Thursday, June 20, 2013

House Cleaning



I decided, about a week ago, to make Feedly my "go to" app for blog consolidation. I've tried using Bloglovin', but just couldn't get into it. Since I've made that decision, I've been meaning to clean up my Feedly interface.....I just had no idea it would be quite as time consuming as it turned out.

It seems you have to click on each blog, separately, to move them to another group or delete them. There doesn't seem to be a drop down type thing or listing options.

Now, of course, after I post this someone will say "All you had to do was..." and then reveal a secret that will have me pounding my head on the desk for an hour....

Anyway, here's my thought process on the clean up:


  • I follow a little over 300 blogs and not all of them are writing related.
  • I decided to make three categories. Writing, Comics, and Bloggers (a catch all group)
  • I came across quite a few blogs that no longer existed...at least ten. Deleted, of course.
  • Any blog that hasn't had any activity in over 30 days, and didn't have a "hiatus" or "I'll be back" post, I deleted.
  • A few blogs, I couldn't even remember adding or ever looking at....these were deleted, as well.
If I deleted you by accident (and if you even care, lol) let me know and I'll gladly re-follow. I don't want to lose any good blogs due to my carelessness!

How about you? Any blog clean-up going on?









42 comments:

Anonymous said...

Funny you should say that Mark I have just said goodbye to Google+ I didn't just understand it. I have heard much about Bloglovin but never looked into it. At the moment I am considering giving up blogging as I spend so much time answering all my followers but just the faithful few ever answer mine, Plus I'm losing followers.

I hope you achievments with your blog goes well. Good luck.

Yvonne.

Maurice Mitchell said...

Good choice Mark. Since I switched to Feedly I found the same thing. I like the "Goodbye" pic by the way.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'm using both readers because Feedly gets its feed directly from Google's reader and certain blogs won't update in Google Reader anymore. It's falling apart already.
I've used folders for years. Think I have a dozen of them. Once Google Reader is dead, I'll go through them again.

Patricia Stoltey said...

I guess I'm running out of time, aren't I? Maybe I'll work on the Feedly thing tonight.

mail4rosey said...

blog clean ups do always take a lot longer than intended!

S.P. Bowers said...

No, but someone did unfollow me. Are you sick of me? :)

Regina said...

Thing is I like all the blogs I follow but I don't have the time to be as devoted a reader. So I end up not reading as often and trying to catch up. Now I'm feeling overwhelmed maybe I should do some cleaning...

klahanie said...

Hi Mark,

I interact, like you, with a huge amount of blogs. I have two ways that I use and have used for quite some time. I have my blog list and also I follow by email. My email notifies me when you put up a posting.

As a side note in regards to Google+, personally I wish folks would stop having me redirected to that location. It can be a magical mystery tour just getting to their blog.

I think we should have a "Blog Clean-Up" Blogfest! What! Somebody help me. LOL.

Be well, Mark.

Gary :)

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

This is on my to do list. So you recommend Feedly over bloglovin? It gives me headache thinking about it.

Jeff Laws said...

I switched over to feedly awhile ago, mainly to give me time to adjust. I went with Feedly because it has an app on my phone and Kindle.

When I have to make changes like you did, I generally go back to Google Reader, make the changes, then when I go back to Feedly, the changes are there.

It's going to suck making those kinds of changes after GR shuts down because like you said, you have to do them one at a time. And for the record, I hate that "organize" screen, you can't do much with anything.

Valerie said...

I totally gotta get on is. Tis is a great idea to make blog following less overwhelming.


I'm totally doing this wrong.

Hugs!

Valerie

Robin said...

I try to go through my list every couple of months and weed out the blogs that I simply don't read and are taking up space in my Blog Roll. You sound very on top of things to me!!!

Mark Koopmans said...

Dude,

Maybe it's just me, but I use the "configure Blog List" tool, so the people I follow are right there on my blog.

I've heard of feedly and other things, but it *does* sound like a whole lot of work to move from one to the other:)

Glad you make it safely to the "other side."

Sheena-kay Graham said...

I've chosen bloglovin so I have to deal with that before July. Thanks for your kind words in my 'Be Brave' post. Best of luck with your changes Mark.

Rachna Chhabria said...

I have been thinking of trying out Feedly from quite some time. So far have not yet moved to it.

Unknown said...

I'm using bloglovin' successfully and like how it orders blogs by what is most current and needs to be read. I don't worry too much about cleaning up the blog list as a result (if they haven't written, they won't show up on the feed). It IS a lot of work!!

Mark Means said...

@Yvonne: Awww...don't give up on blogging. I know it can be frustrating when you don't seem to be getting back as much as you're putting into it, but those faithful one sure would miss you :)

@Maurice: Heh, thanks :) It's what came up when I did a search for "feedly cleaning"...I liked it, too.

@Alex: I was having issues with dropping old blogs on Google Reader. I'd try it and it kept re-adding them. It was pretty frustrating. Feedly seems to take care of it, though.

@Patricia: I think you have until July 13th to migrate everything over, so you still have a little bit of time. I wouldn't wait too long, though :)

@Rosey: This one sure did! :)

@S.P: Never!! :) I had a couple of people unfollow me, as well, so I know the feeling.

@Regina: That was the problem I was running into. So many great blogs, just not enough time :(

@Gary: LOL! I almost spat out my coffee when I read that! Yes a "Clean Blog Blogfest" seems to be in order. I know I can count on you to sign up, right? Take care, my friend :)

@Susan: Well, Feedly is just more familiar and more along the lines of Google Reader, which is why I'm using it. Bloglovin' isn't bad, by any stretch, it's just...different.

@Jeff: Yes, the phone app makes Feedly shine a bit more, though I don't do much 'internetting' from my phone, so that wasn't the deal breaker for me. You're right, those changes are going to suck once GR shuts down. Hopefully, Feedly will come up with a better interface for changing things. Maybe if we all give them feedback?

@Valerie: I wouldn't say you're doing it wrong...I'm just doing it anal retentively. Wait, that didn't sound right.... :)

@Robin: I try and it's usually when my mild OCD-ness takes over :)

@Mr.K: I've looked for that via the Blogger tools and haven't been able to find it. It does sound a tad easier, though :)

@Sheena: I'm sure you'll have it all straightened out before the 13th and you're welcome :)

@Rachna: Well, so far, it and Bloglovin' seem to be the top two contenders for Google Reader's throne. Give both of them a look and see which appeals most to you :)

Mark Means said...

@Julie: I know I shouldn't fool with out of date/abandoned blogs, but the organizer in me forces me too...lol.

Elizabeth Seckman said...

You lost me at cleaning.

Just joking.

I am using bloglovin. But I'm so not good at importing blogs, so I am requesting that everyone put the follow me on blog lovin button up.

And am I the only twisted soul that reads it as BlogMcLovin...yeah watched "Superbad" one too many times.

Unknown said...

Look at you getting all organized and stuff! I should probably do the same, but nah, I'll put it off a little while longer. :D

Annalisa Crawford said...

I've been meaning to clear out too. I'm going to miss Google Reader so much. I've been using Bloglovin because I couldn't get into Feedly!

Christine Rains said...

I really need to do this myself. First I need to finish my book! Have a great weekend.

Jack said...

I cringe at blog cleaning up, so good for you doing it! (It just seems so complex and so much work I keep saying, "I'll get to it later." Later is going to be a busy time.)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I really need to clean up the blogs I follow. After seven years, I'm sure I have a lot of dead ones in the mix.

Al Diaz said...

How can you tell who unfollowed you? I've noticed the number of followers changes but I have no idea who unfollowed.
I use Feedly, have not tried bloglovin. Feedly still is a mystery to me. I also spend too much time trying to figure out things, like you. I don't believe I've lost you, though, since I still see your pretty face at the cave, hahahaha.

Cynthia said...

Sounds like you have an organized system for editing your blog list.
There's still so much for me to learn about the blogging thing.

Thanks for commenting on my blog today. I just wanted you to know that I recently added an update to my post. I think some people might've misinterpreted what I was saying there, and I just wanted to clear things up. In case you wanted to know!

=) Cynthia


Mark Means said...

@Elizabeth: LOL...are you related to my wife?? :P Heh, I've never even seen Superbad, before, and still think of McLovin' when I see Bloglovin' :)

@Celeste: You're putting the 'pro' in procrastination :D I usually do the same...

@Annalisa: Ugh, that sucks. I hope it starts working for you soon...at least before the 13th! :)

@Christine: Yes! Finish that book! Have a great weekend, yourself :)

@Jack: It's not difficult...just time consuming. At least the way I was doing it.

@Diane: Wow...yes, after seven years I'm sure you have quite a few deaders in there :)

@Al: I can't tell who unfollowed me, I just know the number next to my followers list decreased by two. Haha...glad my cheesy smile is still adorning the cave :)

@Cynthia: Not as much as I'd like, but I try :) Oh, I had no problem with your description and knew what you were talking about. Thanks for clarifying, though :)

Tyrean Martinson said...

Oh, I really should do that . . . but not today. :)
Congrats on getting all that hard work done!

Dee @ A Deecoded Life said...

I use feedly too! It's pretty awesome.

Carol Kilgore said...

I transferred my Google Reader blogs to Bloglovin'. But so far I haven't done anything else except claim my blog and put up the button.

QUESTIONS:
Does anyone know if you can put your blogs on both?
Does Feedly have a follow button to make it easy for Feedly users to follow you?

mshatch said...

I do not use anything to organize my blogs :( Which is probably why it takes me so long to get around to everyone. And I agree with Klahanie about google plus; it can be difficult and time consuming to find the link to the person's blog. Ah, well, we do the best we can, right?

cleemckenzie said...

I'm so relieved that I'm not alone out here hating Google+ I don't relate to it at all. I haven't tackled cleaning my kitchen shelves let alone my blogs, so hats off to you!

Mark Means said...

@Tyrean: Haha...thanks..and I know what you mean. I've had it on my 'Wunderlist' for a while now. Figured it was as good a time as any :)

@Dee: I've found it the most like Google Reader and that's what I was used to, so... :)

@Carol: I think both Bloglovin' and Feedly have mechanisms for adding content. For Feedly there's a "+ Add Content" link on the top left, where you can put in a URL. I think Bloglovin' has something similar, but I haven't played around with it, as much. To my knowledge, I don't think Feedly has a follow button. It'd be a nice addition, though.

@mshatch: I didn't care for Blogger's use of Google Plus as a comment tool. I found it a bit confusing, myself, and I'm pretty knowledgeable on G+.

@Lee:LOL....I need to do that, too :)

Cathrina Constantine said...

Wow, I haven't had time to clean house yet. But what an excellent idea. Also, my kids got me hooked on Mad Men this season, now I despise and love Don Draper, didn't see the season finale last night yet, have it recorded. And I'm so glad I explored your other posts because I want to see Superman - I never trust the critics.

LD Masterson said...

I'm doing the head in the sand thing but I need to switch to a new blog reader...very soon. I just dread the learning curve.

Rebecca Green Gasper said...

Blog cleaning...that is a great idea- have to do a little house cleaning today- might have to add the blog cleaning, too. I bet there are a few that have discontinued or that I don't even look at anymore. I will have to remember to put up a "be back soon" blog if I ever take a break...wouldn't want you to just drop me! :)

Melissa said...

I moved mine to Feedly and organized them back when I heard Reader was going bye-bye. I've been tweaking it now and then, but I made categories from the beginning, so not much left to do. ;)

Haddock said...

No clean up for me.
I read at random and its really educative that way :-)

Anonymous said...

Wow!! Love this idea!! Will definitley be trying it!

cleaning toowoomba

Unknown said...

I've to get down to doing this sometime. I'm still not organized with my follows, and I've been blogging for 5 years!

Hussam said...

A great post enjoyed reading the information shared. San Diego Home Cleaning

Unknown said...

Home cleaning is the activity which saves us from different problems arising due to bad environment of our home. So, we should clean our homes in all seasons.

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