Saturday, February 2nd, 2008...7:38 pm
Abusing my Reader
I must confess.
I’ve been on a binge. Fortunately for my ass, not the edible kind. It’s my Google Reader. I have been adding subscriptions like a madwoman. Her, and her, and him, and him and this one is good for quick laughs (for a dork like me) and this one, too (again, me=dork). Do I really need that subscription to that clay artisan site? Or the birdchick? Well, maybe.
Google Reader is the new credit card of blogs. Luckily (or unluckily??) for our national economy, it has no minimum balance or late fees. But I feel I am melting the plastic somehow every time I click that “Add subscription” button.
With each click, such hope and promise flourishes. A new knowledge, insights to improve myself or my surroundings, or just much-needed chuckles.
But with each click comes a price. As if someone else ultimately pays my credit card balance, I am acting like someone else ultimately READS all those posts. I have the same problem at the library, now that I think about it. Those dozen books seemed like a good idea at the checkout line, but did I READ them?? I take the Fifth!
Don’t even start on the free podcasts I’ve downloaded. My little ipod’s waistband is stretch to the MAX.
However, there’s always the Google Reader game aspect. Do you play? I see the list of updated sites, that looong list,occasionally glowing yellow eyes staring back. Which ones have just 1 post? First, I click those, scan, scroll and POOF! They disappear from my infernal list. Wam! Bam! Ahhhh. Triumph! List shortens. After the 1’s, I attack the 2’s. Assuming there’s time.
The partial feeds are the quickest, no doubt. Although I’m sure I miss out on the full scoop. But is that REALLY my fault? I mean, I would follow up to check, but bejeesus! there are just too many posts to catch up on most days.
Here’s the silver lining: with my crazy obsessive “add” habit, at least I have cemented my relationship with Mark. Mark Allasread, that is. Probably you know him. He gets around, that slut.
Do you have a Reader obsession? How many sites do you read subscribe to?
[Is there is a Google Reader Support Group yet?
Hi, my name is Wendy and I’m a googlereaderaholic (ok, not very catchy)….
Awareness IS the first step.]
Follow me on Twitter at Let the dog in! Please be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed, too!
12 Comments
February 2nd, 2008 at 11:52 pm
I don’t get it. How does it work? How do you find what you know you’d like?
February 3rd, 2008 at 8:10 am
You don’t really need me, let me go.
I can relate, who needs newspapers or television when you have blogs? Thanks for feeding my addiction, love the Unnecessary Quotation Marks Blog!
February 3rd, 2008 at 10:24 am
Very aptly described with the analogy of ‘Those dozen books seemed like a good idea at the checkout line, but did I READ them?? I take the Fifth!’ More expensive when I do the same at Eagle Harbor or Elliot Bay bookstores.
From a fellow Bainbridge Islander following over 500 feeds.
February 3rd, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Jim, I’m emailing you the tutorial….
Oh, Sharon, I do need you!
Kevin, you’re just helping out the local economy, right, buying books. Over 500 feeds?! I’m starting to feel better about myself…..
February 4th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Ok, so I’m a bloggaholic myself, but didn’t know about googlereader….how do I get my blog listed on there and the blogs I read on it?! Thanks for helping feed my addiction!
Kendra
February 4th, 2008 at 11:39 am
I have FeedBlitz, which is probably similar. I get an email once a day with all the blogs on my list that have been posted to in the past 24 hours. But sometimes I go a few days then go through the last 2-3 FeedBlitzes at a time. It’s very helpful, actually, because I don’t have to check in on a blog to see if it’s had an addition. ALthough if i know someone repsonds to comments regularly, I do go back to see that. I am a compulsive responder to comments, and I love hearing back from people I’ve left comments with. Anyway, that’s my long way of saying i think it’s actually a good thing.
February 4th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Kendra, I’m emailing the scoop!
CS, you get emails about blog posts? I’m not sure I want more email. The Reader is a site you go to, sign in and see your “home page” with the blogs on the left and their posts on the right. The list is only updated blogs unless you modify that. It’s pretty handy but you still have to go to the site if you want to comment or check on comments.
February 4th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
You know, I feel that if I give Google control over what I read then it’ll be more or less in control of my whole life. Ergo, I don’t use Google Reader.
February 4th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Holy crap! De-lurking here to tell you that you just made me check, and I found out that I am, in fact, subscribed to 284 blogs! Now I know why I keep losing an hour here, 20 minutes there… I’m stuck in some kind of vortex. Ack!
February 8th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Wow! I only have 50 subscriptions and I was having a hard time keeping up.
I used to be one of those who gave an abbreviated feed, but realized I never read those who do that, so now I give everyone the real deal. I’ve lost pageviews, but gained readers. It’s no biggie since I’ve only made $20 in ads for the last six months. I just don’t know how Dooce can make a living.
Great post!
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:06 pm
[…] 1. Posting every day is passe — just clutters up people’s readers. Work the system, I say. […]
May 16th, 2008 at 9:53 am
[…] —practicing high fives too many times means she’ll slap me right in the face if I am busy on my Google Reader admiring her art work and don’t get my hand up; […]
Leave a Reply