Cut back your RSS list or bookmarks. Get it at a number so you can really read each blog. Not skim. Now email the author, and tell them you’re a regular reader. Comment on every post. Write posts on your blog with linkbacks. Get involved; and when you do, your energy and attention will help the writer to publish better content. Thus you can help your favorite blogs get even better, and you will actually be getting something out of the blog instead of simply feeding yourself information you won’t benefit from because you’re in a hurry to move on.
16 Comments »
Dem's fightin' words...
Armen said:
Agreed! As a fellow blogger, I delight in those that are enthusiastic in their commenting, and add comments that construct and add to the post itself. I also have been trying to encourage more Christian bloggers to ’speed-link’ on a regular basis (weekly or so). Some are very stingy with their links.
Posted on March 30, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Armen said:
By the way Shawn…I had a real chuckle to myself when I read your comment on the ‘49 Most Downloaded WordPress Themes’. How true!
Posted on March 31, 2007 at 12:15 am
Ruth said:
you said: comment on every post.
but don’t you think the author might be bored if there’s one person who comments on every post? maybe you can tell how you experience that if there’s one person who comments on every post..
as a reader you don’t want your comment to be silly and empty.
Posted on March 31, 2007 at 2:03 am
{Shawn} said:
@ Armen: Glad someone caught it.
@ Ruth: By comment on every post, I mean be active. Be involved. As you know there are a handful of readers that comment on 75% of the posts here and you guys have quality insight and really help build what my initial post began as into something better.
The good thing about a blog is that you can leave comments that are silly and empty. They don’t all have to be deep and insightful. Sometimes a “thanks for this” or “right on man” is good enoug
Posted on March 31, 2007 at 11:53 am
David Paul Robinson said:
This is a good point. It’s too easy to become a full-time skimmer with the torrent of information overwhelming us.
Posted on April 2, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Bill said:
I actually was thinking about writing a similar post earlier this week. Another thing that someone can do in order to be a good reader is to promote their favorite blogs.
If you like a blog then you can guarantee it’ll be around awhile by helping build that blog’s traffic. Submitting the best posts to StumbleUpon or Digg is one way to do this. Recommending the site to your friends is also a great way to be an active community member!
Posted on April 2, 2007 at 6:11 pm
{Shawn} said:
@ Bill: I love your point. You should write a post on that and give more info.
Posted on April 3, 2007 at 7:47 am
How to be a Great Weblog Reader | matthew & elisa said:
[…] posted by Shawn Blanc - Click here to read the original article) This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a […]
Posted on April 3, 2007 at 1:17 pm
John said:
Right-on Shawn! It is by far better to stick to a few good blogs, and build a sense of community in and around them, than to have a shallow involvement in many blogs but with very little depth. Hmmmmmm seems like a lesson in “real life” relationships!? Come to think of it, is there any difference between real life and online relationships? Friendship and community are best measured by depth, rather than by breadth.
The same is true with blogs. Hopefully those same blog authors may make your blog one of their staples, and contribute to forming a community around your blog, your message, and your vision.
Posted on April 5, 2007 at 3:04 am
{Shawn} said:
@ John: Exactly.
Posted on April 5, 2007 at 5:47 am
One Tip on How to be a Great Weblog Writer | Fighting to Stay Awake said:
[…] This is on the same lines as being a great weblog reader. […]
Posted on April 5, 2007 at 6:00 am
Jared Diehl said:
Shawn,
I just want to tell you how much this stuff encourages me.
I have only been blogging three months but writing my whole life.
I feel like blogging needs to be taken seriously and you help people understand that.
My rythme is RUCKUS. The Ruckus journal has been apart of my life since I was 15 years old. God has spoken to me through it without me knowing it.
I plan to make my blog around this.
This stuff helps. Bless you man!
AND YOU ARE FROM COLORADO,SO MAYBE WE ARE BEST FRIENDS BECAUSE OF THAT FACT.
Posted on April 5, 2007 at 2:32 pm
jeff said:
This one post may dramatically improve my time spent on blogs and cultivate better, deeper relationships.
I’m a regular reader. Thanks for the tip.
There is such a thing as spreading yourself too thin as a blog reader.
I’ve got to go do some pondering… and perhaps Bloglines slashing…
Posted on April 5, 2007 at 8:41 pm
{Shawn} said:
@ Jeff: You’re right it is so easy to spread thin. I come accross a site and go, “hmm” this is good, and then another and another. Pretty soon I had over 100 feeds I was trying to keep track of and they were all cluttered into one big list.
I went through and unsubscribed to all the ones that I wasn’t enjoying reading. I then ordered my feeds into 5 categories. 1st - 4th and “Watching”. I check my 1st list feeds every day (About 15 of them). These are the sites that I look forward to reading, I actively comment on and often link to.
When I have extra time I work down my other list. Then when I have more extra time I browse the watched feeds. If I find several good posts then I’ll pop it into the permanent list, otherwise it’s deleted.
I don’t feel like I’m missing anything after deleting those old feeds.
Posted on April 5, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Matthew Berry said:
Excellent point, Shawn. I’m a regular reader of your blog and have found some very insightful posts here - congrats.
Posted on April 6, 2007 at 12:00 pm
{Shawn} said:
@ Matthew: Thanks. And of course - glad to have you here.
Posted on April 6, 2007 at 12:30 pm