Thursday, February 18, 2016

Book Blogger Appreciation Week, Day 4: Community Connection


Day 4: How do you stay connected to the community? Examples: social media, regular commenting, participation in blog events, etc. Tell us your faves!

I am pretty awful at ~~community. In anything. When it comes to book blogging, I've enjoyed watching and participating in ArmchairBEA on Twitter (and on here). I'm also a member-in-bad-standing of the Classics Club (see the graphic on the right); I say that because I haven't done much to participate in the spins or memes. But the blogs and the books over at The Classics Club run much more to my taste than what most book bloggers read, so I have the graphic over there to remind me to check out the blogs and the lists and the discussions when I have the time.

I follow a crapton of blogs, of all kinds, but book blogs comprise the majority of my reading at the moment. I use Inoreader for my blogging purposes, so that means I don't really land on anyone's homepage very often. So if you want me to read your blog, make sure you have your page's RSS feed in order! If you're not sure how to do that, I'd recommend using FeedBurner. And if you're not using an RSS reader, it makes your life so much easier! A moment of silence for Google Reader...but Inoreader is probably the best one that's filled the void. I know BlogLovin' is really popular as a an aggregate blog reading feed/whatever, but it's just...not for me.  So overwhelming. So much activity. There are some other, non-web-based programs too, but generally speaking they are annoying, cumbersome, and uggo. Inoreader is simple and elegant. And all you have to do is paste a webpage's URL in the upper left and it hunts down and adds the RSS feed for you!

No matter what RSS option you use, you can add me to it through FeedBurner.

So, out of all the blogs I read, I try to comment regularly-ish. It doesn't always happen: sometimes I'm busy, sometimes I'm tired, and sometimes I just don't have any words. I'm trying to be better about commenting on blogs and being ~~personal and so on, but I don't have endless reserves of energy and focus so it's slow going.

ETA: don't forget to check out the link-up for today's prompt over at the Estella Society!

14 comments:

  1. i am bad about commenting also although I am trying to change that.

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    1. There are too many interesting blogs and not enough time!

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  2. I'm also bad about commenting. I'm mainly a lurker =) "Crapton" really describes what my feed reader looks like as well!! Great post!

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    1. I try to clean out the ol' feed reader on a semi-annual basis but invariably I just find more blogs I like than remove blogs that don't interest me. The wonder of the Internet...

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  3. Oo! Thanks for recommending an alternate feedreader. I'm not mad at Feedly, but I do not love it the way I loved Google Reader. I'd be happy to have an alternative.

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    1. I think I have Feedly on my phone??? I tried it on desktop and was pretty lukewarm about it...I think the interface or something seemed "off" to me. For a while I was using The Old Reader, which was awesome, except that you're limited to 100 feeds with the free version. =/ And "a crapton" is, shockingly, more than 100...! But if you have fewer than 100 subscriptions, the free The Old Reader might also be worth looking at.

      Inoreader has a subscription option, but even the free version has unlimited feeds. I say "thanks" by not running AdBlock on their page.

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  4. I am so very guilty of lurking and not commenting. I might have to check out the feed reader you mentioned. I clearly have issues with being overwhelmed by the, well, crapton-ness of it all.

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    1. I think with book blogs it's just...harder to comment? It depends on how much a book blogger balances reviews with other posts.

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  5. I am so pleased to find that I'm not the only one who misses Google Reader. I was so sad. I use Bloglovin, but it has it's annoyances. Ah well.

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    1. I tried to give BlogLovin' a fair shot, but it's just too much. A lot people love it, so I still have my feed set up there if that's where people would like to follow me, but I don't read there.

      I don't understand why Google dropped Reader. I guess to push G+?

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  6. I've never heard of inoreader! The demise of google reader was the saddest for me. I use feedly now.

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    1. I only found out via a friend! Back when Google Reader shut down and all of the replacements were popping up all over the place, Inoreader somehow never got mentioned.

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  7. Yes, still sad about Google Reader. I'll have to check out this inoreader. I've been trying to get things set up on Feedly. I like to comment but I don't like to force it. If I have something to say, I have something to say. But sometimes I enjoy reading something but nothing comes to mind.

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    1. That's one of the things I like about Facebook, honestly. If I don't feel like commenting, or can't find anything to say, there's the "like" button: "Just letting you know I'm here and reading and that I liked your thought! Okay! Bye!"

      Commenting is so much *heavier*, especially when it's a blog you've just found and are getting to know. Then there's no rapport or shared history or anything and it's all of my worst nightmares about making friends all over again....BUT ON THE INTERNET.

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