in libraries and public records. With the growing power of the Internet, however, now you may not even have to leave your home to find the information you need about your family. There are loads of sites dedicated to helping people build their family histories, find records and even learn the origins of their family names. Here are a few sites where you can start your search to build a bigger, better family tree.

Websites

These major sites can be a great starting points for your genealogical research.

1. Ancestry.com: Ancestry.com is one of the largest genealogy sites on the Web, with billions of names that you can search through to find your relatives as well as gain access to historical records, genealogy communities, family tree makers and much more.
2. RootsWeb: Unlike many of the online genealogy sites, RootsWeb is free to use, and you do not need to pay a monthly or yearly fee for access. Users can browse through searchable databases of historical and genealogical information as well as create online family trees to display their findings.
3. Geneaology.com: This membership-based site will allow you to search through information, build online family trees, subscribe to certain types of information, and even look at celebrity family trees.
4. SurnameWeb: This online genealogy project is based solely on the history of your surname. Simply enter in your last name and you’ll get access to loads of resources that can help you trace your name’s history and find others with the same name.
5. Family Tree Maker Online: Get access to more features online with the website for this popular software choice. Owners of Family Tree Maker can meet and talk to others with the program, read a blog about new features and learn more about genealogy.
6. US GenWeb Project: This project is dedicated to keeping genealogy research free of charge. It compiles loads of free resources and archives by state as well as providing access to special projects the group works on.
7. Cyndi’s List: Don’t waste your time scouring the Web looking for genealogy resources. This site organizes just about anything you could need into one large comprehensive guide to the best of genealogy on the Web.
8. Lost Cousins: Find your long lost cousins with this site. Enter in your family history and the program will put you in touch with anyone else out there who shares the same ancestors.
9. WeRelate: This wiki project is sponsored by the Foundation for On-Line Genealogy and has grown to become the largest genealogy wiki out there. You can add your own family history to the site and look at the information provided by millions of others.
10. FamilySearch: This site is home to one of the largest collections of genealogical research tools available. Even better, it’s free, so you don’t have to pay to look through their records.
11. GeneaNet: Go international with this multi-lingual genealogy site. You’ll be able to search through information, chat with others and build your own family tree online.
12. Genealogy Today: Here, researchers will find both pay and free databases for their use as well as access to loads of informative articles, guides and helpful information.

Archives and Records

Get access to all kinds of historical records through these online archives.

13. Library of Congress Local History and Genealogy Reading Room: Take advantage of one of the largest libraries in the United States through this website. You’ll gain access to any genealogical resources the library has and learn a little more about researching family histories.
14. National Archives and Records Administration: While not always the easiest information to peruse, the National Archives are full of records that can be a big help in your quest for information about relatives.
15. Social Security Death Index: If you’re looking for more recent relatives, the Social Security Death Index can be a great way to find them. Records go back to 1937 and cover any relatives who were given a Social Security number.
16. Internment.net: Search through thousands of cemeteries nationwide for the graves of your relatives. You can find out birth and death information as well as additional information about family connections through this site.
17. Access Genealogy: This free online resource is full of archives you can use. It covers everything from Census records to genealogical records for African Americans.
18. Footnote: Footnote is an original and innovative site that lets users from all over the world upload original documents and photographs. You may even be able to find some that belonged to your relatives. It’s a great way to learn about your own history as well as that of others.
19. Genealogy Bank: You’ll be able to search through the archives on this site to find information on your family history. Perhaps one of the best features, however, is the timeline creator which lets you build a timeline of important events in a family member’s life.
20. Find a Grave: Learn where even your most distant relatives were laid to rest with this tool. If you have photographs you can upload them to the site as well as obituaries and other death information.
21. DocumentsOnline: Those doing research on relatives from the UK can take advantage of this large archive of records that has been digitized and is available through the website for researchers.
22. JewishGen: If you are of Jewish heritage you may be able to find information about your ancestors through this site. You can search through records from a number of countries and get in touch with others keeping records of their family history.
23. Global Gazetteer: Find the homes and resting places of your family members using this site. It has satellite images of locations all over the world to give you an idea of where you’re from.
24. Census Links: Census records can be tedious to go through, but this site combines many links to sites all over the world to make it just a little less painful to research.
25. The Records Room: This site combines links to records like birth certificates, census reports, marriage and divorce papers, and much more to make finding the information you need easier.
26. Vital Rec: Here you’ll find vital records on births, deaths and marriages across the US as well as information on how you can request copies of this information.

Crests and Coats of Arms

Find out what coat of arms represents your family name with these helpful resources.

27. House of Names: Memorialize your family crest with merchandise from this site. You can get high quality print outs or even mouse pads with your family logo.
28. All Family Crests: Here you’ll find a simple search tool to help you find a crest, if there is one, that matches up with your family name and you can print it out for free.
29. Coats of Arms and Family Crests: Find simple renditions of your coat of arms with this easy-to-use site.

Charts and Forms

Keep your family tree information organized and accessible with these tools for charting relationships online and off.

30. OurTimeLines.com: Here you’ll be able to generate interesting webpages that can give you some insight to the lives of your ancestors. It shows how your life or the lives of anyone in your family fits into major events in history.
31. Online Family Tree Maker: This free software allows you to connect with others who may already have parts of your fam