Just select the platforms where you want your shared items to go, and you’re all set. Sharing [...]]]> On Wednesday, Google announced it is now making it easier to share news stories from Google Reader to a host of social networking platforms. Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and other options are now accessible via a user setting:

Just select the platforms where you want your shared items to go, and you’re all set. Sharing news stories remains an under-appreciated activity on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, one that often spurs meaningful discourse around important events. (OK, and celebrity tabloid-fare as well.)

This is an interesting move for Google, considering it incorporated its own private Share feature in 2008. Items shared using this feature were visible to others within your iGoogle community. By adding the platforms above, Google seems to be acknowledging that it needs cross-platform share compatibility in order for Google Reader to remain relevant.

See anything missing from the list above? Try Wordpress. Google purchased Blogger in 2003, and has a stake in providing the service with as many competitive advantages over Wordpress as possible.

Even with the omission, the incorporation of these services is a major step forward for Google Reader, which I consider the best, easiest-to-use RSS reader available.

via Official Google Reader Blog: A flurry of features for feed readers.