Blogging, Subscriptions and Ethics…Oh My
Do you ever feel disillusioned by a particular blog?
Not mine of course. Mine is perfect - that’s a given (*smirk*)
Google Reader is my friend and I admit, at times I get a bit snap-happy with all the RSS subscribin’ as I travel around Bloggityville. Current subscription count? One hundred and sixty-one. Number of posts I actually open up to read? Perhaps a third. Hmmm.
I have a system for managing blogs in Google Reader. It involves multiple folders - Big Name, General, Organizing, Homemaking, Frugality… (I’m a nerd. It helps). When I see a new blog that I might/possibly/could read again, I’ll subscribe but I will leave them in the regular list without assigning them to a folder. Only when I have read and enjoyed them throughout a ‘trial period’ will I put them into a folder. The end result is a hodge podge of folders, loose blogs and guilt for not reading half of what I’m subscribed to.
The problem, I think, is that there is SO MUCH good content out there and SO LITTLE TIME in which to read it. My general ethos tends to be, if five cool homemaking sites are great, then wouldn’t 20 in the same genre be awesome? I follow plenty of big name bloggers just like the next gal - the likes of Big Mama, BooMama, Fried Okra, Like Merchant Ships, Scribbit, Rocks In My Dryer and so forth (by the way, the term ‘big name’ is highly subjective and relates only to my own filtering system) and I’m completely loyal, usually devouring every word.
But what happens when one of the blogs you’ve loved and supported (subscribed to, commented on) starts to fall short?
Does anyone else get the guilts like I do?
It’s likely that I will unsubscribe to this particular site and they will not even feel the smallest ripple in Bloggityville over my departure. I’m fine with that. There are other REALLY big name bloggers who I have never been able to subscribe to for personal or ethical reasons - I was reading through the archives of one in particular over a year ago and came up against a flat-out, deal-off reason to avoid returning. The site was completely fantastic and this one point was mentioned only sporadically, but I knew if I continued to read and support (subscribe to) her that I would be living a double standard. I am probably the only person in the known universe who does not subscribe to this site, by the way.
So, ethics and blogging. In my 161 subscriptions (which, immediately after posting this, will be pared back considerably),I rarely come up against something that shocks me. It is a given that you’ll only ever subscribe to sites which you personally identify with on some level so this is hardly suprising. The problem for me comes when I subscribe to a site based on one awesome aspect and then get blindsided by the blogger’s views on other issues, as is the case with the site I am about to unsubscribe from. Do you stay, and employ some sort of internal filter to ignore the icky parts (as I have done for a while now) because you really don’t want to lose access to the ‘good stuff’? The second blogger, Ms Big-Name-Point-of-Contention, is also in this category for me. But since the particular ’thing’ was a personal deal-breaker, the issue took care of it self. The first blogger, Ms Soon-To-Unsubscribe-From, is a little less clear cut. I have felt this way for some time but have held back because the issue at heart didn’t result in as strong of a reaction in me. But lately, I’ve noticed a bit of repetitive posting. Couple that with clashing viewpoints and that’s pretty much tied it up in a bow for me.
I’d love to hear others’ viewpoints on this. Specifically, how many blogs do you follow through Google Reader or Bloglines, are you discerning about subscribing right from the get-go (or do you do what I do, and kind of subscribe then ‘wait and see’),and are you plenty happy to click on ‘Unsubscribe’ when you begin to question whether you’re getting anything interesting out of the deal? What would be a deal-breaker issue for you in the bloggy-subscription world?
Update: After a mammoth Google Reader declutter session I am now sitting at 108 subscriptions with five ‘on notice’ and twelve ‘new blogs to watch’. Taking those into account I think I did pretty good - I’m going to set a 100 blog limit. And you know what? It felt GOOD. Challenge extended…
Cheers,
Lizzie (the infrequent and very apologetic poster!)
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Just an Aussie mother to three, wife to one, special needs advocate, sometimes crafter, always procrastinator and awesome baker. Well maybe not bread. Bread alludes me.
I think you’d be surprised to know that the blogger is probably having just as much internal conflict over continuing to blog…as you are continuing to subscribe!
You know, blogs ebb and flow, just like a person’s life. It’s okay if a blog you love to read no longer fits your situation–just as a blog you love to write may no longer offer the outlet it once did.
Coming up with new and interesting content daily is tough when other things are going on in life. Just like blog reading is hard to keep up with when you have other things on your mind.
It’s a mutual relationship, but no one should get their feelings hurt when it needs to come to an end, permanently or temporarily.
Meredith from Merchant Ships’s last blog post..School uniform exchange
I have to admit this got me thinking (lolol more like, “omg I hope that’s not ME she’s talking about..”)
:P
My reading isn’t as organized as you (Hello, I AM Scattered Mom, after all) but I do have some categories in my head.
-read daily (Can’t MISS a POST!)
-read weekly
-read occasionally
There are a lot of blogs that I read where the person is a complete and polar opposite of me, just for pure curiosity’s sake. Some have views that I completely disagree with, but it would have to be pretty extreme to be a deal breaker.
What drives me away from blogs? Boredom. I don’t like blogs where someone has a baby and it is ALL they ever talk about. Or if they are so into pop culture that all they discuss is movies or music. I like variety.
Also, If they use one style and nothing else I get bored. I tend to read for awhile before I commit to a subscription, and I haven’t unsubscribed from anyone for a long time (although my reading is limited to about 30 blogs).
If I was becoming a bit repetitive and boring, I’d appreciate the heads up from a friend, though. (hint hint) Constructive criticism is always a good thing-but that’s just me, I’m not sure other people would feel that way.
Scatteredmom’s last blog post..Fabulicious Friday #20
I have about 40 blogs on my list. A couple are actually news feeds, though. I read them whenever… No particular rhyme or reason to my ordering or what I read. Or even whether I read the actual posts… totally depends on my moods.
I also have a journal in another forum. I ended up saving it in another format and deleting it because I wanted to cull loads of my *friends* and that’s always dramarific.
Meredith - wise words. The blog and issue I’m referring to goes beyond simple distraction or wondering whether to continue blogging (or reading) though. She is quite clear about her reasons for blogging. She continues to blog daily and has a large following and in the beginning, seemed to be just what I was looking for. But she has a number of forceful opinions which she is, of course, completely entitled to - she just tends to rehash information on the subject to try to ‘win’ people over to her side. Not just once or twice, but it is a large component of her blog. I know, I know, I hold the ultimate power and if I’m no longer ‘feeling it’ on her blog, then I can unsubscribe. Which is what I’m likely going to do, although it is a pity because apart from this niggle issue she has really good archival content. If it was just that she was rewording and reposting old content, that would be fine by me. In actual fact, I like a bit of a rehash. But on this subject? Not so much. I was just curious about others’ opinions on the issue and whether good content overrides a possible clashing of the fundamentals (*smile*)
ScatteredMom - Don’t worry, you’re safe, LOL. I do the same re ‘polar opposites’ as well. The big name blogger I am referring to has a particular family issue that would resonate with the two of us (I won’t elaborate here, but if you like, I can give you details privately) and is at the root of why I do not subscribe. I may even be off track on this point, but from what I’ve seen, it’s not the blog for me. The blog I’m considering unsubbing from is a little different. There is no deal breaker per se - just a niggly feeling in the background along the lines of, we don’t really see eye to eye on a couple of key issues and (as you said) the boredom regarding the rehashing of posts is becomming an issue, so at what point do I fish-or-cut-bait, you know?
And also, how on EARTH do you stop yourself from subbing to new blogs?? LOL. THIRTY? I am in awe :P
Good thoughts gals.
Cheers,
Lizzie
I would never unsubscribe from a blog just because I didn’t see eye to eye with the owner on every issue (or any issue). I read blogs to keep up with friends, keep up with the blogosphere, challenge my thinking, cultivate my writing and arguing skills.
As an example, I might be a labour voter, and subscribe to a liberal blog, so I could keep up with what they’re doing and practice writing and arguing skills.
I unsubscribe to a blog for one reason and one reason only - if I don’t feel I’m getting anything out of it anymore.
If we were all the same, what a boring life it would be…. and I’ve never heard of half the names you’ve dropped in your post. I wonder what rock I’m living under….
Kin’s last blog post..Happy Birthday to Me!
Kin - I agree with you. I have a several blogs in Google Reader which fit into that ‘not seeing eye to eye’ category. I love them. However…
When a blog makes a bad taste joke or describes a situation about disabilities that doesn’t sit well with me, the mother of a disabled child, and is clearly not worried about doing so? That is likely to be something I’m going to find issue with. I am never nasty and I never email. I just simply unsubscribe (or never subscribe in the first place) and fade away. Those are the clear cut parts. Then there are the other sites, the ones that I don’t always gel with but will continue to read because I’m honestly curious about their views. Both examples are separate to what I meant in my post :)
P.S. The bloggers I mentioned are very popular in the US ;)
Cheers,
Lizzie
Hmm interesting thoughts…
I know there are a handful of blogs that I read when I think about it but don’t subscribe too because there are few issues we don’t see eye to eye on that pop up reasonably often that I’d just rather not read about. I still enjoy reading when I have the time and when it is a topic that gels with me but I guess I don’t feel they are feed reader worthy LOL
There are some in my feed that challenge me, my ideas and my thinking and some I don’t see eye to eye on all the time… but I still enjoy them despite our differences.
I am trying to be more ruthless in what I subscribe to and I have told myself that if I am no longer enjoying a blog of a daily basis I should unsub from them.. I can always keep them bookmarked and check in from time to time and sub again later if our worlds align again….
And der I am so stupid I just realised that I could sort into folders in bloglines… hmm… I wonder if that will help my obsession with having to check every single new post in my list just inc ase it is something awesome?
Kate - this is where it is vital to think about blog titles. I’ve got my Reader set to ‘List View’ rather than ‘Extended View’, so I only get the title and a few extra words. A post needs to hook me fairly well immediately. Even with my subscription pare-back this afternoon, there’s no way I’d be able to read every single post on each of the blogs which update. I rely on those blog titles and first few words. All of the blogs in my Big Name folder get a read, no matter what the title, but everything else needs a decent title or it is more likely I’ll skip over due to time restraints.
I’ve also only recently bothered to use the ‘Starred Items’ part of Google Reader (I’m sure there’s something similar on Bloglines) It allows me to bookmark particular posts that come through the reader and then click ‘Mark All As Read’. Prior to this, I would manually click on every other post in order to leave the one I wanted to read later as ‘unread’ for later. Silly. This also helps if you come across something you want to link to later. You can always still bookmark the site outside of the Reader but I like the fact that I can access ALL my blogs if I’m travelling and using someone else’s computer. I just log in to Google Reader and log in using my username and away I go. If my computer broke down and I’d been relying on the Bookmarks (outside of a reader) for part or all of my blog reading, I’d be left with trying to remember particular blog URLs (at the library etc) or going through the hassle of a Google search.
I also download several podcasts but don’t like the automated feature of iTunes for those (I don’t download every single message a site puts out, just what looks good) so I tend to visit the site directly, then do the right click/save target as thing. Most of these sites publish a unique feed for their podcast pages so I put that URL into Google Reader and use it as a ‘flag’ that a new podcast has been added to their site (you can listen to them using a pop up player in GR but I tend to whack everything onto the iPod). Sometimes I don’t have time to go to the site immediately so I ’star’ the item and then sort through maybe 10 posts as opposed to hundreds when I do have the time later.
Did that make sense? LOL.
Cheers,
Lizzie
Lizzie, I think that whether you stay reading a blog is up to you, it’s a decision you have to make. With the blogging world like one of the previous comments said it ebbs and flows. When I first started bloggin 4 years ago my reading list was completely different to what it is now and my interests and faith have changed in dribs and drabs, some have remained in my links some haven’t. I think that when we notice someone like yourself hasn’t or has stopped commenting in a while we need to take it with a grain of salt, it may not be a personal decision at all. Sometimes we also grow apart from other bloggers if that makes sense. Anyway that’s my two cents :-)
Amy’s last blog post..The Singing Budgie
That’s an awful lot of words just to say I don’t like some blogs and I’m not gonna read them anymore.
River - sigh.
It was a genuine, curious reaction on my part and one I loved hearing others’ responses on. Yes, I have the power to unsubscribe. And no, it wasn’t just that I didn’t like what they were posting about anymore, or that they got boring, or weren’t posting often enough (gosh knows I’m guilty of that one) or any number of other reasons. For one of the two blogs I mentioned it was a deep, convicting “I’m not comfortable with this”. For the other, it was a weighing up of benefits - great ‘other’ content vs frequent and forceful ‘bashing’ of a particular societal group. I’m sorry if this was not clear or if I used to many words!
Cheers,
Lizzie
hey lizzie! it’s been ages since i commented-bad, bad, bad! i always read though cuz you are on my google reader!! about 6 months ago, i pared down to around 70ish blogs and have since deleted/added to for various reasons.
one reason was my disillusionment with what i thought blogger community meant. for example, i had several blogs that i was loyal to (more well-known names) and commented ALL.THE.TIME. finally, after not even 1 “thanks for stopping by” or stopping by my place even once, i deleted them. you know when someone is a consistent commentor and i just think it is plain rude not to acknowldege even once. i also deleted some more well-knowns simply b/c i didn’t think they were all they were cracked up to be-at least to me.
there you go! maybe not a popular opinion, but mine! i totally realize that we each have our own reasons. don’t feel any guilt over yours!
stacey’s last blog post..Self-induced Insomnia
Lizzie, if someone says something about disabled kids I usually leave a nice, but pointed, comment. I don’t e-mail and I don’t get nasty, but I will challenge them with my opinion.
That’s just the way I am. :P
I don’t like bashing blogs. I think that that while we, as bloggers, are entitled to our opinion, I have a hard time with people who are just overall intolerant.
In your case they would go from “daily read” to “bi-monthly skim read for good content” and if I still wasn’t feeling it, I’d delete.
ROFL-the reason I was wondering if mine was safe was that it’s been awfully slow these days and there’s no comments! Ack! It’s bugging me! Couldn’t help but ask, lolol.
Scatteredmom’s last blog post..Saturday at the Seashore
Hey Lizzie, I got your comment and I e-mailed you at your hotmail account. :)
Lizzie - I’m not sure that I’ve ever commented before, but I enjoy reading your blog. This last post got me thinking about my own reader and how many feeds I’ve subscribed to. I hadn’t looked in a long time, but my number is… *gasp* 225! It’s definitely WAY more blogs than I NEED to read, and the truth is that there are a number that I just skim any more. Some I truly, honestly love, but others I liked for a short while and simply haven’t unsubscribed from. I am a crafter, so a lot of my blogs are related to scrapbooking or stamping. Unfortunately, sometimes someone has a spurt of crafty genius that fits right in with what I love, so I subscribe and follow, and then they move on to another look and I quit enjoying their work. My friends I will always follow. Some blogs I do have on a “watch” list to decide if I want to continue reading, and what category to put them in. But mostly I’ve been lazy with the culling and you’ve inspired me to do a little paring myself. I’m doing that in the rest of my life right now (getting the home organized, setting my priorities, pulling back from outside responsibilities, etc.) and I really ought to do it on my reader, too. If I have fewer blogs to read, it will go faster (leaving me time to do the other things that I want to do each day) and I will enjoy what I’m reading instead of only about half of what I’m reading.
And for the record, I know what you mean about the conflict on some blogs. I subscribed to one blog that I really enjoyed, but started to notice a trend toward random crass comments. She wasn’t the type of person I’d want to spend time with in person, and if I knew her I would probably avoid conversations with her because they were degrading and not edifying. So I decided I should probably do the same online and severed the readership. I doubt she ever even noticed my tiny blip missing from her blog, but I have been happy without the negative influence and haven’t missed her a bit!
Thanks for your food for thought today!!!
elizabeth wickland)’s last blog post..Okay, okay, okay….
Heh. I knew all that. Just thought I’d throw a spanner in the works.
I’m an organized reader, with different folders for different types of blogs. I have the ones I read regularly, and then the ones that I check when I have time or when I’m looking for specific information. I tend to subscribe on a “trial basis”, too, and then decide whether to keep subscribing and where to file them after reading more.
What I read has evolved and changed as my life has evolved and changed. And so has what I write at my own blog. I go through life phases and that affects what I read and write, so I don’t expect that people stick around if they’re not interested in what I’m writing about right now, and I don’t feel bad about not reading someone else’s blog if they’re not writing content that interests me. I do tend to give bloggers a “window” where I wait it out to see if their writing “comes around” because I know that I go through phases on my own blog where I’m too busy to post anything of substance, or can’t seem to come up with good content to save my life. But if a blogger that I’ve been reading changes completely or stops interesting me for whatever reason, eventually I’ll stop reading.
Also, I’m not the type to read or comment just to create conflict. If I can’t relate to a writer, or I’m not interested in their opinions/topics (i.e. I find them offensive in some way or their belief system doesn’t mesh well with my own) I won’t subscribe (or I’ll unsubscribe if I’ve been reading for a while before I realize). If it’s someone I’ve been reading for a while and I generally respect, though, and it’s one or two posts that I feel I have a well developed and grounded conflicting opinion on, I might join the conversation first and see where it goes. I’d hate to stop reading just because of a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of what I’ve read.
Sorry for the super-long comment, but you really got me thinking about my blog subscribing and reading behavior. Thanks for the thought-provoking post.
(BTW, I found you during the Bloggy Giveaways, so you’re still in my “trial period” folder. :) So far, so good. You got me to comment, so that’s a plus.)
Ami’s last blog post..And the Winner is…