Friday, October 3, 2008

Executive Decision

So, I made the executive decision today to get rid of the blogroll on my side bar. It was TERRIBLY outdated and definitely does not include all the blogs I love to read. And really, I just can't keep up with you kids (um, or my new discoveries). I've been seeing this "Top Commenter" widget around the blogs I haunt and thought that might be a good substitute--except it still doesn't include all the blogs I love! It's there, though--on the sidebar below my 2008 reads.

But I don't believe it is accurate. First, I'm not sure how far back it goes--22 comments just doesn't seem right since I've been blogging for over a year. Second, I don't believe it accurately accounts for my top commenters. Most are there but some aren't. One name on the list I've never even seen before. Well, I've seen the name because a few blogger friends have that name, but the link is a place I hadn't discovered until now. Which brings up a question--does it lump same names together??

What are your suggestions for dumping the blogroll? How can I share with you the blogs that I love so much? I do this occassionally through the awards I pass on but that doesn't cover everyone! I know some of you make a list of the monthly visiters and while I think that's awesome it seems like a ton of work!! I guess maybe I should have saved that blogroll before I so hastily clicked delete. Ha ha--do you even care? :D Sorry for the ranting guys!

The Maggie picture is just because. It's actually an old one--I think from when I still lived in Lubbock almost two years ago! I'm not sure what she's looking at--maybe the dog under my desk, but at least her eyes aren't all freaky. :) I tried taking a few snapshots last night but I couldn't get any where her eyes weren't glowing. Any thoughts on how to take non-glowing eye pictures?

40 comments:

bethany (dreadlock girl) said...

yeah, I was thinking about that too... sine I never click on people from there, I always go from google reader to people's blogs.

I love your kitty!!!! We have three...I love kitties :)

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

I was reluctant to do away with it because when I first started blogging I relied on people's blogrolls to discover new blogs--and I know that a few friends who have started blogging recently have been using my links to also find blogs. In a way it is helpful, I just don't have the time to add and delete as I find new and fun places to go. I always go straight from google reader also. But I just don't think the widget is working correctly!! I just need to take a chill pill ;) Ha ha!

bethany (dreadlock girl) said...

I don't think your widget is working right either. There is no way that 22 should be the number of top comments, it is missing something.

I tried to install that same widget, and for me it didn't even show any results, so you are a step ahead of me :)

Hope you get it figured out, it sounds like one of those things that would just bug me until I figured it out...

Katherine said...

I'm thinking about getting rid of my blogrol--not because mine's outdated--in fact, I think I have too many blogs on there! Plus, it's taking up too much room and making each page of my blog much longer than need be. I may just jump on over to Google Reader and leave it at that. Having the "top commenter" list is cool, though.

Bookfool said...

I have some sort of weird sentimental attachment to my humongous blog roll, so it's still there, even though I've added more to my reader. Silly, but true. Great Maggie pic! I just want to pick her up and cuddle her.

Darlene said...

I'm with Bookfool, I have an attachment to my list too. Hmmm, not sure what you can do. I just use that blog follower thing but I don't think that's what you're looking for. Will have to stew on it for a while.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on getting rid of the blogroll! I don't have one either. Do you know how not stressed that makes me feel? I do have the end of the month thing but I do admit it is time consuming.

I know I've made more than 11 comments. I did notice that the list had bloggers that were only on blogger. Do you think it's not counting those who use other platforms? My top commentators widget uses email address I think. I know I don't enter mine at your site when I comment.

Another great way to share your favorite blogs is with the shared items from Google Reader. If I really like a article, I share it and it shows up in my sidebar. It may only be there a day or two but it's something. I've noticed that other bloggers have this as well but it will show all articles from everybody in their Google Reader and show when they last updated. So there is probably a lot of ways to update this.

Laura said...

I've been thinking about doing something with my blogroll as well, because I put it up when I started blogging 6 months ago, and I haven't updated it since (oops). I've noticed that there is something with the followers that you can do, except I don't exactly know what "following" a blog is yet. I used your blogroll A LOT for the first few weeks I was blogging, but I probably haven't looked at anyone's in months now. Anyways...a long comment to say I don't know!

Maggie looks very pensive in that picture. I wonder what she was thinking about?

Laura H said...

When I first starting blogging I depended on everbody's blogroll to find other book blogs. Now I just check my google reader but what about all those poor lost souls????

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

*Bethany - I know! I'm wondering if it only goes back a certain number of posts?? Too weird!

*Katherine - The top commenter is cool as long as it is working right. :) And are you not using google reader yet? For shame! I don't know what I'd do without it.

*Bookfool - My list was so far down on the side bar that I never even see it. Maggie is a great cuddler--she's actually sitting on my desk right now like she is in the picture. :)

*Natasha - Well now I feel bad about it! :) I don't know how it calculates the commenters but blogger doesn't have a widget for commenters so I don't know if it was an outside thing specific to blogspot users. I think I'm going to delete it, though, since it just doesn't seem right. I've seen the shared items but to be honest I never look at them on other people's sites. I've wondered about your list and whether other "trishs" factor into the count. Have I really made that many comments? ;)

*Laura - And that's why I've been reluctant to get rid of it. My cousin just started a book blog, but I don't know if she was using my links or not. I don't get the whole followers thing and I'm reluctant to do it because I'm always afraid I'm going to leave someone out. In terms of the picture I think Maggie is looking at the dog. Lexi is almost always under the desk. Have a great trip, by the way!!!

*Laura H - I depended on people's blog rolls a lot as well but I never look at them now. I generally use google reader for everything but sometimes I'll link from someone's comments that I see on other bloggers' sites if I feel like exploring.

Anonymous said...

Yep, you really have made 145 comments! Crazy, huh! I'll have to look into it but I believe it uses email addresses. I know I had to fix one person who used two emails and once I changed them it combined them. Ginger is making a run for your money though. Cute girl, she's in high school I think and comments on just about every post I write. One of the actual people who stuck around after the Stephenie Meyer giveaway.

Marg said...

I only add people who link to me to my blogroll these days, but that no way covers all the blogst that I love to read. Other than that I keep track of all the blogs in a feed reader. Even that is getting a bit too humungous but I find it difficult to take people off the list once they are there!

CJ said...

Oh my! What terrible accident did Maggie suffer to end up footless??

Naw, she's a sweety. I love the cat pictures but it seems like us dog people are in a minority around here...

I'd like to sound learned and give you some advice, but I'm actually clueless. I'll be interested in what you decide, but for now, I'm keep my blog roll.

cjh

Anonymous said...

I personally am a huge fan of blogrolls, because when I first started blogging that's how I discovered a lot of my favorite people. What I do is just go through and edit it once every few months or so, adding new blogs that I've discovered and getting rid of (sorry!) some that either don't post really at all or that I don't actually read. But I totally get how time-consuming and stressful it can be. You want to make sure you include EVERYONE but also not take up your entire page with other people's blogs...

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

*Natasha - believe it not I'm not vying for the top spot. :) I'd be happy to pass it on to someone else for a change but then I would have to stop commenting and that doesn't make sense either...

*Marg - I just did a gigantic clean up of my reader the other day. I just can't handle the volume, especially when some people post more than once a day! I've hardly been online at all this week. Kind of funny, though that I have three blogs with "reading" and "adventures" in the title. :)

*CJ - I think Maggie's too fat now to sit like that and convince people she doesn't have any legs (I call them arms). I have a great picture of my dog from when we were at the lake the summer, I just haven't gotten around to posting it yet. Maybe later this week.

Lisa said...

I have that "my blog list" thing that updates by recent post. I'm not sure how I feel about it. For the longest time I had no blogroll at all because I just didn't have time to update it. Still don't, actually, but that blog list thing lets you just click through from your google reader list, so it's easier to update.

Hehe, you just commented on my blog while I was commenting here. Good Morning!

Corinne said...

I agree with you - blogrolls as a link list are really hard for me to keep up with, especially because when I like something I just add it to my reader and it gets shuffled into that massive list :)

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean about the blogroll. Since I started using Google Reader it seems like too much effort to keep the blogroll up to date.

Ana S. said...

I really like that top commentators widget. I tried to put one on my blog, but for some reason it didn't work at all :/ And I'm pretty sure I've commented on your blog more than 20 times :P I wonder what's up with that.

As for alternatives to a blogroll, I've been seeing this new widget around that instead of showing a list of blogs shows the most recent updates from friends. I pondered replacing mine with that, but like Nancy and Dar I'm too attached to it.

Maggie looks lovely! I wish I knew how to take non-glowing eyes pictures. It happens with most of my cat pictures too.

Anonymous said...

I just "dumped" my blog roll myself. I'm a Google Reader gal and it's so easy to just add a blog to that and such a pain to officially add it to the blog roll. So, what I did was delete my blogroll and copy over my Google Reader list. I figure if I do this once every 3 or 4 months that will be enough.

Anonymous said...

Just thought of this, so I'm back for more. Some people have a links page. So instead of cluttering the sidebar, it's a separate page. Another idea for you . . .

Stephanie said...

See....I'm pretty attached to my blogroll too. I've had it since I started blogging. I tried using bloglines/google reader, but I just kept falling so far behind.

Maybe I'll try it again, though.

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

Wow!! I can't believe all the response to this question. :)

*Heatherlo - I think for me its the not including everyone aspect that I'm afraid of. Thanks so much for the input!!

*Lisa - Good morning. :) Too funny that we were both giving "advice" or ranting at the same time. I'll have to check into the blog list.

*Corinne - It's so easy to just click "subscribe to blog". I do have different folders to help keep my favorites up top but my blogging time is so limited lately that I'm always behind anyway.

*Bermudaonion - Google reader is the best, right?? :)

*Nymeth - I edited the post a few different times but my first one said something along the lines of "Nymeth has definitely commented more than 20 times!!" :) I'll have to check into the updated post one--a few others have suggested that as well. And Maggie says thank you. Actually--she's not here right now, wonder where she is!

*Bookchronicle - I love google reader--I'll have to figure out how to copy over my google reader list--did you do that manually or is there any easy way?

*Natasha - I've thought about doing tabbies but I don't know how. I'm pretty clueless when it comes to fancy stuff like that!!

*Stephanie - Oh--even though I can't keep up, google reader saves my life. :) At least now I can choose what I miss out on. I may end up putting the blogroll back, though.

Anonymous said...

I just updated my blogroll.

I took out some old links and posted a request that anyone who wanted to be on it (and who links to me) let me know.

I found out I was on a few blogrolls that I didn't know about, which was nice, especially since now I am linking to them.

I'm moving to a self-hosted site so that inspired the clean-up.

I've also seen a scrolling blogroll, if you're looking for something that doesn't take up as much space. Musings of a Bookish Kitty/Literary Feline and Melody's Reading Corner both have it. I hope my designers can do something like that on my new site.

I agree with previous commenters - I used blog rolls to discover new blogs when I was a book blog newbie!

Amanda said...

I think it helps to get rid of glowing eyes if you shine a lot of light on her and then don't use your camera flash. It's the flash that gets those glowing eyes. She's took cute with her little paws tucked up under her.

Unknown said...

Updating my blog roll has been on my to-do list for months now.

So has finding a way to set up a three column blog instead of a two column one.

It sounds like I need to add finally figuring out how to use google reader to my to-do list, too.

I do like blogrolls. They were a big help when I first started blogging and I still use them now and then when I want to find a new site.

I'm not a top-commenter? :-(

Unknown said...

If you use Google Reader you can embed your Google Reader blogroll on a blogger blog. I put all my reading blogs under one label and then use that for my Links page. It gets updated automatically as I add or remove blogs.

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

*Shana - Hmmm--not sure I would tell someone "hey you missed my blog! add me!" :) Too funny. I've seen Wendy's scrolly blogroll and like it but then if you're looking for a particular name you have to wait around to find it. Thanks for the input--I may add the blogroll back in.

*Amanda - Ya, it seems that every time I take a picture of Maggie it is dark. I've tried to take the pictures without flash but I also have a tough time with the contrast because her fur is white. She is a little cutie patootey! :)

*CB - I don't think the top commenter widget is calculating correctly but to be fair the people who are listed (with the exception of one--and I think that name is only up there because there are several who have that name??) the people who are listed have been around quite some time. You're still a relative newbie ;) I like blogrolls too, but I don't like how they turn into a popularity thing.

*King Rat - I may have to try that! I'm loving the new things that blogger is coming out with recently.

Rae said...

Holy sin! What a popular blogger you are! I can never keep up with updating my friends/family links. Plus, some people don't really like being "found" so it's like.....don't really know what to do about it.....

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

Rach - You crack me up! I wouldn't consider myself a "popular" blogger but I've made some great bookie friends over the past year or so. :) And in terms of people not wanting to be found--I have some friends who have private blogs but then I can't put them on my reader.

Debi said...

Oh Trish...you're my hero! I've really been wanting to get rid of my blogroll, too. I just can't seem to keep it up-to-date, and I hate leaving people off of it. I very seldom click through someone's blogroll anyway. I'm much, much, much more likely to click through a link right in a post or through a comment (either on someone else's blog I read or on my own).

I like that commenter widget, but I'm probably too techno-challenged to figure out how to put it on my blog. But I think you're right...it doesn't look all too accurate. I'd be willing to bet that I've commented more than that.

Debi said...

By the way, I think Maggie and our new cat Lucky would make some gorgeous babies! (Of course, Lucky's out of commission so that's really not a possibility.)

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

Debi - Maggie's "out of commission" too. :) But they do have similar markings, huh? I always think that Maggie looks worried the way her black fur makes it look like she's got raised eyebrows.

And yes--you've definitely commented more than 12 times!! I think for the most part (except for a few names) the top commenters part is accurate but the number of comments certainly isn't.

Ana S. said...

Trish, I finally got the widget to work on my blog (it wouldn't at first for some reason), and the numbers it shows seem accurate. You are near the top, of course, with almost 200 comments :P I noticed that here they have two options, one to calculate it based on the last 500 comments, the second on the last 5000. I used the second. I know that 500 comments seems a lot, but you've been blogging for some time, and 50 posts with 10 comments each would be enough to cover that! So maybe that's what the problem with your list is?

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

*Nymeth - Hmmm--didn't think I needed that one, but lookie there! You have been a very loyal reader, my dear! I still may scrap it and go with another widget. Trying not to obsess about it too much. :P

Michelle said...

Well Trish, all I can say is at least you are attempting to acknowledge the bogs you read. Again being so lame, I don't even know how to do that!!! Cute cat! I have a black cat Mojo, and THREE, yes THREE dogs. Duke, Ginger, and Graceland (for the king of course!)

Thoughts of Joy said...

You need to do what's best for you. :) I deleted my blogroll many months ago and don't regret it; however, doing the monthly visitors is a HUGE chore. I probably will continue through the rest of the year, then go to a top commenter widget. The first one I remember seeing was Natasha's. I thought that was a great idea.

I agree that blogrolls are excellent for the newbie blogger, however, once they are steered towards Google Reader they can find all kinds of book blogs.

Cute picture of Maggie. :)

Kim L said...

I don't have a good solution as an alternate to blogrolls. I like them, I enjoy seeing who has linked to my blog etc. I would never be able to do a monthly summary of commenters... so much work...

A widget might help maybe!

Melody said...

I'm still debating whether or not I should delete my blogroll... I love visiting those blogs and I need to update new ones as well... however, I don't think I'm able to do a monthly summary of commenters either. *sigh* I wish I've more time in blogging...

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

Not sure if there is a point to answering comments at this point, but Oh well...

*Michelle - 3 dogs...holy crap (see...you've told me that again). Bad Trish!

*Joy - I'm over it. :P I felt really bad for a while and then some newbie people mentioned they used my blogroll so I thought about putting it back up. Forgotten! Oh well.

*Kim - I did a widget for a while of my top commenters (you were on there!), but it was making my page slow so I took it down during the read-a-thon and never put it back up.

*Melody - I like the idea of blogrolls, but I'm constantly discovering new blogs and I couldn't keep up like I wanted to. Monthly commenters has got to be a chore--I'm with you--not enough time!!