If anybody takes a look at my profile they will quickly realize that I follow a LOT of blogs. (341 and counting to be exact). I'm always on the look out for more blogs! I'm truly enjoying reading blogs by other homeschoolers! How?
Well to be honest I use google reader. Every blog that I follow automatically shows up in google reader. My google reader subscription count is actually higher because NOT all blogs have the followers gadget.
Anytime a person makes a new post I know about it because it shows up in my google reader, thanks to RSS feeds! So I really viewing all of the posting from Google Reader. What I do is read the title and the first few sentences and if I'm hook I'll read it all. If I want to comment on the post then I'll click on the link provided from my google reader to get the post/blog so I can comment.
How much time does it take? Well it just depends on how many new postings there are and how many of them have me hooked! To be honest many people only update their blog once a week and others only once a month. Using google reader also takes the guess work out of who has made a new post and who hasn't! For the most part I can go through the new postings in about an hour. Yes, I know an hour is a long time, but when you are viewing over 400 blogs/news feeds an hour is not that bad!!
Thank Goodness for RSS feeds and Google Reader!
Hmmm...what do you say bloggers?
ReplyDeleteShould we quiz her and ask questions about our posts to see if she has read them all? HA HA Better yet...let's she if she can remember WHO wrote WHAT without looking back, HA HA
You're awesome SAHMinIL!
As soon as I saw you had a comment, I started to laugh, even before I knew what you wrote! LOL
ReplyDeleteI do at least read the titles and the first 2-3 sentences of every post on every blog I subscribe/follow! That I can guarantee. If I read more then that just depends if I was "hooked" :)
So I guess I have to step up my blogging and make sure the titles and first few lines are really good. My slow lead-ins probably do nothing for you most of the time.
ReplyDeleteNote To Self: don't drink coffee while reading comments to approve! LOL Karen your post haven't been bad! I mean I did comment on your Disney post recently, which is an indication that I did read all of it LOL!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I should add here that I DO read others and NOT comment. I don't always feel like commenting! LOL
Funny timing, I read your blog entry while using google feeder for the third time. It's still a bit awkward, I was wondering if it was worth the time to get the feeds thru google. You answered that question! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWell your welcome purplebear :) It is a little weird at first with google reader, I will admit, but once you get use to it's it's okay (In my opinion). I've also have learn how to sort my subscriptions via folders. This also helps me, because I know if something is a news, homeschooling, catholic, etc before even looking at it, which I will admit influences my reading.
ReplyDeleteFor example I may choose to spend more time with homeschooler blogs and ignore the news for visa versa! LOL
I found Google Reader very easy to set up and use - even putting things into folders was fairly painless.
ReplyDeleteI use the "Add Subscription" button a LOT. I've found that 95% of the time, I can go to the HOME page of the blog and enter that and Google Reader will find any feed associated with the blog and enter it. Rarely this doesn't work - and usually those are invitation only or the blog is not associated with its home page.
Google Reader has been a huge time saver for me because I'm on a very slow dial up for internet. I've found I don't go visit the websites because they extra elements take forever to load - so feeds that only let through a sentence or title often get removed from the reader after a week or two. Then if I DO want to comment on an entry, I will pull it up and it can load slowly while I continue to read the entries in the Reader.
I can't say I read everything - one blog I read often gives tips on using a particular photo editing software ... and I don't have it and unlikely ever will - so I skip those. But it sure is easier to skip in the Reader than it is to wait for a page to load and THEN find out its a topic that doesn't intrest me.
You sound like a saleswoman ;-) And I am sold! I think I will go sign up! Thanks for sharing :-)
ReplyDeleteWait, stop the press; I mean blog! I sold something? The check is in the mail right? LOL
ReplyDeleteAll joking aside, I sincerely hope that you enjoy using Google Reader :)
Girl, I SO know that you crawled inside my computer and found my drafted post of "Yes, I'm Listening" you sneaky lil' thing you. :wink: J/K But oh man I really DO love my Google Reader, as you know. Makes the blogosphere much easier to keep up with.
ReplyDeleteMy followed blogs usually DO post every stinkin' day. I manage to peruse most every post and attempt to leave supportive comments to encourage--but there are days that I just skim and comment when I think I can add anything to the discussion. The "Can you hook me in the first couple sentences?" is quite useful.
Also...one thing I love about Google Reader is the extra functions. Like the "shared items" function (at the bottom of each reader post), for example. It has been so helpful this year. People I'm following who use this function can share the best of what they found for that week and we can all read the posts in our readers even if we don't subscribe to those particular blogs. And they can "share with a note" and type out their thoughts that only those of us in their shared list can see. I've found some of the best posts through shared items. Luckily those I follow rarely put stuff in there, so it's really the best of the best. And it's really cool when one of my posts shows up in the shared group. Only happened once or twice this year, but WOW what an honor!!
Okay, off to confiscate your follow list (I need me some post-once-per-week blogs to follow!!).
Hugs,
2Shaye