I Don’t Like RSS And Newsreaders
04.21.2006 | Chris BaileySee, here’s the thing…most of us take great pride in creating an interesting, provocative, web experience through our blogs. But, if you only get your blog content from a newsreader, you miss the whole experience. It’s kinda like listening to your favorite band on AM radio…the sound is there, but it’s less than an optimal experience when you could listen to them live.
Case in point…I read Patti Digh’s 37 Days blog and it’s just fabulous. But I usually read it from my Rojo newsreader. So, today I go and read her latest post and it hits me that her content is just one aspect of the total 37 Days experience. The content might be the most important, but there’s other neat things to find there as well. The whole site personifies her whimsical and deeply soulful view of the world. I liked her mystery carrot award so much I gave myself one.
Guess all of this builds into a somwhat frustrating and confounding observation I have with blogging and blogreading. I’m thankful to have folks like you who read the stuff that tumbles out of my brain. And I’m inviting you to take a deeper look at my blog and the rest of Bailey WorkPlay if all you’ve ever experienced is through your Bloglines or other RSS reader.
And don’t start and end with just me…make an effort to actually visit the blogsites of people who you find fascinating. And let them know what you like. As blogging is a personal pursuit for all of us who take it playfully serious, it’s always nice to know that you’re loved not only for the content of your mind, but for your body as well.
6 Responses to “I Don’t Like RSS And Newsreaders”
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[...] Chris Bailey doesn’t. Read why at Bailey WorkPlay. Posted Friday April 21, 2006 at in Don’t Wait [...]
Chris, I agree. Blogs are meant to be read on their original site. I would not toss out RSS readers (especially my own) because with careful use of them, I do get to read far more than clicking through the good old blogroll would allow.
I would reconsider the purpose of a blogroll though. If you blogroll is the same as your RSS feed, that’s one thing; if it is not, then what purpose does it serve?
Hi Chris – Thanks for this post. Couldn’t agree more. RSS is not the best format for following your favorite blogs. I use blogarithm.com to subscribe to blogs I want to keep track of.
Lucy and Steve, your comments encouraged me to think about other ways I can offer folks to keep updated with this blog. So I added a Feedblitz email option in addition to an RSS subscription option.
And I’m going a huntin’ for other ways out there that make it easy for all to have a full blog experience. Lucy, you make a good suggestion about blogarithm. I’ll take other suggestions.
I think RSS is a good option for information, but not for interaction. There’s no way I could keep up with the 300 blogs I do without it. Though if you want to see what’s REALLY going on, you must click into your favorite blogs from time to time. Patti’s blog is a good example of one that is amazingly visually appealing. This one is too!
Not sure if I have time to visit all the blogs I read just to see if there are updates. RSS simplifies matters. When I see a new post, I just head off to the blog itself.