I'm wondering what you all think about "following" blogs. I got started thinking about this because of a question last Friday on GReads!:
Book Blogs That Make You Smile:
Pick 5 book blogs you visit often & think others should, too.
I found this difficult to answer. I do have some favorite blogs, but if I follow you, I'll visit you every time you make a post (at least in my Google Reader.) I keep up with my Reader every day, or if I miss a day, I catch up the next day. Do I click on every post and actually visit the blog? No. Do I even READ every post? Nope. For example, I don't read Character Interviews. I don't get them.. If I haven't read the book, they don't make sense, and if I have read the book, then I don't care. I don't read Teaser Tuesdays. I don't read reviews of erotic romance (I always say I'll have time for those after I retire.) And, I don't read posts about read-alongs, because I'm obviously not participating. That's just a few examples. But if you post those things, does it mean I will quit following? Absolutely not. I don't mind skipping a post I'm not interested in. (Feel free to skip this one right now, if you want.)
I'm an excellent "skimmer" too. I usually don't read book summaries. I just want to know the genre and what YOU thought of the book. What made it special, or not so special? So, really, keeping up with the 250+ blogs I follow doesn't take that much time, and I truly ENJOY it. I follow blogs because I enjoy reading what others have to say about books and learning about books I've never heard of. This is a hobby for me. Something I look forward to.
So what does "following" mean to you? Do you use a reader? Do you only click on certain blogs every day? How do you handle your ability to interact with other blogs? Or, do you limit the number of blogs you follow?
I'm kind of like you where if I'm following a blog, I'll keep up with it in the Google Reader. If I notice a book review for something I've wanted to read or have read then I will definitely read that post and usually comment, or if the post sounds like something I am interested in (like this one!) But if they are read alongs or the In My Mailbox or Teaser Tuesdays, I usually don't read those. I guess it all comes down to my mood and what I have time to respond to on my breaks at work. :)
ReplyDeleteI limit the number of blogs I follow and add/purge based on the type of unique content they post. I'm not into the memes and will skip those, except I'll stop to take a look at the new books bloggers get. I love looking at pictures of piles of books lol Book reviews, if the cover and title of the book catch my eye, then I'll read.
ReplyDeleteI look through Blogger Dashboard and if the title of the post interests me I stop by. I'm quite like you where I skip over certain types of posts but that doesn't mean I will stop following or not. I try to comment on the posts I stop by because I think every likes a little cheer in their day.
ReplyDeleteMy blog visiting habits are similar to yours. I usually scan through my reader and find posts that are interesting. There are, of course blogs I visit frequently, but that's because of the content and/or our their reading tastes are similar to mine. I only read IMM posts just to see what the next buzz is so I'm prepared in case a student/library patron asks.
ReplyDeleteI'm very similar to you, I keep up with blogs through Google Reader, there are certain posts I'll never read; wordless Wednesday, Character interviews. Other meme's I always stop by at such as IMM, I love to see what other people are reading. I also tend to skip a lot of the vampire, paranormal, YA book reviews, so many people are posting reviews of the same book. If you've reviewed a book I've not heard of before then I'm going to be more interested. I'll also tend to look at what 'score' it was given first before reading the rest of the post. If it's only got a 3/5 then I'm not likely to want to read it. However, I'm making more of an effort to interact with other bloggers, so if I see an interesting post I'm more likely to go over to a blog and comment - like now :0)
ReplyDeleteI'm very similar to you. I don't like character interviews either. I also don't like author interviews unless I'm really interested in that author. And, I don't read Teaser Tuesdays either.
ReplyDeleteI do use Google Reader and I have blogs categorized by how much I read them. I have favorite blogs, which yours falls into by the way, that I pay more closely to the posts and will usually give more time to them. I also have local blogs and friends/family blogs that I make sure to pay attention to. Otherwise, I just skim through posts and comment on the ones I find interesting. I do always try to comment on the memes I participate in since I want comments too.
I don't think it takes too much time either. And, I don't mind it. I figure if I want people to follow me, I should follow others. I'm a very reciprocal blogger.
I've not used the categorizing feature in my Reader. I may have to try that. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMy habits are very similar to yours, and I used google reader too. I at least skim read most entries but will only comment if I think I have something to comment about or if I have read the book/really want to. I do find myself commenting on some blogs more than others, so I suppose those would be 'favourites'?
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you follow and comment at times Annette.
ReplyDeleteI try to go through my reader and respond to 1) reviews 2) discussions 3) meme's if I am participating.
I have my favourites that I will respond to almost every post mainly because I have tried to build a "friendship" and genuinly am interested in all they write.
I glance through everything in my reader daily, but I only comment on the posts where I think I have something relevant to add. For the most part I haven't "unfollowed" many. In my eyes, since most of them are book blogs, there's a good chance that every once in a while they'll post something I'm interested in, even if they don't do it daily.
ReplyDeleteI actually use the Newsrack app on my iPad for this, and it's ridiculously easy. They have it for phones too, and if you can read your blogs that way, it saves a ton of time. I highly recommend it.
Great topic for discussion, Annette!
I visit every blog in my reader as well. I'm a great skimmer too :) but if I find a post that I don't skim and take the time to read all the way through, then I always comment. So I actually comment quite a bit by most people's standards.
ReplyDeleteLike you I don't read character interviews (I don't get them). I look at cover reveals the first time I see one but ignore the next 15 of the same book. I don't look at WOW posts or IMM posts. I don't unfollow blogs who do tons of memes.
I think I'm not picky at all. If I'm following a blog, there was something that interested me.
So wait... Did I answer the questions?
I just got an iPad. I'll have to check out news rack. Never heard about that one. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYeah completely agree with you! I don't get what's wrong with following multiple blogs. Obviously you cannot follow everyone but as many as you can is great, because you're showing your support to as many bloggers as possible! And I do try to keep up and comment on other blogs if I have something to say. It's lovely to get a comment so why wouldn't you reciprocate that? Great post:D
ReplyDelete