Produce Your Own Google Currents Magazine
Learn how to set up your own stream of Google Currents content
Google Currents is an app for smartphones and tablets, running either Android or iOS, that allows you to consume content offline quickly and easily. You can obtain a wide range of existing Currents from established sources or you can start publishing your own content, which is surprisingly easy.
The main advantage that Currents has over conventional RSS readers is that you can pull content from all sorts of different sources, such as a Twitter feed or website, and present it to your readers in one neatly packaged application. To start creating your own Currents content you will need a Google account, and also be running the Chrome web browser.
Now just head to the www.google.com/producer page and you can start producing your own digital magazine. In this tutorial, we will help you get started creating your own Google Currents content, but be sure to take the time to fully explore the Producer page and the many options and features that are on show to help you develop your content further.
Create your own Current
1: Go to website While in Google Chrome (essential), go to www.google.com/producer and then you will see a rather large ‘Get started’ button. Click on this and then read and absorb the publisher agreement. When you are ready, tick the box and then click on the Continue button.
2: Create a new addition A window will now appear in which you can give your Current a name and add in any additional RSS feeds or YouTube channels. The next screen really lets you go to town with your content, so factor in as much info as you want and then click on the Sections link in the left column.
3: Adding sections This is where the real magic happens. Here you can add all of your content, from RSS feeds to social updates. If you have a blog with an RSS feed that you want to publish to Google Currents, click on Feed and then enter a name, followed by the web address of the feed.
4: Create a Current The last option, ‘Feed options’, lets you configure how Google Currents grabs your feed content. If you publish a full feed, the first option will be fine. If you only publish a partial feed, pick the second option, ‘Generate articles from source url’. Once it’s all filled in, hit Create!
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Adding YouTube content to Currents
Incorporate your favourite channels into your Currents
1. To get started you’ll first need to make sure that you’ve got a YouTube account up and running, a channel set up and at least one video inside it. After you’ve checked these off your list, head to www.google.com/producer.
2. Either create a new Current (see the above tutorial) or carry on with an existing one. Next, click on Sections and then the ‘Add new section’ button. Select ‘Video channel’, name it, then paste in your YouTube channel’s URL.
3. Once you’ve done that, the live preview on the right-hand side will update with the videos inside your YouTube channel. You’ll also see a bunch of options for controlling the layout and style of your video content.