SheGeeks

I’m guilty of cheating on Google Reader with Feedly. I can’t help it. Feedly is practically everything I could want in a feed reader (waiting on Google Chrome support and/or a Feedly Adobe Air app). From the team behind it to the application itself, Feedly is an amazing web-based RSS Reader! What separates it from other RSS readers on the desktop and the web is the peace of mind that Feedly provides when it comes to consuming content from the blogs I subscribe to.

Wait, did she just say peace of mind? Get real, right? I am! First, let me state that I love sharing stuff in Google Reader. Since I can’t blog a response to every article that I enjoyed or leave a comment on all of them, I can press Shift + S and share it. My Google Reader Shared Items is my way of saying thanks.

Lately, Google Reader has become more like a torture device. I’m not alone in this thinking either. It’s a never ending cycle of (1000+) unread items, after only 30 minutes of clicking “mark all as read”. Here’s the real problem: it’s not all about the numbers. While seeing 1000+ unread is a sure way for me to hit “mark all as read”, Google Reader is just plain boring for me to look at period. I don’t blame those who don’t care about RSS if they have to sit in Google Reader all day. Google’s simplicity just doesn’t cut it for me when it comes to constantly sifting through the diverse content that I subscribe to.
 

This view was great when first getting started, but became very boring to see everyday once my subscriptions started to pile up.

As my feed reading habits have evolved, Google Reader has taken away from my feed reading experience more than it serves to enhanced it. When it comes to features, Google Reader is lagging behind the competition tremendously. There’s no way for me to selectively share some of the content I’m reading to Twitter unless I use a greasemonkey script. Even with that script comes another problem: it doesn’t use Bit.ly as a link shortener and I want stats. See where I’m going with this?

Unlike traditional desktop and web-based clients, Feedly is packed with features for the most casual RSS readers to power users such as myself. I can twitter anything I’m reading or watching, share it to my Google Reader shared items, participate in any Friendfeed discussions that might be taking place, and get stats on the links I share. There are tons more features than the aforementioned that has made Feedly a one-stop feed-reader for me.

Now this is more like it! (Feedly Digest View)

Feedly has made me more enthusiastic about going through my feeds, or at least I don’t dread 1000+ unread items. In fact, I never seen anywhere near that number in Feedly. With Google Reader I felt forced to focus on the amount of content I was about to consume. Feedly takes a different approach by fitting the content I’m consuming, instead of forcing that content to fit the application. I’ve learned to use the various layout options that Feedly offers to digest my feeds more quickly and efficiently, while adding to my feed reading experience.  In doing so, I don’t focus on unread counts or even the amount of subscriptions I have. Feedly keeps my focus on what I’m consuming.

It doesn’t hurt to have an awesome team behind you too. The team behind Feedly has represented a team that understands what a user should be able to do in a feed reader. Understand that it’s not just about the features people. It’s about the overall experience that these features create independently and when combined. Quite frankly, Feedly is just a lot better than what I’m seeing in Google Reader everyday. How has your feed reading experience been lately?

Note: If you’re wondering why I still use Google Reader from time to time, it’s because I’m able to process large unread items quicker with Google Reader since I’m used to its interface. Also, Feedly requires Firefox and I no longer use FF as my default browser.

Popularity: 9% [?]

If you are not focused on the iPhone hype, you probably noticed that some good content was written this week. Louis Gray posted about how he thinks The Importance of Blog Linking Seems to be Declining. There was some good discussion in the blog comments as well, so I highly recommend that you read some of it. Shortly after that, our wonderful host, Corvida, had an insightful post on the pros and cons of being Dugg as well as being Shared. Again, a very good conversation in the blog comments that are well worth reading.

Blog Linking From The “Bigger Boys”

I am here to say that Louis and Corvida are missing the point (sorry). There are not a lot of bloggers with more than 1000 subscribers. I would assume that most blogs stay under 100 subscribers for their lifetime. The rules for getting from 0 to 500 is much different. Louis starts with an interesting observation, where he neglects to realize that our perceptions change as time goes on.   

At one time, I thought being linked to by the most prominent bloggers could have a significant impact on my traffic. And for a short time, it did. But now, I’ve seen traffic from other blogs to be driving an ever-declining percentage of visits to my site, swamped by social media tools, aggregation sites, and of course, Google search.

The "at one time" part really refers to a time when he did not have that many subscribers, like most of us. If I had 25 subscribers and I got a link from him or even Robert Scoble, that would be huge for my tiny blog. In the beginning, the only way to get traffic is to have links from bigger blogs. A small blog will not get any search engine traffic, mainly because there are not enough links to build any authority. Now that Louis has about 2300 subscribers, he will not get much traffic from a blog link. For Louis to get much traffic, the link needs to come from someone with an order of magnitude more subscribers, most likely a minimum of 20000-30000 subscribers. Even then, he would just get a nice bump in traffic. In order for Louis to see significant traffic from a referral source, he needs to feel the Digg effect.

The Publicity of Google Reader Vs. The Digg Effect

On the other hand Corvida recently passed the 1000 subscriber mark. She was wondering whether people find it better to be Shared or Dugg:   

Lately I’ve been noticing that I pay more attention to how many times my articles are shared on RSSmeme and Readburner rather than how many times they’ve been voted for on Digg. I think I can safely say that it’s much easier to get your article shared rather than dugg, though I’m not sure why since it’s the same action with a different name.  

This is a better question for a smaller blogger looking to grow. Google Reader Shares are fairly easy to get because people are sharing information with their friends. For a small blog, a share is great publicity because it can show up on sites like FriendFeed and Twitter where many more people can see it. This is a very organic way to grow traffic. You get the "home grown" following who will be much more passionate supporters of the blog.

This also allows the blogger to slowly handle the changing audience, which can be a shock. The changing tone of your readers can be a tough thing to handle if you grow to quickly. Getting Dugg is the "holy grail" of small blogs. It gives instant traffic and credibility to a blog that is looking to grow. A small blog can get 2000 pageviews per month and be happy. On a slow day, Digg can send a front page story 20000 page views in a few hours.

If your blog post does not get near the front page (and most likely it will not for a while), you really do not get much traffic from Digg. This makes Digg a not so good target for a small blog. As a blogger, you will not really find your groove for several months. Getting Dugg early will cause a lot of traffic that is not happy to see you, because Digg users see "new" blogs every day churning out garbage for articles. I am not saying Diggers are miserable people, but they are leery of a new blogs appearing on the front page. Now, I know I have said that getting Dugg is "not a good target", but participating in social media sites is another good way to start growing the blog. If Digg feels intimidating, try the friendlier confines of Mixx and StumbleUpon. If your blog is highly technical or political, Reddit may be a better option to start with.
      

Conclusion

The idea I am trying to get across is that each step in the blogging journey requires different ideas to help the blog grow. Louis Gray may not care about links anymore, but as a small blog you need to worry only about links. Without links, nobody can find you. Then, when people do find you, be careful what you wish for.

This was a guest post by the fabulous YackTrack creator Rob Diana of RegularGeek.com. You can find more of Rob’s great work on Regular Geek, which includes great insight on Social Media, Semantic Web, web apps, and a ton more. Be sure to subscribe to Regular Geek too.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Lately I’ve been noticing that I pay more attention to how many times my articles are shared on RSSmeme and Readburner rather than how many times they’ve been voted for on Digg. I think I can safely say that it’s much easier to get your article shared rather than dugg, though I’m not sure why since it’s the same action with a different name. However, I want to ask you whether you’d prefer your article to be dugg on Digg or Shared via Google Reader or a similar service. First, here’s a look at the differences between the two actions.
     

Getting Dugg on Digg

Cons: It’s hard to get your article dugg. I think the reason why is because the process is much more extensive than sharing an item in Google Reader and because the point of getting dugg is to hopefully make the front page of Digg. The chances of making the front page of digg are pretty slim unless you’re Kevin Rose, which can effectively dissuade people from digging your article.
   

Pros: On the other hand the benefits of getting dugg are massive. Digg gets a ton of traffic from millions of people on the internet every month. If your article makes it to the front page of Digg, you can expect to your site to slow to a crawl and possibly stop showing up all together. The traffic is awesome and traffic is good, especially if you have advertisements that could use a few clicks.

Having Your Items Shared Via Google Reader

Cons: Having your items shared is another way to gain popularity. However, this popularity varies from Digg, especially if that item makes it onto FriendFeed. While you’ll get a nice amount of traffic, it won’t be nearly as much as Digg. Also, your target audience would be a lot more specific. A variety of users visit Digg, but normally early adopters and technology evangelist use Google Reader, let alone the ‘Share Item’ feature.
    

Pros: However, something special can happen. Conversations are more likely to start on and around your article if it were shared more so than if it were dugg. This can bring in a ton of linkbacks. Also, you’re more likely to get visitors that will stick around rather than receive visitors that are only there to read that particular article and nothing more.

So Which Will It Be?

Now that you’re aware of some of the pros and cons. Which would you choose now? Was it the same choice you had in mind when you saw the title of this article?

Popularity: 11% [?]