• What is Bloglines?
• How Does Bloglines Work?
• How is Bloglines different from other news readers and aggregators?
• How Does Bloglines Cure Information Overload?
• How Many Information Sources Does Bloglines Catalog?
• Why does Bloglines Offer Email Accounts?
• How Many People Use Bloglines?
• How Many News Feeds Do Most People Track?
• How Much Does Bloglines Cost?
• How Do I Sign Up?
• How Can I Import An Existing List of Subscriptions?
• How Can I Export My Subscriptions?
• What's OPML Format?
• What Formats Does Bloglines Support?
• How Often Does Bloglines Check For Updates?
• Does Bloglines Support Atom Feeds?
• What Are Clippings?
• What's a Clip Blog?
• How Do I Edit or Delete A Clip Blog Post?
• How Do I Delete My Clip Blog?
• I'm Having Problems Logging In
• I Forgot my Password
• I Never Received A Validation Email
• Why is My Account Bouncing?
• How Can I Change My Profile?
• Can I View Bloglines In Another Language?
• How can I Submit Feedback to Bloglines?
• What's the Technology Behind Bloglines?

How Does Bloglines Work?

Bloglines is a "news aggregator." Many online information sources, including web sites, weblogs and news services, now broadcast their content to the web in so-called "syndicated feeds" or "news feeds" with new technologies like Really Simple Syndication (RSS) and ATOM. News aggregator software and services collect those syndicated feeds and present them to end users in a variety of ways.

Bloglines is a server-based aggregation system. This means that we run and manage all of the software and technologies necessary to collect the syndicated feeds from tens of millions of online information sources on our own computer servers and databases, and deliver that amazing content to you as a free, easy-to use online service.

After you join Bloglines you simply subscribe for the content you are interested in and identify the feeds you want to track. Once you "subscribe" to those feeds (a single-click maneuver in most cases), Bloglines will constantly check those feeds for changes or additions and direct new information onto your Bloglines personal page.

How is Bloglines different from other news readers and aggregators?

There are 4 ways we're different:

1. We're free. Others charge a one time or monthly fee.
2. We're a web-based service you can use from any computer or appliance with a web browser. Others are desktop-bound software applications.
3. Nobody offers all the features we do.
4. We were the first, we are the largest and fastest growing.

How Much Does Bloglines Cost?

Nothing. Zip. Nada. Bloglines is completely free.

How Does Bloglines Cure Information Overload?

With today's avalanche of information, you really can get anything you want. We think focus is the key to avoiding information overload -- why sit still for an hour of TV news if all you care about is the sports update? Bloglines allows you to be very choosy and only track the things you are interested in -- then we do all the legwork for you. We find the latest news, collect it for you, and keep it on your Bloglines page until you're ready to read it. You log in when you can, from any computer with a web browser.

How Many Information Sources Does Bloglines Catalog?

Currently Bloglines searches and indexes more than 80 million live web articles.

Why does Bloglines Offer Email Accounts?

Bloglines free email accounts allow people to receive email newsletter subscriptions within their MyBloglines page. This helps to reduce traffic through your primary email inbox and helps to contain the spam menace. A Bloglines email account gives you a trump card when a newsletter breaks the rules of opt-in marketing. When you unsubscribe from a Bloglines email subscription, the email address disappears. You never have to worry about trying to find the unsubscribe instructions for an unwanted mailing list.

How Many People Use Bloglines?

Bloglines serves tens of thousands of people all around the world. We are the most popular service of our kind in terms of traffic, and we log millions of page hits each day. And we're growing virally, so we're seeing a great increase in user adoption every single week. Check out what our members have been saying at Bloglines Sightings.

How Many News Feeds Do Most People Track?

The average Bloglines user tracks more than 20 news feeds. The most we've ever heard of is 1,400 news feeds. Not everybody has the stamina for that amount of information. But whether you are a social Bloglines visitor or a power user, we hear plenty of feedback about how habit-forming Bloglines is.

How Do I Sign Up?

Signing up to Bloglines is free and easy. Only an email address and password are required. Click here to register. Registering with Bloglines allows you to subscribe to and read your favorite news feeds.

Once you register with Bloglines, a validation email is sent to you. Reply to that and your account will be validated.

How Can I Import An Existing List of Subscriptions?

Once you have registered with Bloglines and replied to the confirmation email, click on the My Feeds tab at the top of the screen. Then, click on the Edit link. At the bottom of the left panel will be a link to import subscriptions. The subscription list must be in OPML format.

How Can I Export My Subscriptions?

From the My Feeds page, click the Edit link at the top of the left panel. There will be a link to export your subscriptions in OPML format.

What's OPML Format?

OPML format is an XML format. For more information on the OPML format, click here.

What Formats Does Bloglines Support?

There are currently several file formats for syndicating content, including but not limited to RSS 0.91, 1.0, and 2.0 and Atom. Bloglines has been tested with and supports all popular formats, including those by Radio Userland, Blogger and Movable Type. It is our goal to always have seamless, invisible support for all popular formats.

How Often Does Bloglines Check For Updates?

Currently, Bloglines checks sites once an hour for updates.

Does Bloglines Support Atom Feeds?

Yes, Bloglines supports all major syndication formats, including Atom.

What Are Clippings?

Clippings allow you to save particular articles for later review. When you scroll through the contents of a feed, you'll notice a "Clip/Blog This" link under the article summary. By clicking on that link, you'll add that particular item to your 'Clippings Tab.' To view a previously saved clip, open the 'Clippings' tab and click on an item. You can sort and organize your Clippings just like you can organize your feeds, to make later retrieval easy. If you want to remove an item from your Clippings Tab, delete it by clicking on the 'Delete Clip' link in the pane.

What's a Clip Blog?

Clip Blogs are a new feature that lets you easily create a blog within Bloglines, and it is the only place on the web where you'll find blog creation and sharing capabilities fully integrated with blog subscription and blog reading. Now everything you find in Bloglines is blog-able! When you find good stuff on Bloglines that you want to add to your Clip Blog, simply click on the Clip Blog link. Couldn't be easier. Plus you can make your Clip Blog public so others can read it -- and you can track your friends' Clip Blogs within Bloglines just like any other blog or feed.

How Do I Edit or Delete A Clip Blog Post?

To edit or delete a clip blog post, first click on the 'My Blog' tab. Then click on the post in the left pane. A dialog will pop-up with options to edit the post, delete the post, or move it from the Clip Blog to your Clippings folder.

How Do I Delete My Clip Blog?

Currently you can't delete your clip blog, but you can make it private so that no one has access to it. To do so, go to the Blog Settings page of your account, and toggle the 'Show my Blog' option to private.

I'm Having Problems Logging In

The Bloglines web site requires that cookies be enabled in your browser. Bloglines uses two cookies, called "Bloglines" and "BloglinesEmail". The "Bloglines" cookie stores a session id, which is used to log you in on every page. The "BloglinesEmail" cookie just stores your email address, and is used to populate the "Email Address" field when logging into the Bloglines web site.

I Forgot my Password

Go to the log in screen, and there will be a link for the lost password page. On that page, you will be required to enter the email address that you used to register with Bloglines. Your password will be emailed to that address.

I Never Received A Validation Email

You can have Bloglines send you another validation email. Log into the web site. On the My Account page, you will be given the option to have another validation email sent to you. If you are not receiving validation emails, check to make sure that the email address you registered with Bloglines is correct.

Why is My Account Bouncing?

Your account is bouncing because one or more email messages from Bloglines, including validation emails, bounced. This could be caused by a temporary condition, such as your mail server running out of disk space. To unbounce your account, log into the web site and go to the My Account page. From there you will be given the option to have a validation email sent to you. Once you reply to that message, your account will be reset to normal.

How Can I Change My Profile?

There is a link to your account in the top, right corner of every Bloglines page.

Can I View Bloglines In Another Language?

The Bloglines website has been translated into several languages besides English, to allow you to view the site in the language you're most comfortable in. You can change your language selection by selecting the language you prefer on the languages page.

How can I Submit Feedback to Bloglines?

Please visit our contact page for more information. We always appreciate feedback.

What's the Technology Behind Bloglines?

Bloglines proudly uses and supports the following open source software:

• Linux
• Sleepycat Database
• Apache Web Server
• Clearsilver Template System
• Qmail
• djbdns