Google reader as a social network

This post has been sitting in my draft folder for a while. To be honest it really feels like an out there mish-mash of thoughts that have surrounding Google Reader (RSS reader by Google) and social networks.I am really becoming tired of the buzz around social networking. Don't get me wrong there is value in it and I am not saying it is dead or dying, I am just tired of reading TechCrunch daily and feeling like I'm reading the same post with a different startups name plugged in.Anyways back to my point. Google Reader (GR) is great, I love it and swear by it. It allows me to follow and read some of my favourite topics, streams, memes, bloggers, blogs and insights. I think that I make fairly good use of most of the services on offer at GR.Why do I think that Google Reader takes the form of a social network?Basically for me, in my little world social networking means networking with others. Whether it is friendly-friend sort of stuff or basic "this is what I am reading", I would consider it a social network.Thus, therefore and hence, I believe that for me Google reader can be and is a social network.There are two distinct features that I use in the process of connecting with others:1. The "Discover" feature that was recently added to the service.This feature allows you to discover feeds that GR thinks you might like. You can peruse them at your own pace and delete ones you aren't interested in. This allows me to discover things that I might like and really get rid of things that I don't. Therefore allowing me to spread my network of subscriptions and giving me more to share with my friends. Which brings me to point 2.2. Shared itemsThis is my favourite and most sociable feature. I have a wide network of Gmail chat friends that I interact with daily. I can never find enough tim to talk to them all about valuable things relating to the web. Instead I simply view their shared items. How is that possible? Easy, GR places their shared items in my GR homepage under the heading of "Friends' shared items". I can then see who shared what, when and why. I can then interact with them on an effective level targeting a specific topic with them that I know they are interested in.I can also share items. These items will also be sent to my friends GR pages as well as a specific url that the whole world can see if they want to.All you need to do to share an item in GR is click the little "Share" button at the bottom of any post in your reader. Simple, effective, networking on a targeted content basis. Too easy.

What is the first thing you do online?

I am really interested in what people do online. Not all the time, not everytime but specifically in the morning when you open up your browser for the first time.What do you do online?I head straight for my RSS feeds on Google Reader, then hop over to Gmail then check SA Rocks and this blog and then move on to Muti, Afrigator and Amatomu. Thereafter I pretty much do whatever comes my way.Facebook is the absolute last thing that I think to do online. Sometimes I don't even login in to Facebook till after lunch or in the evening.