In Which I Astound Y'all With My Mad Technical Knowledge From Two Years Ago

After years of being completely baffled by the whole RSS thing, I've finally started using Google Reader to keep up with my blog reading (instead of my bookmarks or a blogroll). And it's great. Love it. Am probably going to kill my links page and do something fancy like Plain Jane Mom does (check out her "Better Than a Blogroll" dealie in the center column), just as soon as I figure out how to...actually...do that. I don't know. I'm not really very smart sometimes.

ANYWAY, the drawbacks to using these RSS reader things?

1) You can no longer ignore just how addicted to blogs you really and truly are. I have 75 subscriptions of the "must-read" variety, 42 of the "rarely updated, still like to check in on" variety and then 234 more in the "ClubMom fodder" category.

2) You are constantly reminded that there are a lot of bloggers who not only post EVERY DAY, but post MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY (again, Plain Jane Mom puts me to SHAME here) and you will feel extremely inferior and slacky. Also tired, because the reading never stops.

3) If you spend a day away from your computer, you will come back to about 725 unread posts and then a couple hours later your eyeballs are bleeding but you cannot...stop...reading...almost...done... oh CRAP, people updated AGAIN.

So confession time, Internet Types, as I know I'm one of the last people on earth to start reading RSS feeds and stuff, how many blogs are you subscribed to? How many do you actually read every day?

And how do you possibly have any time to do anything else?

Comments

[Amy H]

I check the following blogs every day:
amalah.com--and from there the advice smackdown and this site
mamapop.com
The ledger
Mandajuice
The Mom Trap
Antique Mommy
Motherhood Unsensored
Big Mama
Not that You Asked

When do I have time? I usually check them/read them (when updated) while I am in the mother's room at work. Multi-tasker that I am...

[jodifur]

I subscribe to 15, I use bloglines, I didn't like google reader. And I check a couple more every week or so or when I'm bored at work or at home.

[Shalini]

I have about 60 feeds in my Bloglines acount and I somehow manage to sift through most of them every day although there is some skimming involved at times. Luckily, most of them don't post every day-that being said, NaBloPoMo almost caused my eyes to fall out their sockets.

[Mrs. CPA]

My non tax season reading is about 50-60, and my during tax season reading is about 30, and I catch up to the rest on the weekend while my husband is watching Tech TV or the stupid Sci Fi channel (no offense to you Battlestar watchers). Throw in a little live blogging at MamaPop, and that's all I've got time for.

[kimszym]

I read Julia and Nothing but Bomnfires through your blogroll so you can't get rid of it.
On yahoo I have 11 2 of which update at least 5 days a week.
I also have 2 sent by Feedblitz and one I access through another blog.

[Janssen]

I'm embarassed to admit I like you even a tiny bit more than I already did simply because you like Google Reader. Hooray! Love Google Reader! I subscribe to 58, but I'm always like "bah! nothing to read" and so I'm slowly adding more from various blogrolls of those I already read (yours included). Addicted to blogs? Never. . .

[Keri]

I read ALL your stuff plus ...

Moreena's blog "the wait & the wonder" here at ClubMom

Bettie Bookish http://etb.typepad.com/bettiebookish/

"Little Zygote" here at ClubMom

Saint Vodka of the Martini http://saintvodkaofthemartini.blogspot.com/2005/04/saint-vodka-of-martini.html

I blog also - how 'bout featuring me on the Daily Dose? http://www.augalinfp.blogspot.com

How do I read and blog so dang much and get anything else done? Well, I don't... get anything else done. Actually I put the laptop next to me while I breast-feed my baby boy. I'm getting much better at typing w/mky left hand.

well, kinda. it's a challemgw to read my typing soetimes. teehee

btw, you cravk me up!

[Arwen]

I used to use Bloglines, but switched to Google Reader a couple months ago. LOVE.

And I used to feel vaguely guilty about 72 feeds total, but you have made me feel virtuous. Thanks for that!

Hope you're feeling better, by the way.

[mrscrumley]

I use GR too and it is a bit overwhelming the amount of blogs that I have. But I love this link at the top- Mark all as read. If I get overwhelmed because I have been slacking on my reading, then I use that little link at the top.

[jaime]

I have 130 feeds in my Bloglines, in the following categories: book blogs, daddy blogs, education, food blogs, general blogs, health news, hollywood blogs, humor blogs, mommy blogs, news, politics, shopping blogs, weight-loss blogs, web/technology, wordpress, writing blogs, and sports.

I was gone a week around Christmas and it took me a full week to read everything that had piled up!

I've been a Bloglines fanatic, but now I might have to check out Google Reader since you all seem to like it so much.

[Mrs. Chicky]

I have about 110 subscriptions on my Bloglines, plus the blogs I drop by after getting a good comment. And my kid runs around all day in nothing by a dirty diaper. I wonder why?

[Andy]

85 (embarrased to admit)
All.
Boring desk job.

[callistawolf]

I use Firefox's Live Bookmarks to keep up, but it sounds as if I'll have to check out this Google Reader thingie. I've never been a bloglines fan. I read Miss Zoot probably EVERY time she updates, within minutes of the update. I also read each and every one of your blogs whenever they're updated. Besides that, I have about 10-20 other blogs that I check for updates every day and will read whenever they update, even if multiple times in a day. Its good when I feel like taking a break (procrastinating) from actual work or responsibilities. :)

[cagey]

I have both Google Reader and Bloglines, but prefer Bloglines. I purposely keep it down to 100 because of the whole "bleeding eyeballs" issue you mentioned. Sure, I'll add more subscriptions as I discover new reads, but then pare down the list every so often to keep it at around that 100 limit. However, that 100 includes several newsfeeds and not just blogs.

[Jane]

I use Bloglines and I'm up to 323 feeds. It's a sickness.

[jen]

Hah! Welcome to my world. I have ... um ... 144 feeds on my Bloglines account. I read at least 30 of those every day, or whenver they update, whichever is more. I check Bloglines at least 4 times a day. I'm a sad, sad little person.

[Jamie]

I tried to switch over from Bloglines to Google reader but just couldn't do it. I'm like a little old lady...stubborn as hell and set in my ways dagnabbit.

I subscribe to about 75 blogs. I actually killed off, unintentionally, my traditional blogroll, but I'm leaning toward not resurrecting it.

[Shrinkingmom]

I have about 276 feeds in Bloglines--I finally organized them into folders: one for each day of the week, plus a "daily" folder. I have only 20-30 daily reads. The others are divided equally. I am always "behind" in my blog-reading.

[Jem]

I don't subscribe...I have a bookmarks list! OLDSKOOL.

I read about..30 a day? Jeez.

[Tere]

I don't get the RSS thing AT ALL. I'm shamefully ignorant and behind and am scared to even TRY to tackle it...

[Plain Jane Mom]

Hey Amy, glad you like Better than a Blogroll -- it is SO much easier than a regular blogroll. I'd be happy to help you set one up if you like.

And, as long as we're confessing...

"Hello, I'm Plain Jane Mom, and I subscribe to 411 blogs in Google Reader."

(And I add more every day.)

Sigh.

[Heather B.]

I've been uh, busy and barely check my google reader and now I'm at over 100 new posts lord knows how many exactly and I keep clicking and trying to read and it NEVER GETS BELOW 100!

I'm now afraid of my google reader.

[margalit]

I should be mortified, but I am not. I read through bloglines and I have 367 feeds as of today. I divide them into categories that include Mommy, Daddy, Sports, Boston, Misc, Food, Crafts, tech, Jewish, politics, celebs, and shopping. I have 118 blogs in the Mommy category alone.

Of those, some of them are very busy blogs and post daily, and I do keep up daily. Some are very inactive and post only a couple of times a month. And some are in between. I don't read everything in every category daily. I leave food, for example, for the weekends when I have more time to prowl through all the recipes.

I read my sports blogs during baseball season, for that is the only sport I really care about.

On average I read about 200 blogs/day.

[Nancy]

Earlier today I just found out how to do that not-a-blogroll thingie that Plain Jane Mom has (Zero Boss had a post on it recently, which explains how to do it with Google Reader). I think I'm going to convert since I can't keep my blogroll current anyway, and I'm kind of tired of the regular format.

I've been slacking on my blog reading lately but I've got 141 subscriptions in Bloglines -- probably close to 100 are my blogroll, and the rest are newsy/current events/creative type blogs. Trying to switch to Google Reader but old habits (like reading in Bloglines) die hard.

[Bon]

i'm only up to about thirty...which i like to pretend is become i'm fussy but is actually because the child keeps demanding to be fed and stuff, which gets in the way. :)

i agree that Plain Jane Mom's way of ditching ye olde blogroll is probably the way to go, but change is painful and requires sustained focus. and again, the child keeps demanding to be fed...and stuff.