I've recently carried out a spring clean of my bloglists. I like to do this every so often. My lists are arranged so that as a blogger makes a post their blog comes to the top of the list so I can be sure not to miss anything new.
There comes a point though, when certain blogs lurk right down at the bottom never seeing the light of day. This generally means that the blog has become inactive, so every so often I delete blogs that haven't had new posts for over 6 months from my list and start to look out for new blogs to add.
Using bloglists on other blogs is one of my routes to finding new blogs (so if you find an interesting new blog please don't keep it to yourself and add it to your list). This is one reason that I like to keep my list fairly up to date and arrange the list in the way that I do. It can be frustrating trawling through someone's bloglist only to find that 50% of the blogs listed haven't posted articles for an age.
I also visit blogs of anyone who is new to commenting on my blog or if possible try to check out the blogs of new followers. Chances are that if someone finds my blog to be interesting then I am likely to find theirs of interest to me.
Then there are of course blog directories. I've added my blog to quite a few as shown on this page not only does this let people know about my blog but in trawling the lists I can find other blogs that I can enjoy.
Recently I had an invitation to join a Tribe on something called Atomic Reach. It sounds rather strange doesn't it? A Tribe is the name they give to an interest group and in my case the Tribe I was invited to join is called Garden Gab. The name is self explanatory. The idea is to submit blog posts for publication in the Tribe area. No extra work is involved - the idea being that this is another way of letting people know your blog is 'out there'.
I'm hoping that it will also direct me to new blogs that I can follow too.
When I find an interesting new (to me at least) blog I tend to visit for a while before adding to my list as often new bloggers like new allotmenteers often don't stay the course.
When I find an interesting new (to me at least) blog I tend to visit for a while before adding to my list as often new bloggers like new allotmenteers often don't stay the course.
I know other bloggers use Facebook, Twitter and other types of groups to publicise their blogs but to be honest in spite of creating accounts I haven't really become an active participant of any of these 'social media' sites. They don't really fit into my lifestyle.
Just for a bit of fun and because I am nosy, I'd love it if you would just take a few minutes to answer a survey that I have created. Just click on the cast your vote button and all will be revealed - I hope! If you have a blog you may also be interested in some of the answers the survey may reveal, (that is if anyone enters it!)
Just for a bit of fun and because I am nosy, I'd love it if you would just take a few minutes to answer a survey that I have created. Just click on the cast your vote button and all will be revealed - I hope! If you have a blog you may also be interested in some of the answers the survey may reveal, (that is if anyone enters it!)
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Sue; my approach is pretty much a clone of yours. I used also to use Blotanical.com, but lost interest in it because so many of the new blogs were commercial ones with very little of interest to me. Have you see "Pushing Up Dandelions"? It's a sort of portal site for gardeners and allotment-holders, so should be perfect for you. I had my first article posted yesterday. Lots of blogs only last a week or two, perhaps a month or two. I'm amazed that people's attention-span is so short! The type of blog I like is like yours, where there is always something new to see, and which has lots of visual interest too.
ReplyDeleteI'll look at the Dandelions site Mark. I must admit I tend to be drawn to blogs that have lots of photos and also that tend to have fairly large photos and a fairly wide reading page which accommodates them. Maybe it's just me but I also like to find something easy to read i.e. print not too small and colours of backgrounds and fonts that work well together. I also like to see a bit of variety in the posting that I can relate to. I joined Blotanical too but for me it was too much like a sort of competition.
DeleteMe too Sue, I like large photos, and fairly wide reading pages and blog lists on the sidebars, so I can cruise what other blogs are out there when visiting my favourite blogs, yours included. I am not much of a 'joiner' myself, so didn't pick up the Garden Gab invite. Good idea though.
DeleteI only joined the Garden gab as all it means is sharing any blog posts that you want from you blog. I checked there wasn't any further commitment as I think if you join lots of things you don't really do anything properly.
DeleteI often find blogs through other people's lists - sometimes I get fed up reading about gardening when everyone seems to be posting about the same thing, so I go for more general blogs as well for a change. I think you could say that I like a nice mix. I do cut down my list every now and then - blogs I have become bored with or who don't post very often, otherwise I would just spend my life on the computer, blogs just have to keep my attention - I have a very low, or should that be high, boredom threshold unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI think that is a low threshold Elaine. Must admit I always fret a little when I see my followers list reduce - I tend to think I've done something wrong!!!!
DeleteI can't remember how I came across your blog, it's so long ago now. I try to comment on each post as I know myself how much I enjoy comments on my own posts, but I have to say that I'm having to cut down on my commenting due to lack of time. Having said that, I try to be loyal to those people who comment on my blog and comment back on their's. I can feel a cull of my own coming on soon, my reading list is getting out of hand.
ReplyDeleteOh dear now we are wondering where the axe will fall, Jo.
DeleteI'm pretty much the same as you. I have found many a good blog from someone elses list and from their followers. I follow a few blogs that haven't posted for a while and they were ones I enjoyed very much and miss a lot, but have kept them just in case they start blogging again. I have 2 of my own blogs, one for gardening and one for my dog, and keep the 2 separate although sometimes I forget to log out of one when I'm posting on the other. I can't remember if I found yours on a communial site or from you following me so my answer to the first question is probably wrong, lol
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter if answers are wrong Liz,
DeleteI have three blogs this one, one for school gardening which I must admit isn't regularly updated - it has links to a website and so I update that and I have one for photographs that link to a greetings card site. I use the same login for all three - they just appear in a list on the Blogger dashboard and I can choose which one I want to work on from there.
My problem is if I am logged in as martyn and forget to change over.
What a thought provoking post, Sue!
ReplyDeleteIt really is a world wide web, that's for sure.
The world wide element has suffered this year as weather conditions have been so starkly different on either side of the Atlantic - most recently with Sandy's arrival.
I do enjoy when bloggers meet up (as with Kelli's travels).
I too have divided off my gardening blog from my bread making (Rye Smile)from my tourist activities (Edinburgh Album).
Searches on particularly narrow topics can sometimes introduce interesting connections. e.g. I was searching for Chervil Root and came across Jennifer Maclagan's blog. (She's the contrarian who wrote "Fat"). And I can't remember which search came up with Michael Booth's blog. Admittedly both these people are selling books. Hmmmm.
Then there are the common interest gardening group, of which you and Martyn definitely two! There is true generosity of spirit.
It is interesting to connect with people in other places, Mal. It seems to make the news more relevant somehow. I was rubbish at geography in school but now I appreciate other places through blog links etc.
DeleteAt the moment I haven't many none gardening blogs that I visit although some are multi-faceted. I seem to have an easier job finding gardening blogs as there are many lists and garden groups that publish them. It's not that it is my only interest.
We have a trip booked for Edinburgh in December - we have been once before but that was ages ago. We were thrown out of the castle as there was a bomb scare!
I found your blog by following a link from comments you made on Mark's blog. I find blogs predominantly from others people's lists, or comments or when they find me. I would say my biggest source of blogs is via Harvest Mondays though - lots of my blog list also contributes there.
ReplyDeleteI must admit I would find it hard to post a particular type of blog every week on a certain day, Liz. I do enter memes as and when I have something that coincides.
DeleteI have to admit to not really looking for blogs to read. I already follow quite a few and don't have much time to go searching. Often something someone has written about in a post cause me to maybe take a look at someone else's blog and if I get a new commenter on my blog I will go and visit them. There is so much out there that would interest me that if I didn't limit myself I would spend 24/7 in front of the computer and never do anything but read!!
ReplyDeleteI tend to look for new ones when old favourites seize up Tanya.
DeleteI stopped doing that when I realised I couldn't keep up with them all!!
DeleteOh and I did the survey...however I didn't answer the first question as how I found you wasn't there. I found you as you were the very first commenter on my blog, I just wanted you to know this!!. I also didn't answer the last one as it wasn't relevant.
That's fine Tanya - it's only me trying out how to pop a survey into a post!! I am honoured to be your first commenter Tanya.
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