Saturday 31 January 2009

Are you a Reader or Follower?

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Sometime ago, I started out using Google Reader to keep track of my favourite blogs, let me know when they have changed to save spending time visiting static ones.  You know the sort of thing.

Then Following came on the scene.

And now I have a mix of the two - there is a certain social pressure to follow people and 'be their friend'.  But not everyone has a Follower link.  Not everyone has RSS for that matter.

So, what do you do?  And why?

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Am off on a "Foodies Tour of Melbourne" in a minute (Xmas present).  Will do a report and a garden update later on.

After three days of 43°C today will be a mere 37°C.  No rain of any worth this year yet.  (0.8 mm is not of any worth.)
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26 comments:

  1. I have a mix of the two, also, and I'll have to admit, I don't get everyone visited, but do make a good effort.

    It's a freezing 15 degrees F here in Central Ohio this evening!

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  2. I also do both. I use reader almost exclusively via RSS and then additionally follow those that seem deserving or needy or who cunningly put the button where my mouse came to rest or ...

    Have a good tour and even better food!

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  3. I 'follow' but, don't know what I'm doing.
    (American)
    Tried to upload (download? See? I dunno) google chrome to do the work for me but that's how i shut my computer down for nearly a month!

    So....I go around like alwys...checking folks out, see what's new. Share jokes if I find them.
    Almost like I had extra time on my hands....

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  4. OMG - you have the energy for the tour? Bravo Lee!
    Have a great tour but I do hope its not to Haighs chocolate for the shop will be a big brown puddle !
    *Love their chocs.

    Kenzo says - "mate, how can you eat in this heat. Mum is not happy but I am a determined pup!"
    See Ya!
    Kenzo

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  5. I'm a follower... it works for me :)

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  6. I don't know what google reader is. I follow.
    A six degree drop in temperature. Don't forget your jumper.

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  7. Good question..I had thought about this before too...I think using "reader" is like following anonymously..
    I am follower too... basically cuz it tells the blog reader,right there on the page that he has so and so readers...
    Its kinda a good feeling...:)

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  8. I use my blog roll. And, sometimes, other people's blog roll.

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  9. I follow a few and just peek at others from time to time.

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  10. I don't feel pressured to follow. I follow when I want to. I link only those that touch me, that I like to visit often (you being one of them.) Simple.
    Like to see your pics, but sorry you're so hot! Get naked, spritz yourself with water and sit in front of a fan...Sounds good to me.

    :)

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  11. I'm a 'follower' and I use my blog roll, which is basically the same, and I use OTHERS blog rolls - that's how I got to find all my favourite blogs in the first place. These days I tend to follow when I find a blog I'm interested in but don't want it on my blog list - because it's getting too long:)

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  12. Mums says lucky you going on a foodies tour

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  13. I'm a follower..makes my life's much easier..but wish I have the time to read all of them on time. What is a Foodies Tour? Tell us more when you're back!

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  14. I do both because some of my favourite blogs don't have a followers list.
    I enjoy looking around visiting blogs and reading the comments of others.
    If someone is kind enough to visit my blog and leave a comment I almost always respond with a reply, well its a nice thing to do and another example of friendly communication. ♥

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  15. I do a mixture too.

    Let me know if they do a tour of the wine bars of Melbourne and I will come with you.

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  16. I've only recently ventured into using feeds and am still very uncertain about what I am doing. I have a reading list on my Blogger Dashboard to catch up with the blogs I want to keep up to date with. That list doesn't tell anyone else that you are reading them of course - although you have to click a button called Follow when you add someone to the list, and the list is called Blogs I follow. Very confusing of Blogger.

    I had to do some quick learning about 'Followers' - to which there is a link at the bottom of the Blogs I Follow list, and which turns out to be something different. It's like a list of fans or friends, and if you put the widget on your blog it tells the world how popular you are. And you can get a direct link to your Follower's blog from their picture on the widget. But as far as I can see it doesn’t serve the same purpose as the Reading List which pops up every time you go to your Dashboard.

    I saw this as something of a vanity item, and as I only had two followers, it didn't seem worth declaring that fact on my blog. But Blogger recommends installing the widget anyway, in the hope that it will encouragee your readers to 'Follow' - as distinct from just reading - your blog. So I have both.

    Sorry that's so long - I think it is the basis of a post on my blog.

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  17. Foodie tours sounds lovely! Enjoy!

    I'm on Wordpress and don't have Followers. I do have an RSS feed so that you and others can see when I've posted something new...

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  18. All of the above your honour!!

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  19. Bloglines works for me in any Browser on any machine.

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  20. Had to check - yes I do follow a blog - yours. That's it right now. Others I simply visit as the mood strikes me. Don't really know what 'following' means. It doesn't really do anything for me.

    The foodie tour sounds great even if it is pretty warm. Have fun!

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  21. I did Blogger and injustice in my post above, because I hadn't done my homework properly. The Blogger reading list and Followers widget work together. If you put someone on your Reading List, your face will automatically appear in their Followers widget on their blog,if they have one.

    And if you click the widget to follow someone, their website will go on your reading list automatically. At least, I think that's how it goes.

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  22. not sure what is 'follower', heard of rss feed, but don't know much about that too. i only use google reader to keep track of my fav bloggers. i like to keep things simple, less 'cluttered'.

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  23. So someone please tell me how RSS feeds work? ♥

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  24. I have been adjusting to using both. Currently I follow just to have it show up in my Google Reader so I can read it (I find it much quicker to read this way rather than waiting for a page to load). I may have to re-evaluate how I go about doing this because I hear that you cannot follow more than 200 at a time.

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  25. I use my reader for new posts...all the blogs I follow are listed in that category.

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  26. i'm techo-challenged, so this is all beyone me. I don't know how to rss or follow. I still bummed that blogroller isn't working; i do like knowing when people update.

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