While the practice of making mix tapes has given way to digital playlists, making a good mix is still an impressive feat. Now you can bundle your own mix of feeds from your favorite sites in Google Reader and share them with friends.

Until now it’s been nearly impossible for the un-initiated to import a set of feeds into Google Reader. While it’s possible to create an OPML files to import new feeds, the process was unintuitive and unwieldy.

This hurdle could be one of the reasons that many people don’t start using a feed reader to follow their favorite sites. Now Google is hoping to make feed readers more accessible and more social using feed bundles.

All you have to do is create your own bundle in Google Reader by adding in your favorite sites. Then you can list it in your shared items or put a link on your blog for friends to check out.

You can use these bundles to help a friend get started or to create a mix of sites with similar styles of themes. You can make a gadget blog bundle or a compilation of work from your favorite street artists.

If you have multiple profiles or blogs, you can also create a bundle for friends to keep up with you. That way you can have one feed to showcase all of your profiles and projects.

You can find the link to create a new bundle in the ‘Browse for stuff’ section of Google Reader. Then you simply name the bundle and give it a short description.

You can choose to share bundles with friends via Google Reader shared items, sending a link, or even by downloading the OPML file from the site. It seems that there could be dozens of potential uses for bundles, unless the art of the mix has been lost in the digital age.

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Entry was posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 10:18 am under Blogosphere, Google, Technology, Tips and advice.

Read more entries by Dave Jeyes.
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