Readers: Going, Going, Gone? (Soapbox Series 5)
As you may have seen last week, Liz Burns wrote her eulogy for Bloglines: It is Bloglines You Mourn For. I’ve never used Bloglines, but I do use Google Reader and FeedRinse, and I am testing RSS Owl to collect and manage content from the various blogs and news sources I follow.
Google Reader has not always given me what I need, but the idea of it going away and dumping my info just frosts me. Where will it go? My new “priority inbox”? I understand life on the information superhighway evolves … but does it always have to be faster than the speed of light? And does it always have to mean messing with something that is working just fine, thank you very much? Like Liz, I would love the answer to her question:
Why does every. bloody. thing have to be a social experience?
This summer – and probably for the next several summers – I spent more time as Mom than online reviewer, writer, reader, and even lurker. So I parsed my time carefully. I knew if I checked the Feed Reader, I’d have something to make me smile or think or reassure me that spending my days reading was worthwhile. Twitter – sometimes yes, sometimes no. Facebook – not so much.
Now that Catherine is back in school, I find myself still drawn more to what the blogs are saying than finding out who needs water for their barn animals, who is what level of mafiosa, or Trivia ratings. It is so annoying trying to get past all that *noise* that I have basically quit going to FB unless I’m replying to something someone sent me (and which I found out about via an email).
I get tired of trying to squish a thought into 140 characters or less … or mash it into a cyberbyte (aka soundbyte) that is attention grabber, title, and content all rolled into one. Sometimes I want a REAL conversation, where things are thought out in at least a couple of sentences. That’s why I love my blogging friends … and I can chat with them (and leave comments!) as time allows. THAT is a real social event … one where you have time to really catch up with people, not just “hello-goodbye.”
Yes, Liz’ post struck a nerve. I am sure it is because I was thinking about “everything is social” all summer long: just how social do I have to be to be an effective, efficient, and well informed Mom-preneur and literacy advocate? Don’t know. Do you?
Can you see me jumping up and down, cheering, here on the other side of the world? Totally agree. Facebook NO, Twitter not much, whereas blogs and emails are my cyber-socializing and fodder for my brain and soul. Good on you for spending most of your time as a mom! I don’t have the delight of young kids, but I still need to pick and choose among all the noise deliverers.
Some days I just want to pull the plug!
I hope you’ll let us know about the Owl. I rarely even make it to Google reader though, so I’m not sure it’s the content I need to manage so much as my own guilt!
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Hi Susan – Yes Reader can get overwhelming. What I like about Owl is that I can parse the reader (or actually what I run through Feedrinse) into folders. It stays there as long as I need it and if I only want to look at one topic, it’s easier to find. I also like that I can label and sort and add notes, too. I’ll keep you posted.
This hit a nerve with me too – and I stand with you on everything you’ve said. I always laugh when I see someone on Twitter who “follow” several hundred or even thousands of people – how can they possibly follow what all those people are saying (of course some people are superheros and can do it, but not me!). Real community it what i’m interested in, and yes, blog comments are what I find most vital and engaging .
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It is nice to just chat, isn’t it? That’s what I remember loving about blogging in the first place … expanding my circle of friends minus the geographic and logistical speedbumps. I am so glad you stopped by!