The Bloggers With The Most To Say
Keeping up with your blogroll
I'm always impressed by bloggers with large readership, which usually results from a large blogroll and lots of visiting to other blogs. But how do you keep up with all of the blogs on your blogroll? What have you found to be the best ways to manage reading and posting and living your life? I use RSS in MyYahoo, but I sometimes just find it overwhelming.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Andrea on -
How exactly do you use Google Reader? I've been thinking about using it, but not quite sure.
-
Permalink Reply by Miss A on
-
Yeah I can't quite figure out Google Reader either. It seems to work differently on both of the computers I use (one uses IE 6 and the other IE 7). I prefer how it operates in 6.
I also like Google Reader because as much as I enjoy some blogs, I just can't stand some asthetics (such as light typset on dark background) and it allows me to read them without having to hurt my eyes!
But yeah, I try to keep my blogroll manageable. Ie - there are some definite daily must reads, but some of the others I might just pop over every few days.
I think it's important that a blogroll contains blogs you actually read. It kind of bugs me when people have massive blogrolls that they really don't adhere to, as to me, it indicates the mentality of 'i link to you so you will link to me, but i'll probably never read you anyway'. Which really defeats what a blogroll is supposed to achieve, yeah?
-
Permalink Reply by Michelle on -
I use Google Reader and love it. It makes my life so much easier. In regards to keeping up with reading there is no way I could read every post, every day on the blogs I'm subscribed to. I have folders of my favorites that I read first, ones I've been reading for a long time. And then if I have a chance I read the others. I at least try to catch up on the weekends if I've been too busy to read during the week.
-
Permalink Reply by Lisa on -
Yes to google reader! You can organize them into folders, star items to go back... it's great.
Yeah most people think that large readerships just come. But I'd say I read about 80-100 blogs. I spend WAY more time reading other people's than I do working on my own.
-
Permalink Reply by erin on
-
Thanks all! I just set up Google Reader and so far I think I will like it better than MyYahoo. Usually I just read a few blogs regularly anyway (and then catch up on the others when I have time). I think the folder organizing will help me do this better!
-
Permalink Reply by Greg Rollett on -
Google Reader has been my savior. I didn't get the whole RSS thing for a while and one day it clicked and now everything is all in one nice cozy place. Thanks Google, you are truly running my life.
-
Permalink Reply by Pink Sun Drops on -
Looks like I'm the minority here but I use Bloglines, which is similar to Google reader but easier to set up. I use several different gmail accounts - one for family, and one for personal - and with google reader I have to sign in to my appropriate gmail account every time I want to read my blogs. I like Bloglines because it always stays logged in. Plus for some reason Google reader seems to take a lot longer to load posts and pictures than Bloglines, and since my reads are always posting pictures I need quickness! You might try it out if you're having trouble with Google reader!
-
Permalink Reply by Nathan on -
I used to use Bloglines but made the switch to Google Reader and have never looked back. An RSS reader is hands down the best way to consume and track content online.
For those that are a bit confused, here's a quick explanation of various things to help get you rolling. I'd seriously recommend trying it out. RSS & RSS Readers are probably one of the single most awesome aspects of all this "social media" stuff (social networks, social this, social that, social with a cat, you get the idea).
I am going to assume that you are brand new to RSS and RSS Readers for simplicities sake.
1) If you have a Gmail account, you should be able to login to Google Reader using the same information. If you don't have a Gmail account, just signup for Google Reader (which ought to sign you up for gmail, too).
2) Now you can add feeds 1 of 3 ways.
First, by clicking the "Add Subscription" button on the left navigation. This button is underneath the left mos box that contains links such as "Home", "All Items", "Starred Items", etc. When you click "Add Subscription" it will popup a editable textbox where you can enter in the feed URL (if you're unsure of how to get a blogs feed url, let me know and I'll explain).
Second, If you're using Firefox and you are browsing a blog that you like and want to add it to your reader, in the address field of your browser (where it gives the webpage url), there will be an RSS icon (the orange thingy with little radio waveys emitting from it). Click that icon. It will then take you to a page asking if you want to add the feed to iGoogle (Google Homepage) or Google Reader. Choose Google Reader (gReader for short).
Third, if you already have a set of blogs you are subscribed to elsewhere (like MyYahoo) see if you can't export them as an OPML file. An OPML file is a fancy way of saying "a single file that holds all of your rss subscription information." Once you have an OPML file, go to "Manage Subscriptions" in gReader (very bottom left), then to "Import/Export" and upload your OPML file.
3) Now that we know how to add rss feeds to our Google Reader account, we need to manage them. Most advanced feed management happens in the "Manage Subscriptions" page (as one might suspect given its name).
The main thing I'll draw attention to is tags (or labels for those who use Gmail). Basically think of it as a folder, or a tag for those who use social bookmarking sites (Google Reader in all its helpfulness uses both terms interchangeably). A tag is a word (or set of words) that acts as a folder to apply to one of the feeds you're subscribed to. For example, a tag might be "20somethings". You would then apply this tag to the blog you want to be categorized by it. So let's get you using tags!
Creating a tag (folder) / Applying a tag
Goto the "Manage Subscriptions" page I mentioned earlier, then go to the "Subscriptions" tab (it should default to that tab). This is where you'll create your tags. The Subscriptions page will have a list of all your the blogs you are subscribed to. To the far right of those, you will see the options "Rename", a trash can icon, and a neat-o little dropdown graphic saying "Add to folder". Click on that dropdown button then select "New Folder" from the options and enter the name of the tag you want, 20somethings for example. Doing that will create a tag that can be applied to all of your feeds. To apply an existing tag to one of your feeds, use the same dropdown and select the tag you want to apply. Pretty much all initial tag management happens here (and sometimes when a feed is newly added).
To get back to your main gReader page, click " Back to google reader" at the top.
Extra note: Once you have created your tags (folders) they will be visible on your main google reader page where it lists all the subscriptions and their posts. If you decide you want one of the feeds in a different folder, you can drag and drop it right there.
Woo
-
Permalink Reply by Lisa on -
I spend way, WAY more time on others' blogs than I do on my own, too. It's not so much for building readership of mine as it is being interested in these blogger's lives (I'm more of a reader than a writer anyway), but it really does wonders for the former. I use Google Reader and Technorati to keep up with everyone. I don't get to comment as often as I used to because I read every single one but I do try. Sometimes life gets in the way. Like McGee once said, I wish someone would pay me to read and comment on blogs so I could quit my job.
-
Permalink Reply by Lee Doyle on -
I try to keep my blogroll as small as I can, I try to only add blogs and site that I read all the time.
With the RSS Readers... I use Google reader but have used bloglines for many years. I switched because it just made more sense as I use gmail, Google Docs, and the calender. I also use Firefox which I use Grease-monkey to integrate Google reader into gmail so everything is all in one.
I love the new things that Google reader added this year, like the Share button which makes your own feed. I use this on my blog to show people what I am reading and add all my pages of the day.
I also love the way you can have Google reader make a sort of blog for your shared feeds, it just makes it much more easy for non-RSS techy people to use.
I wish there was a more easy way to use BlogRolls and some online service that would keep them up2date. I would love to know who was linking to me more easy and also have a rss feed button next to my blog lines (I am working on a wordpress plugin for this).
© 2012 Created by Lisa.
