We all read blogs, right? (Well, duh.)
Am I also correct in assuming that we all read a ton of blogs? How in the world do you keep up with them? How do you decide which ones to read? Google reader? Blog rolls? Comments? A list? Topics/titles that interest you? People that interest you, no matter what they write? Ritual of people you check each day? Read some every day? On specific days? Times you read, or when you are procrastinating?
I have a system, but it never feels like it's a GOOD system. (It involves opening everyone's blog who commented on mine over a period of time, ALL AT ONCE (no joke), then going through as many as I can. Then I come back to them at my next chunk of time. It's really important to me to get to the blogs of the people who comment on mine, but it leaves little time for me to get to any of the other blogs I follow. Know what I mean?)
I always feel like there really has to be a better way to get around to everyone's blog that I really want to read! So I would really love to hear how you do it.
And speaking of blogging, this is my 200th post! It feels like there should be confetti or something. Ah, well. I'll just wait for my year anniversary, then plan something that will BLOW YOU AWAY.
44 comments:
Congrats on your 200th! Whoo-hoo!
When I comment, I try to get to those who commented on my blog first, then I comment on the others. But sometimes I'll just comment without thought :)
Sometimes, I just kind of "wing it" depending on how much time I allow myself. I think the only way to get around to all the blogs we love.....is to clone ourselves! :D
P.S. I need cookies! Lots and lots of cookies!
Open all the blogs at once that sounds scary.
Well done on getting to the 200th post, I am working on the long term target of 1,000,000 words so I have a long way to go yet.
Have some confetti! I keep a list except this month when I'm trying to visit all the A-Z Challenge Blogs this month.
Girl, I got nothin'! I have no system, it's all willy nilly round here. But congrats on 200 posts. We started together, but I am 100% sure I haven't written 200 posts ;).
Wow - 200 posts! Then I checked to see how long you had been blogging. WOW. You started this blog three months before I started blogging. I was excited to hit 24 posts and thought MAYBE next year I could handle the A-Z Challenge. You are on fire and have clearly found a voice that suits you. Love it!
I tend to read in the morning between getting kids off to school. I TRY to stay away during the day, but sometimes let other responsibilities suffer while I check out the blogger reader. Um, like now. I also find I am reading books less and have more screen time than a year ago. Since I am new to writing and overloaded with school (both teaching P/T and grad classes), I tend to view blogging as my WIP. ;)
I have heard of people who use Google Reader and make folders - ones I am really friends with, people I know know, new bloggers, etc. Then it's just reading one folder at a time. When prom is over, this is a task I'm going to tackle.
Yes to all the above. My usual sequence is those who visit or comment on my blog, then articles of interest followed by people of interest. In those rare periods where I have available time (chuckling at the absurdity of my definition of available time) I go exploring.
And yes, OCD requires I open them all at once. :)
I don't have a system... I get to my favorite bloggers and people who comment on mine first... then if there's time I visit the ones with an interesting post.
I've recently started using google reader, and it definitely makes reading blogs faster... why? I have no idea, but it does seem quicker.
200 posts wahoo!!!!!!!
Okay, so here's my very unorganized way of reading blogs. Mind you, during this A to Z challenge, it's really giving me a run for my money.
I contribute to three blogs so I kinda have to keep them separate. This is why I love my Google Reader!
Everyone is separated into folders by how often they visit me and which blog they visit of mine. My buddy folder I read through first. I try to follow new bloggers everyday by either seeing their comments on one of my friend's posts or just doing some digging of my own. I'll put them in a 'New Blogger' folder. this folder comes after I've read the buddy folder.
After the New Blogger folder, comes (this month) the A to Z folder.
Then I'll try to go to the people who've commented on my blog because by that point most of them I've already visited. If I've posted in more than one place that day, I'll try to get to everyone who commented on both blogs.
Okay, this is my method, but not all days I'm able to devote all this time to read and comment on blogs. Which is why I try not to sweat it and I'll start fresh everyday. In google reader I'll highlight all my folders and mark all items older than a day read, this way I don't feel overwhelmed when I see I have over 300 posts to read.
Wowza, forgive the post within a post!
That's what I do. I go through the ones that comment on my blog and then I go on my blog roll and catch the ones that I had missed.
Congratulations on 200 posts! I know what you mean, it can be hard to find time to read all of the blogs that I want to, but I do my best. It's been harder with this month and everyone posting A-Z letters to catch that many.
Congratulations on 200 posts! Woo-hoo!!!!
I use Google Reader. But at the moment I'm not keeping up. I'm reading my commenters first, and then working through the others. But the more I read, the more I follow, so there are more the next time. I just hope that, because everyone's in the same position, they'll understand if I go AWOL for a couple of days.
I couldn't agree more. I LOVE new followers, but I love the followers who have been with me for a while and always have something good to say about what I write more. And I like to show my appreciation by doing the same. Thanks Peggy for being such a wonderful follower :)
I'm with Jessie. Willy nilly. That's my system. It's a very unsatisfying system so I don't reccommend it at all. I think no matter how organized we may get, there will never be enough time to read blogs AND write. It's not feeling quilty that we need to perfect.
Congrats on your 200th post! There is a lot of great advice her already, so I'll add that I use Google Reader, too. It's a huge time saver.
I use the reading list on the dashboard, and I click through and open all the posts that I haven't read that day and try to read and comment on the ones I find interesting. Then I go search for people who've commented on my blog and check out their posts.
And after that, for this month, I go to the A-to-Z list and open up five to ten new blogs and comment on theirs, following the ones that I like. :)
Congratulations on your 200th post!
Ugh, I hear ya. I think we have a similar system, you and I. I try to make sure to visit the blogs of those who leave comments on mine. I also have a handful of blogs that I visit no matter what. And if I take the time to visit a blog, then I take the time to leave a comment. To me that just seems fair.
But it all gets to be a little much, doesn't it? I've recently adopted an 'I don't automatically follow back' stance on blog following. I used to follow every blog that followed mine out of a kind of gratitude and obligation. Now I'm a little more choosy (that sounds terrible) so that I can actually get to the blogs I follow and leave comments.
If you come up with a good idea for how to do this efficiently, please share! :D
I don't yet have a system. I feel like a blog follower failure most days.
Must say, love your blog title...wish I'd have thunk it!
Woohoo! Congratulations on 200! :D
What do I do? I "comment back," then scan my feed for names of those I'm friendly with. If there's time beyond that, I stop whenever I see an interesting title. :)
I usually rely on my reader feed a few times a week whenever I have time. But I don't go through the "most recent posts" listing. Instead, I click through everyone's individual blog listings to make sure I don't miss the folks who posted a few days ago as opposed to a few hours ago.
I have made folders in Google Reader based on certain criteria. Basically, a folder for writers and a separate one that is for writerly advice (meaning they only give writing advice). A folder for Unsures that I'm still deciding if I'll continue reading. A folder for Nerd-specific stuff, another for photo blogs, and a separate one for movie news. And the highest honors "Keepers" and "Great Friends," aka this I must read every day.
I go to people that comment first, then the ones I have on my sidebar, then my blog roll. I have been considering doing something like Cassie's system but I think she visits an insane amount of blogs.
Good luck on figuring out a system.
Oh, and DUH, Congrats on the 200 posts. Throwing jelly beans instead of confetti.
I wish I could do a better job at keeping up with all the blogs I've learned to love.
Of course, then I'd have to give up writing.
*sigh*
Keeping up with all the blogs was a lot easier before the A-Z challenge.
I'm sorry to those people who stop by and I can't reply, because I'm honestly barely keeping my head above water trying to keep up with everything.
Yay for 200 posts! I don't really have a system for juggling blogs, but I usually try to visit the ones who comment on my blog, then go through the rest and see what catches my eye :)
It's tough, I constantly feel behind in blogging. I could spend all my time doing it but then when would I write? Writing still comes first for me. I can't say I have a system. I just try to do as much as I can and hope they're all so busy they're having the same problem and understand.
Google reader is my best friend! I tend to 'follow' more blogs than I have an RSS for, and that helps. Plus, I'm not shy about deleting blogs from my reader if I find myself no longer enamored with them. I'm mostly concerned with reading blogs of writer friends, and people who stop by my blog often, not just once or twice during a blog hop. And when subscribing to new people, I focus on whether they have good content or not, and a good voice. Voice is important, because after awhile the same writing advice and issues crop up again and again.
Oh man! I wish I had an answer, expecially with the A to Z. I have found though that the blogs that I have on my igoogle page or the ones where I receive an email notification are the ones I read first. ALWAYS. I think that's because they are right there in front of me, one click away. I wish that google reader would send me an email notifying me of a new post for someone in my reader list, which has of course grown exponentially since the A to Z. This way, I think I would get to more of them in a day.
Congrats on the 200th post!
I've been blogging for 7 years now, and I've changed methods about 100 times. There is no perfect method. But I actually follow what you do these days.
It's all up in the air with the A-Z, but I'm still determined to reply to each comment and visit all the people who commented, so I'm doing that a couple of times each day. But each day I have more to do now as I'm adding a new five daily from the Challenge list. I go and hit some older friends from the blog list, then scroll through the Google reader, then check the email for Wordpress people I'm following. But it all still feels sporadic to me. I'll really have to sort a proper system after April!
Congratulations on your 200th!
I have people on my sidebar that I try to keep up with several times a week. I try to visit newcomers that comment (but I don't get as many comments as you do). On the two memes that I participate in, I try to visit all of the participants if I can.
Then, I have a bunch of other links under my main posts and when I have time, I like to check in with those people also. I like their blogs, but I don't know if they like mine so much, so I don't worry if I don't get there very often.
Kathy M.
Congratulations! I do the blogroll on my sidebar first, then comments, sometimes from the email list, then the list of people I follow in the list in the Blogger dashboard. I feel like I'm drowning. I'm sure there's a better way.
Funny, I'm juggling blog as we speak! And yours is next in line. I haven't commented, but have been following your posts. Busy month this has been. ;)
200th post!!! You go girl! And how do you keep coming up with these brilliant ideas for the A-Z? I've got nothing! I usually go down my blog roll on the side, then everyone who has commented on my blog, then I flip over to google reader if there is time. I wish I had a better way. It's so hard to fit them all in!
woo, 200th! Way to go.
For me, blogging was always supposed to be fun. I never let myself stress if I don't post regularly, or read other blogs regularly, or comment. When I have time, I'll do it for enjoyment and some social time.
That said, I normally visit blogs of people that commented, though, if I'm busy, I may miss some. And I respond to commenters by email, if they have their emails hooked to it.
Main thing - keep having fun!
And bring on the cookie photos! Love those!
I don't read hundreds of blogs so that helps. I generally read the blogs I have igoogle feeds for first, then the ones I follow next. I'm quite selective about the blogs I follow. Then I go through my bookmarks to check out another bunch of blogs, and finally I have a bunch of feeds through Internet Explorer that I check. Complex, but it works.
Google reader! I separate blogs into different folders (either by how much I interact with the blogger or how much I like the content) and then skim for titles that grab me. I try not to let myself feel obligated about following or commenting, so I read and comment only if the post catches my attention.
Hmmm...I have no idea how to do this folder thing in Google Reader people mention.
But, that doesn't surprise me :)
I don't have a system. I just try to make the rounds. I'm thinking I might need a system though...
Mine is more of a ritual than a system. I usually check in when I get up in the morning and read a few with my coffee, but with the A-Z this month it's tricky getting round everyone while remembering to actually write a post for the day. Procrastination is definitely good for this though. ;-)
Yay for 200 posts! I use google reader. I base my follows on two things. Information and voice. Some I follow strictly because they are informed, other I follow because they are nice. Well, and a third, I try to read anyone who comments on my blog. But I don't comment on all the blogs I read. I almost always read yours and others but only comment sometimes. :) Not a perfect system but it works for me.
Congrats on 200! I don't have a very organized system, but comment on buddies or other blog hop participants then comment on those who stop by my blog. With the A to Z, I've been pushing through the list five a day (or make up for the five a day when I get a chance). I'm enjoying the introductions from A to Z and will be interested to get to know some of the bloggers better.
Congratulations on your 200th post! Very impressive.
I handle blogging in the same way you do, and so I have the same frustrations. That means that I am useless as far as suggestions go. Sorry. : )
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