Definitely time for a bit of organizing. My problem was always deciding how to organize. I've heard of quite a few different schools of thought. Some organize blogs into daily folders, promising to read these blogs Monday, those on Tuesday, and so on and so forth. Other people put their Commenters into one folder and read those first, getting to the others when and if they can. Still others organize them in three levels, group 1 being those blogs they want to get to every day, group 2 every other, and group 3 the last to be read.
I decided to combine the last two. At least as a way to start out. I looked at my last six posts and put everyone who commented into Read 1. For Read 2, I included all of those blogs who I know post from time to time and those blogs I just really enjoy reading. And in Read 3, I put new-to-me blogs who rarely if ever comment and who I just don't really know yet.
I have to say I was really surprised by how the blogs separated out. There are so many blogs in the Read 2 folder that I fully expected to be in Read 1. And there are many, many blogs in Read 1 that I didn't even recognize! I clearly need to pay more attention. :)
I also separated out Bookish Events, like BBAW, book challenges and readalongs, Dewey's Readathon, etc., and Professionals, like book tour blogs, newspaper/journalist blogs, author blogs, and the such not.
I still have a ton of blogs in my GR, but this way the reading is prioritized. I fully expect these categories to shift and change over the next few months. Some people who will say Congrats! when you tell them you are pregnant will never comment again; some of the blogs in Read 2 were MIA this summer as well so that may be the reason they didn't comment; and the blogs in Read 3 are up in the air as to whether they are a 1, a 2, or a goner.
A Note on Commenting: As a horrid lurker, I perfectly understand that there are people reading my blog but not commenting. And this plan sounds like I am putting a huge premium on commenting. My reason is this: I want to develop relationships with my bloggy buddies. I want to actually get to know people, to read them consistently, to have conversations. The only way I can do that is with people who comment. So I am going to be a better commenter (by decreasing the number of blogs I read and comment on).
Any advice on how you guys organize your Readers?
I organize NetNewsWire by topic—I only follow about twenty book blogs that I really like, which works out great. That app also highlights blogs that haven't updated in a significant amount of time, letting you know if it's time to drop them.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of people organizing by commenters but I like that. Especially now that I've moved blogs and have very few commenters. I've been really bad for a long time about commenting, though, mostly just overwhelmed by the inability to really connect with most people on a personal level. With a few - like you - it's different, because I have met you and hung out with you and talked to you a lot, but with many of my bookish friends, it appears we will simply have to go different directions now that I'm just not interested in the same things anymore. :(
ReplyDeleteI've JUST been dealing with reorganizing and all that. I deleted a ton of subscriptions and figure I can always add them later if I realize I do want to still read them. I sort of feel like I new to start over because I was feeling overwhelmed too!
ReplyDeleteAbout a month ago, I adopted the day of the week system. It actually was pretty approachable and worked pretty well for about two weeks. Then I was super sick for a week and barely turned on my computer that week, so, of course, everything went to hell in a handbasket. I really need to mark all as read and start fresh, but I hate doing it so I keep procrastinating. I am a (barely) walking disaster this summer, but those weeks where the day of the week sort was working well had me at least feeling good about spreading the comment love around.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really good idea, though, about seperating your commenters out in your GR and paying them some extra attention. Maybe I'll have to add yet another folder!
I've got a "Must-Reads" folder and an "Everyone Else" folder. It breaks down fairly well, although not perfectly, with people who comment frequently on my blog, but they're not in the "must-reads" folder because they comment, they're there because the majority of their posts are about books that I'm interested in (and I suspect they comment because I tend to post about books they're interested in.)
ReplyDeleteI've been absolutely wretched this summer when it comes to reading/commenting, and I've "Mark all as read"-ed at least twice. But I'm working on getting back up to speed!
Congrats! No wait...
ReplyDeleteI have folders too but it doesn't really work out so well because the large numbers of the total still freak me out. And yet, to delete is to miss out. The WORST THING for me lately is to find another good blog to which I want to subscribe! :--)
Clare - 20 sounds like a very reasonable number! I'm in the hundreds, two hundred+ I think....but I'm working on trimming down!
ReplyDeleteAmanda - I've always found it hard to make a real connection with people I haven't met face to face. Trish from Love, Laughter, Insanity is an exception as she has such an outgoing, caring personality. And there are a few others too. But I do think a large part of my problem was that I was spreading myself so thin. Time to work on that. :)
Jenny - I almost deleted everything and started over, but I totally chickened out. I probably will have to at least delete Read 3 and start over. Once I get the courage. :)
Megan - LOL! I am a (barely) walking disaster this summer too, so I feel your pain! I, however, have been almost completely MIA with blogging and commenting, so I give you credit for commenting!
Fyrefly - I think you make a really good point about the commenters probably commenting because of similarity/mutual blog liking. That really makes sense.
Jill - My hope is that the folders are the first step towards me deleting almost all of Read 3. And I agree. I used to get so excited when I found a new blog. Now I keep thinking, if I find a new one, I need to delete an old one. I can't just keep adding!! :)
Shit, I may not have commented because I was in Poland! If so, please forgive me. You know I love you. Commenting is such a slippery slope. Sometimes my life just doesn't allow me to spend the two plus hours a day I need to visit everyone, but I try. Plus, God forbid, I write a review or READ!? Crazy. What scares me is BBAW. I always add a ton of blogs from that, and like you said, for every one you add, you have to delete one. My husband says that is the way I have to manage my shoes. It doesn't seem fair.
ReplyDeleteSandy - LOL! You totally commented even though you were in Poland for a giant chunk of time. Proving, of course, that you totally rock. :) BBAW is a huge downfall for my GR; I find so many awesome blogs, and I have a serious problem not adding all of them! And it's too funny - my husband says the add one-subtract one for my shirts. :)
ReplyDeleteI had my feedreader organized similarly and was surprised to find out that there were people commenting and I hadn't been returning their visits - very enlightening. Since feedreader keeps crashing my computer I've switched to Google Reader, the only problem being my computer screen is so small on my laptop that I can't scroll down the folders on the side, so my only option is to look at all new posts at once. I have no idea how many blogs I've got in the reader, but since I imported the other reader into GR there has to be at least 500. And no, I don't come even close to reading them all. I wish I could find another feed reader that I liked.
ReplyDeleteTrisha, girl, I might be snagging how you organized your reader. I've tried to find a way over and over again and NOTHING works. I'm getting nervous as the school year begins. I can already see my reading/blogging dropping.
ReplyDeleteSandy and Trisha: My boyfriend has his own closet in the spare bedroom, because I kinda took over the one in our bedroom. So he has no idea how many pairs of shoes (or shirts) I have. So there's no need for the add one-subtract one rule around here. So if you have any spare closets, may I suggest moving your partner's clothes? :-D
ReplyDeleteBack to the topic at hand...I have no system, other than I try to keep the number of blogs in my reader somewhere around 100. Any more than that, and I find myself feeling even more frazzled about blog reading.
OMG! Thanks for the idea. I use GR for my own personal blog obsession. I am currently at 685 unread items (thanks law school and tumblrs I love). I was wondering how I could keep up with everyone who comments on my blog. Adding a comment folder ASAP! LOL
ReplyDeleteI also have a hard time managing my reader, and have not yet had to reorganize, but clearly I need to. I totally understand your desire to want to separate things into categories, and just reading that makes it seem like it would be a good idea for me too. It's hard to always try to visit everyone, and keep up with who is commenting and who is not, and my system definitely needs some more work. I guess I am not alone.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a good idea. I dropped off the radar for a while there, and now I'm so overwhelmed by the number of blogs I need to catch up on I don't really know where to start. Maybe I should start using Google Reader more, instead of going by each blog individually. My problem with GR is that I do like visiting the blogs. I like to see how they're organized, what they put in the sidebar, their graphics, etc, and with GR you can't do that. I know, I don't have to use it exclusively, but that's been my reason for avoiding it. It might help me get organized, though, which clearly I need!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post! You've given me a little boost of confidence as I try to ease my own way back into the blogging world :)
You're pregnant?! See, this is the good stuff that you miss when you do the infamous "mark all as read," which I did recently for the first time in my life. (That'll teach me.) But I can absolutely understand the need to organize GR. I have mine organized by "Favorite Blogs," "Pittsburgh Blogs," "Memoir Challenge Participants," "Work Blogs" and then everyone else. I subscribe to 850 blogs (I know ...) and it's getting a little out of control, so more GR organizing (and weeding) might be in my future too.
ReplyDeleteHowever you organize your reader, it has to be a system that makes sense to you.
ReplyDeleteI organize mine this way:
Blogger buddies that I visit daily in one file
Book bloggers divided into two groups - ones I check daily (like yours) and others
Movie blogs (I'm a junkie!)
And the rest are in folders marked for each day of the week, so I visit everyone once in a while.
Daily there are about 300-400 posts, so yeah, it can be overwhelming. Without a system, I couldn't do it.
I'm really terrible at organizing GR. I think about doing it but end up just leaving it as is.
ReplyDeleteI do have a folder for "Events" like BBAW, etc, then I have a folder for food blogs, crochet and "miscellaneous" (just blogs that interest me but don't really have a category). As for book blogs, everyone is just tossed in there all together.
PS- I never have less than 200 unread posts.
I feel like if I miss a day on my reader it gets unwieldy. But still, it is not always practical to assume I can go through my reader every single day, so I am still trying to figure out a way to balance everything.
ReplyDeleteSee, I don't follow that many blogs about books/reading that it's overwhelming, so I just have a folder for book/author blogs.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's the decorating blogs. Haha. I did have to separate my folders so I could prioritize.
I have: Books/Authors, Decorating, Pop Culture, Self Improvement, News, and Other. I tend to always read News and Books/Authors. I had to mark as read anything older than a week on the others, though. I can't let my reading list stress me out--especially when there is SO MUCH GRADING to do.
Alyce - I've never looked into other readers, so I don't know enough to suggest one. I can see how GR would be very frustrating for you though.
ReplyDeleteChristina - Feel free to steal it! I just modified other people's ideas after all. :)
Jill - A separate closet is a great idea... what he doesn't know and all that...
Book Snob - I hope it works for you! I feel like my GR is in constant flux, but I'm hoping this organization will stick for awhile.
Heather - I haven't found an easy way to keep up with whose commenting except the old fashioned, just look at each post's comments way. :) If you think of something better, let me know!
Emily - I like to see the blogs too, so I always click over from GR instead of commenting there!
Melissa - LOL! Yep, I'm pregnant. And I understand. I'm always shocked by what I've missed when I mark all as read.
Alex - I love your organization. Right now my book blogs, movie blogs, and misc. blogs are all mixed together...
Chris - I would have a fit if I always had 200 unread posts. I like it at zero. :)
Stephanie - Missing one day means I have to hit mark all as read. There is no catching up; I have to stay on top of it. Hence my new organization which will hopefully help me trim down the number of blogs I subscribe to!
Akilah - Those weekends when I have papers to grade I barely read any blogs! Ah the joys of being a teacher. :)
ReplyDeleteI really like how you organized your google reader. It certainly makes me think about reorganizing. I currently have my GR organized by book genres. So blogs that specialize go into specific categories. There are a few genres that I'm really interested in and the blogs in those categories are read first. I also have a favorites folder of blogs I read every day.
ReplyDeleteSince I haven't been working I've kept up with blogs pretty well. But I have a feeling that if (ugh, WHEN) I get a job I'm going to have to do something similar. I love following a lot of blogs but even if I go away for the weekend it's pretty stressful to come back to more than 600 posts. It's pretty insane. So I think that's a really good way to organize the blogs, like you talked about up there. I'll definitely be doing something like that in the future.
ReplyDeleteAll I've done is create a folder for favorite book blogs, and that's all I read when I'm really busy, and if things are pretty mellow, I go through them all. I'm really afraid to count how many I subscribe to, and it's really hard to push the "mark all as read" button. I have never thought of creating a folder for commenters. I always feel bad when I realize I haven't visited someone who has paid me a visit--maybe I should try it out. Good luck with your new system!
ReplyDeleteI've been struggling with my own commenting, so I love the idea of looking at who actually comments frequently on my posts. I seem to have lost a lot of commenters over the last few months (I think, in part, due to my failure to reciprocate). Perhaps this will lead me in the right direction?
ReplyDeleteI have mine organised into Aussie bloggers, romance and historical fiction and then everyone else. Within that I have my must read blogs for people who I interact regularly or who I feel really is a good match for me in terms of the books they read. I try to read my Must Reads everyday, but the others some times take a little longer.
ReplyDeleteI organized mine into a Top 20 list, weekly, UK bloggers and new to me. It has helped immensely- I feel much less overwhelmed when I check in on the reader.
ReplyDeleteAlexis - I don't read enough genre blogs for that to work for me. Being an eclectic reader myself, I like blogs with a wider variety. I do, however, follow a lot of YA book blogs...
ReplyDeleteAshley - It's amazing how often work gets in the way of fun. :)
Shelley - I was really surprised that a handful of people who commented on my last four posts I had never even visited. Hopefully this system will change that.
Allie - I'm still looking for an automated way to list out my commenters, but so far the look-and-see method is working okay. :)
Marg - It's awesome to see all the different ways people organize their readers!
Booksnyc - Organizing definitely gave me a sense of relief. The idea that I didn't have to read every blog every day and comment on every one is really helping alleviate some stress.
This is so helpful. I sometimes log into Google Reader, see 200 unread posts and feel a bit overwhelmed. I think organizing them would really help with that.
ReplyDeleteI use the three-folder method, but I don't do very well with it. Instead of starting with my must-reads, I start with the last-to-be-reads because that number of posts is always so much less daunting than the other two folders. And then I proceed up to the ones I really want to read. But really, this summer, I've been completely overwhelmed with work and being in a new city that I have marked as read FAR more often than I'd like and also haven't commented nearly as much as I usually do, which really upsets me. Hopefully at SOME POINT, I will find a system that works well for me. Though, quite honestly, the idea of reorganizing doesn't sound appealing at all!
ReplyDeleteI don't really organize my reader although I think it's probably something I should do since I never manage to comment on all the blogs I hope to or want to...maybe organizing will help that....thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteI read some of your earlier posts and I just wanted to say I'm thinking of you and pulling for you (I have everything crossed..fingers, toes...) I'm so sorry your worried though I understand. I'm glad you've found your way back to reading...when it works its a good way to focus your mind on something enjoyable...hang in there :o)
I'm sad Harry Potter books are over...I really enjoyed them!
I struggle with this all the time but went with a Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 system -- with Tier 3 being almost "obligation" blogs that visit me all the time but I don't necessarily want to visit but feel like I must. Tier 1 are my favorites, and Tier 2 are kind of in the middle. No one knows who is in what besides me!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for listing some different methods of organization. It's got me thinking. Right now I use an eclectic sort of categories - books, minimalism, travel, new-to-me. Good luck keeping up.
ReplyDeleteOh dear. I haven't opened GR in ages... When I do, I visit those with the most posts and whittle it down. But I tend to bounce around. I visit my MUST-VISITs, I usually try to visit everyone who comments, think up blogs I should visit and have missed lately, sometimes jump to old posts of mine to see who commented and I might have missed and then sometimes I jump from posts of others to meet new people or just be different. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteMelissa - If mine gets over 100, I mark all as read, so I definitely needed an organizational strategy!
ReplyDeleteAarti - LOL! That was my problem until this reorganization. Now my folder 3 has the most blogs in it, number 2 the least, and number 1 in the middle. It's working much better.
Amy - Thanks so much! I'm still a bit nervous, but I'm hoping the ultrasound in a few weeks takes care of that!
Jenners - I find myself hoping I am not one of those obligation blogs... :)
Bree - I don't read a large variety of types of blogs, mainly book and a few film, so I needed a different sort of organization.
Care - I love that way of going from blog to blog; I should do that more often instead of relying solely on GR. That's why I missed out on so many blogs that comment here!
Aww now I feel bad for neglecting commenting so much! But yes, I know what you mean about needing to organize the google reader. It's a bit of an unorganized beast however it gets organized I find, because I keep adding more! I have people organized by group I interact with them with (i.e. BAND, Year of Feminist Classics, Indie Lit Awards, general).
ReplyDeleteAmy - LOL! No worries. I figure it will take a solid two-three months to figure out who I actually have an online conversation with and who is more random. You are definitely in the Read 1 category me dear. I never thought of organizing by groups of people like that...
ReplyDeleteMy poor GR is in a rather sad state. It started with just a few of the websites that I was checking every day, but once I got into blogging, the numbers ballooned. Then when I got my job, the numbers went up even further, as there's a lot going on in my industry (web design, development, marketing, social media...ad nauseum). I've just never been able to make any decisions about the structure.
ReplyDeleteI do go through periodically and get rid of blogs that I'm no longer interested in following. But it basically boils down to not having time.
Between work and housekeeping, managing two peoples' schedules, AND blogging, by the end of the day I'm just too tired to organize! :p And since a lot of my job involves me asking, "Where in the website's menu structure should this page go?" I'm even less inclined to do more of that when I get home.
My GR isn't totally out of control...yet. I'm sure I'll have to dig in sometime. I'll keep your post in mind when I work up the courage to spend half a day organizing. :D
You're too nice Trisha :) And yeah, it's a different way to do it but it works... except for the general group which is a mess. I have to do something about that!
ReplyDeleteI subscribe to over 250 blogs in GR. My folders are favorites, Next, Perhaps. Works well if I read them frequently. I try a leave a comment each week on a post by "favorite blogger". I read an article in which it was recommended that one organizes blogs in GR by the twitter handle.
ReplyDeleteI am bookmarking this for later study, as I desperately need this advice!
ReplyDeleteI have my subscriptions organized by how much I like the blogger (ha!!) but I still get overwhelmed. And since most of my blog browsing these days is done on my iphone while I'm pumping at work, I mostly just read the blog titles over and over and over and over until I'm so overwhelmed with the number of blogs that I just quit blogging. :)
ReplyDeleteI need to be better about visiting new commenters. Sadly there's just not enough time it seems. Not entirely true--I enjoy watching too many episdoes of Mad Men on Netflix in the evenings. Anyway, good luck with the new system. Wish I could find something that works for me. Until then I'll probably always be a late commenter. :(
I am constantly trying to reorganize things. I just went a month with no blogging, no reading, no blog reading, etc. And it was freeing. But now, of course, I have to rethink just how I'm going to do things come the next few months when my personal life gets busy -- because I have missed blogging, reading, and blog reading! Sounds like you've figured out how it works best for you.
ReplyDelete