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Managing your RSS feeds
October 17, 2008 | 33 Comments
We subscribe to hundreds of RSS feeds – mainly pertaining to politics and food. We believe in participating in the sites we visit since the main value of blogs, we think, is INTERACTION. That’s what distinguishes them from websites. More and more newspaper sites have journalists with their own blogs. Often, the comments are more enlightening than the posts themselves.
With all the information overload, we find it just overwhelming to keep track. A pity, really, ‘cos we don’t have cable TV or newspaper subscriptions. We get all our information through the Internet.
** How do you manage your feeds? Do you comment on each one you visit?
** If you have a site of your own, do you comment only on the blogs of those who comment on your site?
** How do you manage the flood of content you would like to keep up with?
** Say you have two hours a day to go through 250 sites. How would you manage your time? Would you shorten the list?
Any tips?
Filed Under: blogging, MUSINGS, NaBloWriMo
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33 Comments
I think I’m having the same dilemma as you folks! I used to try to comment on every blog I read, but it soon became impossible. I still try to read them all, but rotate comments and always comment when something strikes me as particularly interesting/important/timely/funny/apropos/delicous/etc. (such as this post!). It can feel a bit overwhelming at times, though, especially when I seem to fine 2 or 3 new blogs a day that I’d like to read!
2hrs and 250 RSS feed is tuff to handle. I was in the category some time ago until people friends and family labeled it as addicition.I am not a TV person so most of my time is spent online.I have a list of blogs and feeds that is as short as 10 each. I have added the news widget on my blog and that’s all I read.
I read only what catches my eye. I am not obsessed anymore about being informed about everything under the sun. It is impossible. I comment on blogs that I connect with irrespective of whether they comment on mine.
I appreciate comments on mine but doesn’t matter much if people don’t. Atleast I don’t have to reply back;)
That’s my way.
I don’t have that many blogs on my feed, but I wouldn’t dare suggest that you cut back– the blog you remove may be mine! Lol. Mostly each entry gets a comment– even though I only post about once a week. When I’m busy I just limit it to the latest post within a few days of my posting an entry of my own or the day I’ve come back from vacation so I save time. If there is any indication at all that the writer reads and responds to comments (esp. mine– ego I know), that strengthens the probability of my leaving a comment.
If the posts accumulate, I look at the headers which catch my eye. W/r/t the food porn aggregators, I only visit them when I use them– and even then I only look at the front page– to give me an idea of that subset of the food blogging world which I don’t get in contact with. There might be some new stuff I’m missing.
I am ruthless. Have a very selective RSS feed, skim through most of it and read only what must be read, and the end of the month/when the feeds exceed a certain number, mark them all as read and start anew.
2 hours and 250 feeds to go through? Kidding right?
Whenever ur feed is highlighted I give priority to ur feed. I just feel each and every post is unique and I do comment.
1.If I do have a feed I comment particularly to new bloggers (Personally I feel that motivate them). If a blogger didn’t update for many months (at least 2 months without any sign) I kick them out, Way to clean the feed I guess.
2.That would be selfish! Appreciate some good stuff too
3.I read only titles
4. 2 Hours will be large enough for me to filter out my favorites
5. Tip: if u ve really 250 feeds Do some feed clean up!
Tell me you should definitely have some favorites in 250, right Bee ?
It takes me 3 hrs (with breaks after each hour) to go through 100 feeds! 250 feeds in 2 hrs…in my case totally ruled out!
I think Cham has given some useful tips. Nice idea to filter out our favorites first!
I can’t keep up anymore. I skim my feeds and read those that interest me if I have time and will comment if moved to such actions. I am in awe of some of my readers who comment EVERY post. I don’t think there is a single blog that I never miss a post on. Sometimes… sometimes I fall so far behind that I have to hit “mark all as read”. I hate to do it.
This is something I’m having problems with even though I don’t have as many feeds in my reader as you seem to have. Much as I would love to read and comment on posts at a lot of blogs, its not possible and I would like my blogging to remain fun and not become a dreaded chore.
One thing I’m not happy doing is spending too much time staring at a screen, even that of the computer!
So I regularly re-organise the feeds in my reader. If I find that something hasn’t been grabbing my attention for a while I remove it. I am almost ruthless about regular spring cleaning at my reader!
A lot of the time, I use the post title to decide whether I want to read the post. I know I might be missing out on some good posts, but, hey I can’t be everywhere!
It helps that I’m vegetarian so I don’t even give the non-veg posts a look.
I do not comment on every post on the blogs I visit regularly. It seems pointless to say “Looks good” when 20 others have done it before me.
But I do try to leave comments at regular intervals so they know I’m reading them. I do return the courtesy of comments to bloggers who I don’t really follow, if they leave comments at my posts. After all, I like it when fellow bloggers leave comments at my posts.
No, I don’t only leave comments on blogs who follow mine. There are a few who have never left comments on mine, but I leave comments on posts that interest me.
The other thing I now do is that I read my feeds only once or twice in a week and finish them at one go, if I can. I may be late in reaching posts and leaving comments, but it works for me.
Gooogle reader works well here. Only take a quick glimpse of people’s blogs you find interesting and have bookmarked.
I comment on posts that motivate me to read the entire post. And where I feel I have something to say. If my comment is just going to be “very nice”, then I just skip the comment altogether (sometimes it takes longer to do the word verification than to type out the comment!).
I don’t comment on someone’s blog just because they commented on mine, but I do definitely visit blogs of people whom I know or whose writing I enjoy (regardless of whether they commented on or visited mine).
I too have 200+ feeds and I take 30 mts in the morning, afternoon and evening to check them out. And sometimes I just have to say “mark as read” and I feel terrible about that… If I don’t have too much time, I “star” it and read it later. Hope that helps!
250 feed in 2 hrs how so you mange to do that.
I used to comment in almost all the blogs, but now i have stoped it, but still comment on lot of blogs.
I read the posts if the subject intrest me,
And about
** If you have a site of your own, do you comment only on the blogs of those who comment on your site?
No at all i comment on some of the blogs regularly as their post are so wonderful. They don’ t comment on mine at all, but as i think their post is intresting i do it.
If the title intrest me then i read.
I have started not reading blogs in the weeked ( this is exception,as my daughter’s computer was on and i thought will check the reader:-))
I have a few on Google Reader, for the rest I refer to Taste of India. I also randomly blog-hop and check up on blogs to see if I’ve missed anything. For non-food blogs, I go to Desi Pundit and read the day’s picks.
I am keen on reading more non-Indian food blogs, even though the current ones take up my time. Does anyone know of any aggregator for those?
As for comments, there are a few blogs I comment on now and then irrespective of whether they comment on mine. I don’t eat/make much pasta, breads, cakes, etc myself so I don’t often comment on those posts unless they are regulars in my blog.
What I do feel uncomfortable about is: 1) people who have withdrawn from my blog (I take a while to decide if that is really the case) or 2) those who painfully and dutifully return a comment for my comment in theirs – I’d rather it be spontaneous. As odd as it may sound, I go by the vibes I get from other blogs.
I don’t believe in “if you comment on mine, I will comment on yours” thing. Infact I was very surprised to see when this thing suddenly started about 1 year ago. I don’t think I am doing any favor to the blogger by commenting on their blog(as some people definitely think). I don’t read many non-food sites/blogs. For food blogs I use TOI or google reader. I randomly read the things that interest me. I try to leave a comment when I like something I am reading (but since I am not very good with English, I find it a bit difficult to make up an interesting comment every time, so sometimes I don’t leave any comment at all).
I started my blog to post and save my mom’s and my recipes and I try my best to stick to that and give highest preferance to that. But then I do understand the social networking aspect of blogging, so I try to do as much as possible to connect with others and over the years have made some very good friends. But it is not possible to spend so much time on blogging every day, so I take it easy.
O dear…I rushed here since I thought you had cracked the code! Huge dilemma this. Hmmmmm…I feel the pressure everyday to try & visit each person who visits me, but even thought the numbers aren’t large, it’s difficult. Taste of India seems to have dropped my feeds. I have now installed a blogger feature that picks up feeds in the side-bar. I find it very useful as compared to earlier. I envy people who don’t get flustered; I certainly do & find my home efficiency decreasing & my snapping (camera & at people included)increasing!! LOL
I don’t have set rules for commenting. but it becomes difficult to leave comment on each and every blog. I am hoping, this discussion/comments here will have some good tips.
Oh..same here, as deeba. But looks like nobody’s got the solution!…:(
2hrs and a couple of hundred feeds?? Well, I could only give you suggestions if I get there! But for the few food blog subscriptions I manage, I try to read 80% of the posts. I don’t go by the rule “comment on mine, and I will comment on yours”. I don’t see the point behind it.
And I do try to comment on a decent percentage of my subscriptions. Even a small comment such as “nice post” is worth it. People take so much pain to cook, take pictures, write a recipe and post it. Why not give a small comment as a token of appreciation when we could? I feel it is not about me, when I comment on a post. It is about the author, the effort behind the post. But that is just me.
Yawn…
**How do you manage your feeds? Do you comment on each one you visit?
Google reader. I try to.
** If you have a site of your own, do you comment only on the blogs of those who comment on your site?
Nope, I comment on blogs that I find interesting and feel that I’ve taken something from them. It doesn’t work on a tit for tat basis for me.
** How do you manage the flood of content you would like to keep up with?
Just go by interest and a bit of giving back spirit. If someone visits my blog frequently, I’d like to visit their sometimes at least. It is encouraging for new bloggers especially, as it was for me when people comment. I try not to forget I’m blogging for fun. The minute it starts to become a nuisance, the point is lost. I try not to spread myself too thin or else I can’t keep up. There are certain blogs that i really enjoy going to and those I keep as priorities.
** Say you have two hours a day to go through 250 sites. How would you manage your time? Would you shorten the list?
If all these sites are so important, I would just set the goal of 40-50 per day to go through. 250 sounds overwhelming to go through in one day.
Funny, I just checked and I have 251 blogs in my Google reader. The “Next” button that you can add to your toolbar is super-handy; just click it and it takes you to the next new post in your subs.
Not all of the blogs are very active, so it doesn’t always take me long to click next, next, next and get through them all. Some I just breeze right past if the topic doesn’t interest me, but if something makes me stop and read, I will try to leave a comment in appreciation, especially if I have something relevant to add.
I don’t have so many commenters, so I usually try to add their blogs to my lineup and return the favor at least once. If their blog is interesting, great. If not, I take them off the list.
So far, I’m enjoying your creative insults, so you’re staying for now
So you made me go look at how many feeds I have. I have about the same # as you do and I have them over 3 readers, some feeds overlap between readers. The ones I read everyday are in a lightweight reader that can be loaded into FF’s sidebar. I am very selective about these feeds and keep them to a minimum. My humongo list is in Bloglines and is organized by interest. I don’t read these everyday. They range from photography to design to food to writing to GT. I read from a particular section when I am in the mood. I do hit ‘mark as read’ but not for my tech or design feeds. I’ve found that I ended up missing some pretty smart posts that way. I used to have a bunch of news feeds but currently I am enjoying TV again. It might just be the timing – elections – but it’s nice to watch on a large screen instead of straining to see a video in a small window and listening instead of reading.
I comment on only a fraction of the blogs I read. On most of them, it is simply not necessary and on the rest, I do it only if I find something compelling in the post. I like to comment on blogs where there is a certain amount of interaction going on, not just blogger-reader but between readers, too.
I do like to know who my readers are and if they leave a trail via their profile, I do follow through to read more about them. I usually leave a comment but I do not engage in a 1-for-1 comment exchange.
I haven’t trimmed my feeds in a long time. I tend to accumulate feeds, not read them and then one fine day, drop them.
I have more than 200 blogs on my rss reader too. I try and read as many as I can on week days and leave the rest for a completely free day.
The completely free days are far and few in between but when I’m done with all the blogs, it takes a while for the rss reader to fill up to the brim again
Ah, a great topic! I have about 150 sites in my reader, of which 130 is food. I also read a bunch of random blogs of people I feel write well. Those are mostly ones I comment on, not because I have to, but since its very interactive and mostly have discussions and stuff.
As far as food blogs are concerned, I comment on a post if when I look at the post I feel I have something to say.
But one thing is, I always (or almost always) try to leave a note in the blogs of those who visit me regularly. Its just courtesy and I feel that’s very important.
I struggle with the whole concept of following blogs – i didn’t discover about a reader til months after starting my own blog and it is good because it means I keep up with some blogs but it also means I miss others which I used to visit occasionally – I don’t comment on every blog but mostly posts where I have something to say – and I do have some blogs I am more likely to read than others on my reader when I am busy
* I follow 400 blog’s by using blogger’s new feature of Following Blog’s. I comment only when i feel, to comment and when i have more time.
* As Sra said, i could also feel the vibe, when i receive a comment, and return them my thanks. but i love to peep in all those, who had commented on mine, again time matters.
* I have organised my Newspaper blog’s into a seperate folder, and some inspiring food blog’s into other folder. with this i go by, which topic intrests me.
* Going thru Google reader is the best choice, and splitting them into different folder’s, giving priority to the one’s that absolutely interest’s you.
I have divided my feeds by categories in my reader, and skimming through titles is my way to pick and choose; but the author also plays an imp role – if I know someone generally writes well, and has interesting stuff, I’ll take a moment to peek in. But I don’t always find time to comment on each post. But at least twice a week I make a point in visiting and commenting on the blogs who regularly visit me..It just makes a social network more personal:)
Just do what’s humanly possible, and don’t be hard on yourself for not being able to read & comment on each post!:D
Guess whats the number of unread posts in my Google reader..with just 65 subscriptions, I have 456 posts unread and I hate to ‘mark them read’..
Like others, I skim through the titles and read the ones which interests me the most!
Siri
Now I’m a bit relieved that everybody is seems to be in a similar situation, as I’m also finding it realy difficult to manage blogging and commenting. I have started my blog a few monthd ago and right now I’m in a postion where I’m getting to know more and more people. There are a few blogs where I do like to go to, irrespective of if they leave a comment at my blog or not.
But, I divide my time in sittings. Once I just go and read blogs and leave comments, if I really feel the need for one. But, I don’t have time to do it every day. And I am trying to limit the number of feeds I get. So that it remains manageable and I can do justice to all of them.
Infact, I am realising that i will have to cut down on my blogging time, as it is getting too much and I need to spend more time with my son now.
A wonderful post, once again!
“** How do you manage your feeds? Do you comment on each one you visit?”
Either read the post in google reader or go to the website. If the article is great comment else I don’t. I also share articles that are great.
“** If you have a site of your own, do you comment only on the blogs of those who comment on your site? ”
Nope
“** How do you manage the flood of content you would like to keep up with? ”
Select the best feeds.
“** Say you have two hours a day to go through 250 sites. How would you manage your time? Would you shorten the list?”
I would definitly shorten the list. 250 sites is too much.
Would take time to unsubcribe from ten each day. The ones that you only read a few posts and other which are not that great. I would also kick out those who make too many posts (20+ per day).
I have a huge number of feeds, including over a hundred food blogs, although that will probably shrink again because I will try new blogs that look promising and keep the best ones after reading them for several weeks.
I use google reader to organize (switched over from bloglines about 4 months ago and happy with the switch), and basically have a mental list in my head as to which ones are my favorites within categories. If I see a new entry in a favorite, it takes precedence over the rest, and I usually read more carefully. “Food” is one big category that may need to get broken into “favorite food” and “general food”.
Then where time permits, I go into high-speed scan mode for the others, and fit them in when I can and only when I can (clearing my head for a few minutes during lunch at work is a good time). If a title, recipe, or photo catches my eye, I stop and read more carefully. I know bloggers like comments (I certainly like receiving them), but I usually only comment if I feel like I have something more to say than “that looks great!” to say (although I do that too, especially if I’ve gotten to know the writer).
There’s no question that time and information management is a huge, ongoing struggle.
Interesting question. My initial response is…Wow…that’s a lot of information to sift through. I’d have to cut that list down by half for starters. Maybe alternate between two lists hitting 125 sites every other day?
I comment when I have something of my own to say but do not comment on every site on every visit typically, except for a few sites where there is a lot of back and forth traffic between their blogs and mine. That feels more like an extended conversation between friends/neighbors.
I often comment when invited to, again mostly if I feel I have something in particular to add. In a time crunch I read posts without checking the comments they have evoked, but I agree, some days that is where the action is.
I add my vote to the folks who say when your behaviors are feeling like duty rather than joy it is time to look at what/why and see if a change is due.
Well, well you made a point here guys!!! I go through phases. I try to go to everybodie’s blog that leaves a comment in mine. I want to keep reading my blog’s friends posts always. I try to comment other people’s blog whom follow mine (all posts, the ones I like and the ones I don’t).
I always answer my comments section one by one (this is time too).
Getting organized and having lots of time is basic!
Today I spent many hours in front of the screen (you don’t want to know how many!!!!)
When I get overwhelmed I just stop, let some days pass and start from zero again.
I’m totally convinced I’m hooked!!! I’m looking for a gym to make my butt go to its original shape and size ;D
Thank you so much for this great post and raising this issue. There are so many wonderful blogs , but so little time. I’ve learned alot here by reading everyones comments. We visit blogs a little bit every day to try to keep up with everyones wonderful content. But it’s been very hard lately because of work, travel and other family activities.
This is something I constantly struggle with. I certainly don’t comment on all the posts I read but I do comment at some point on most of the blogs I read so at least the owner knows I’m following along. Every once in a while I do a purge and unsubscribe from a whole bunch of feeds that have not held my interest, but inevitably the number of feeds inches up again…