Friday, September 16, 2011
Following and Subscribing
I follow an average of 300 blogs (mostly polymer clay). Out of that 300, a little over a third follow me back. It took me quite a while to learn that it was a "given" in blogland to follow someone who is following me. I didn't realize it was a common courtesy. My bad. But because I follow an average of 300, I have to delete those who have not followed me back within a year so I can make room for new ones that do. Blogger allows you to follow around 300 before it automatically drops some of your followed sites. So I move my deleted blogs to my Google Reader RSS feed since I know they are not going to follow me, but I still want to keep up with them. I subscribe to over 900 blogs through Google Reader. They cover polymer, needlework, crafts, art, beading, mixed media, painting, photography and decorating. I have my coffee in the morning and scroll through them in less than a couple of hours (including my breakfast). Keep in mind it is rare for a blogger to post everyday. Some only post once a week, once a month or once every 3 or 4 months, so there are probably less than a couple of hundred to scroll through. I LOVE my mornings. I get inspired, stretch my imagination, embrace new concepts, learn, laugh, connect, etc. I can't wait to get up in the morning.
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10 comments:
Hi Marlene,
I agree that mornings are the best! I never sleep in on weekends as I am always eager to jump out of bed, get my coffee, and check out the blogs. I scroll through exactly as you described.
I follow a LOT of blogs. Also use google reader to keep track of them. I love that they do not have to be blogger blogs. Wordpress or any other blog with an RSS feed can be put into it.
My interests vary. While some are polymer clay there are various other artistic media as well as gardening and many other topics. Many of the blogs I follow are cooking blogs because I love to cook.
I do not follow people because they follow me nor do I expect them to return the favor. I just follow the ones I like to read. Yours is one of my favorites. I love your sense of humor... and I love your creations.
I do the very same thing. I read while I am having coffee and breakfast. I am not sure how many I follow but I never knew that about blogger dropping some blogs after you reach 300. I don't think I follow 300 though. I have dropped people who don't follow me back or don't ever respond to my comments. Unless of course, it is the Pioneer Woman! Ha! Then I don't care if she follows me back or not. Why is that I wonder?
Thank you for that feedback; I needed it.
In the words of Coltpixy, "I do not follow people because they follow me nor do I expect them to return the favor. I just follow the ones I like to read. Yours is one of my favorites. I love your sense of humor... and I love your creations."
wow I thought I followed a lot of blogs but you follow more than double the ones I do - I just haven't found them yet. It is such a source of inspiration! I try to catch up over lunch or I find my morning disappears. It's always such a treat to sit down and find out what's happening in the blog world. I use google reader too, means I can tag things and find them again! Been using Pinterest for a while now andfind that handy to colelct pictures of things I want to remember from blogs and flickr too. I don't worry about whether or not people follow me but then I don't follow as many as you so it's not a problem for me - yet! Off to hunt down some of those polymer clay blogs now....
I'm not savvy about blog following etiquette, I guess. I just follow those I enjoy and don't even notice if others don't reply to my comments on their blogs. I don't follow nearly as many as you, Marlene, I just enjoy the work of those I follow and feel I've met their creative artistic muses. Like you, I often come away "inspired with my imagination stretched, and have learned and laughed". If we connect any further on a more personal level, it's always a huge bonus. Again, I'm not very savvy about this. To be honest, I don't even know what Google Reader is! I just put the blogs I like on my sidebar "My Blog List" set to allow the most recently updated to rise to the top. I start at the top, visit them each day going down and stop when I come to the last one I saw yesterday. This works well for me. I think that like everything in computer-land, there are probably a half-dozen ways to get the most out of blogging, and what works well for some might not be the best for others. I think it's important not to make it a demanding chore, and to that end I try to keep the ones I follow to my favorites. In spite of me not being a polymer artist, Marlene, you are one of those.
And I might add, for a number of reasons beyond your artistic talent.
Did you say "Halloween Blitz"? Yay, bring it!!!
Wow 900+ in your google reader- I don't think I could keep up with that many! Impressive. I've never really thought about reciprocal following being a blogland standard. I follow a very small number of blogs and will even regularly read a blog for a long time before I follow it.
I don't follow every blog that follows mine, but I truly appreciate anyone following mine! There are lots of blogs I follow who don't follow me back and I don't expect them to.
I like to reply to my comments, especially if someone asks me a question. And if they have an email address in their profile I'll respond to their question by email just to be sure they see the answer.
Thanks Meg-I have learned so much from the comments. I really appreciate it.
Wow! That's a lot of blogs! I do a bit of both--follow some of those who follow me, but like Coltpixy, I do follow others that I'm just interested in the subject being blogged about, not really expecting them to follow me back.
I will have to check out the ones you listed. I'm always interested in new things about polymer clay. Thanks!
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