This week is the Backwards Edition of Works for me Wednesday, and the roles are reversed. I get to ask you a question(s).
I have been trying to think of questions but each question didn’t reach a very wide audience. How do you get the smell out of cloth diapers? What is the best knitted purse pattern? What do you listen to on your MP3 player?
But I finally came up with a blogging question(s), since that is what most of us are doing anyways.
So here is goes:
- When coming upon a new blog, what attracts you to the blog and what makes you stay?
- How long do you read a blog before you decide to become a loyal reader or move on?
- What RSS reader do you use and what do you like best about it?
- What Stat Counter do you use and what do you like best about it?
- Are you with Blogger or WordPress? What do you like best about it?
- Do you pay attention to what is in the sidebar?
- Do you like when there are lots of pictures or video’s? Or do you prefer more text?
- Are you more of a lurker or commenter?
- How much time a day do you allot to reading blogs?
I better stop before I get carried away. Please feel free to answer one or all. You may even comment on a question I didn’t ask. But as you can see, I am trying to get the most bang for my buck.
Feel free to visit more questions on this special edition.
RSS - Posts
Hmm, never really thought about all of this. I guess what makes me stay and/or add it to my feed reader is whether or not I feel that I can learn from this person. I don’t really get into blogs that are just “look how cute my kids are.” Not that the kids aren’t totally adorable, but so are mine and I guess I see those as more for family and friends. I like a blog that encourages me or teaches me or makes me laugh.
I usually will add someone to my feed reader (Bloglines simply because it was the first one I heard about and I don’t want to bother changing) the first time I come across them if I like them. Then if I later realize it’s not what I originally thought it was, I will unsubscribe, but that could take me a couple of months to decide.
Personally, I’m more of a text person, but appreciate a graphic that illuminates what’s being said. I’m not so into family photos. As for commenting, I guess I comment more on those blogs who comment on mine. It feels as if a relationship is developing. I don’t feel as obligated to comment on the “big girls’ blogs” who have tons and tons of readers, unless it’s a post that really grabs me. I tend to like to comment on those who have a smaller following and encourage them.
Thanks for encouraging us to look at our bloggy preferences!
Blogspot. Humor makes me come back for more. I think pictures are important… count me a visual learner!
I love to comment and I love to read my comments.
i like google reader. and i like pictures and text. and i am a fast friend…it doesn’t cost me anything to add someone to my feed reader so i often do it and see how things go.
something you didn’t ask – i hate partial feeds that make me click over…sometimes i just don’t have time to do all that clicking but if i can read the whole post, i will probably click over to comment…if i can’t, i often just “mark read” and move on…i’m sure i miss stuff this way but it just annoys me.
1. Humour, honesty, something meaningful or fruitful
2. If I’m checking the blog everyday or am eager to find out what’s next, I’m a loyal reader.
3. Google. It’s easy for me because I use the iGoogle as my browser homepage so everything I open up my browser, the Google RSS will show all the latest entries.
5. WordPress. I love it because I’m in control. I use it with my own hosting plan and domain so I get to try new layouts and themes everyday. Plus, its just so easy to use.
6. Sometimes. If there’s clutter of images and moving graphics, I tend to ignore them as they annoy me. If its just a few nicely placed images that merge well with the site, I’ll look at it.
7. If the pictures or videos have a purpose for being there, i don’t mind them as long as they don’t take forever to load. Too much though, is too jarring.
8. As you can tell from my longgggggg comment, I’m a commenter… if I have something useful to say.
9. However long it takes to get through all the new entries from the blogs in my RSS.
all great questions and i’ve been thinking about the same thing. first, of couse the design catches my eye if i arrive randomly. if i’m directed to a blog by a link then it’s the content i’m after. if the content i am reading via link is interesting, humorous or well written i will often go to the main page and read more. if many of the posts are interesting i’ll bookmark it.
i like pictures but they don’t bring me back, it’s the writing that makes me want to read.
i have blog friends that i read daily and comment on daily because they are good friends.
i have blogs i read daily and never comment on.
i also have blogs i read daily and comment occasionally if the post is meaningful enough to me to comment.
i read on google reader and spend about 30 to 45 minutes a day reading. then once a week i seek out new blogs and sometimes add them. i also remove blogs from my google reader if i’m growing bored with them.
Hello! The first thing I always notice on a blog is the design and what it tells me about the person. Then if the design draws me in I immediately look for the “about me” page to find out who this person is and what they mainly blog about. I too like blogs that I can learn from. Just my two cents
Hi
Love all your questions!
I love getting a sense of the person – I like real blogs, warts and all. If I connect with something instantly, I stay.
I use google reader – I LOVE IT and say they should pay me commission or something because I am THE BIGGEST GOOGLE FAN EVER!
If I like what I read, I add it to GR instantly but I declutter ruthlessly. I like it around the 40 – 45 mark because some don’t blog every day (thank the Lord for that)
Partial feeds make me pull my hair out and I don’t read those daily – the ones I’m friends with (I saw Laura commented above
) I’ll read once a week but as for the rest, I “mark all as read” unless something catches my eye and makes me click through – of the partial feeds, there is maybe one post every 20 – 30 that makes me click through.
I have about 5 – 6 photography blogs on my GR so I love pictures, not just any pics but GORGEOUS pics that support the content. I never watch the videos though.
I read blogs for 30 mins a day – and only Mon to Fri – because I felt like my real life was being taken up in the blog world too much last year. I comment on friends’ blogs and interesting posts but I don’t feel compelled to do so. If people don’t like that, then they’re not like-minded with me because we all have lives, right?!
So I suppose I’m more of a lurker than a commenter. I call it a “reader” not a “lurker” though
Great questions! I loved reading all the different responses. I too use google reader. Super easy to navigate and update. I was using RSS reader but it was SLOW when people had videos on their site. Bogged down all the time.
I have friends’ blogs in my reader. If I find myself going back more than just occasionally, I will add a blog to the reader. I’m on a homeschooling email loop and at one point I uploaded the entire blog roll onto my reader. Mainly I felt guilty ALL THE TIME! I’m more selective now.
We use WordPress.
I spend way too much time reading blogs. It can be all consuming. I’m currently working on how much time is reasonable to spend on blogging.
I try to comment when I have time.
I go back to visit people who comment on my blog. People who comment regularly are people I go to visit as well.
I LOVE pictures. If a blog isn’t visually interesting then the writing had better be GOOD. I don’t like cluttered sidebars and I hardly ever stick with blogs that are partial reads. I don’t want to do extra “clicking.”
We use blog top sites to monitor some things on our blog. It’s fun to see how many visitors we get, etc. Also blog flux.
Let’s see, what else.
I like the occasional video – if its funny. I don’t tend to watch home videos (unless it is a personal friend).
Thanks for starting this conversation!
Duckabush Blog
• When coming upon a new blog, what attracts you to the blog and what makes you stay?
~Good content I can relate to, information I can use.
~Readable text is a must. I have old eyes. I can’t read fancy fonts or white text on colored background. No matter how good the content white or yellow text makes me move on.
~ Break long passages into short paragraphs. I’ve seen three page post with no breaks. Also use subtitles. Blog readers don’t read—they scan.
~Clean design makes me want to stay. Cluttered unbalance look feels like a cluttered home.
~ I usually can’t stand sound but I like some Christian music, but there should always be a turn the music button off option. Christian rock makes me run.
• How long do you read a blog before you decide to become a loyal reader or move on?
I think the average is about 2 minutes. Doesn’t sound fair does it? However I may return if I see the same link from several blogs.
• What RSS reader do you use and what do you like best about it?
Blog Bridge—it has super powers. It’s free. It handles hundreds of feeds easily, categories. You can post portions of another post from other blogs with credits directly to your own blog! It integrates with Delicious, Amazon, Google, Technorati, Flickr, etc.
• What Stat Counter do you use and what do you like best about it?
Mybloglog and blog patrol. The jury is still out for me as they all report different stats. Which do you believe?
• Are you with Blogger or WordPress? What do you like best about it?
WordPress is superior hands down. It is easier to use and had hundreds of options. You get themes, additional “plugins” and advanced tools, etc
• Do you pay attention to what is in the sidebar?
Yes, who the blogger links to tell me a lot.
• Do you like when there are lots of pictures or video’s? Or do you prefer more text?
I like pictures and test.
• Are you more of a lurker or commenter?
Guilty of lurking. I need to comment more. So many blogs, so little time.
• How much time a day do you allot to reading blogs?
I read blogs like magazines. I read mainly in my RSS reader so I can scan hundreds of blog titles and snippets and read what I need. Probably an hour a day. More if I have the time.
Good questions. I’ll save my answers and post on my Blogging 101 blog eventually.
I’m a young married women without any kids so for me I like content. If I read a post that I really enjoy I’ll make a comment. I’ve been using Bloglines.com to keep track of the blogs that I like to read. It makes my time reading blogs every day a lot shorter. I really like pictures but text normally gets me to stay.
When coming upon a new blog, what attracts you to the blog and what makes you stay? A good, clean design is a good start. And good writing makes me stay.
How long do you read a blog before you decide to become a loyal reader or move on? Sometimes I know right away that I want to keep reading.
What RSS reader do you use and what do you like best about it? I use Google Reader. I like that I can add code to my blog that will automatically features “starred” posts.
What Stat Counter do you use and what do you like best about it? Google Analytics. It gives me tons of information, such as where my readers are coming from and what they’re reading.
Are you with Blogger or WordPress? What do you like best about it? WordPress. More design options, better support.
Do you pay attention to what is in the sidebar? Sometimes. Lots of blinky buttons and things make me pay less attention.
Do you like when there are lots of pictures or video’s? Or do you prefer more text? I like a nice balance of photos and text, but not so much videos.
Are you more of a lurker or commenter?
I’m a lurker.
How much time a day do you allot to reading blogs? Too much!
I’m drawn to how it looks (1) because I’m vain. It needs to make me laugh (2) because I like funny. It needs to make me think (3) because not much of that goes on; And it needs to make me cry (4) but not sob. I don’t want to have dreams about it.
When coming upon a new blog, what attracts you to the blog and what makes you stay?
The first thing that attracts me is the layout, what makes me stay is the writing, if there are things that I am interested in, if I find it humor etc.
How long do you read a blog before you decide to become a loyal reader or move on? Well, I often test it with a comment, if I comment on a blog and I never hear anything, I might continue reading, I might not, it just depends. If I read a blog and they post a comment, I’ll often go back and return the favor, which leads me to becoming a loyal reader.
What Stat Counter do you use and what do you like best about it? I use a counter from AmazingCounter.com. I like the different styles, and they have free stats.
Are you with Blogger or WordPress? I’m with blogger, I like that it’s easy.
Do you pay attention to what is in the sidebar? yes
Do you like when there are lots of pictures or video’s? If there are too many pictures, it leads me to only looking at them, and not reading. A few pictures are good. I don’t like videos all that much.
Are you more of a lurker or commenter? even steven
I almost didn’t comment, and then I saw “lurker or commenter” I am more of a lurker. I know I need to comment more to increase my blog traffic, but it takes more time than I have!
1. The writing makes me hang around.
2. I can tell if I am going to return after the first time I visit.
3. I don’t use a feeder but have considered it lately.
4. WordPress has an excellent stat counter so I don’t use anything else. I do have a map to show where people visit me from
5. WordPress. I have a lot of control over my blog and its details.
6. Yes.
7. I prefer texts but enjoy pictures when they relate to the post.
8. Definitely a commenter. I want the people I read to know I appreciate the time and energy they put into their blog. It is like a conversation and I am not one to ignore somebody!
9. Too much time! LOL I take several breaks throughout the day and evening to check a blog or two. That way I can visit blogs but not take up too much time at a single sitting.