Just one more quick opinion
Just one more and then I'll zip my lips. Well, I say that, but you know how that works.
I'm back from my trip and trying to weed out my Google Reader from over 300 posts to something more manageable (my blogging time will be short this week and I have another trip planned this weekend).
What's the deal with all these bloggers going to partial feeds? Is there a pro to this? As a reader who does all of her blog reading IN Google Reader before popping over to comment, can I say without getting tomatoes thrown at me that I'm not a fan of partial feeds? Yes yes, I know--let everyone do his/her own thing and worry about yourself, but as a commenter this does affect me! :P
Ok, opinion over.
56 comments:
I agree 100%. I just don't read blogs that are set for partial feeds.
Call me a comment-hog, but I just don't get the same feed back when I go to full feed. I don't care so much about stats and the number of people that click through; I just enjoy the comments. Partial feeds force people to click through, and, in my experience, leave more comments.
Interested in what everyone else says, though. I like being able to do all my blog reading in Google Reader. I read more blogs this way, but I also like the comments.
Partial feeds STINK!!!
To tell you the truth, I feel like I wouldn't get as many comments if I went to a partial feed... Personally, I hate that blogs are partial feed, and half the time I'll forget to go back and check that blog's posts. Trish, I do the same thing you do--read it all and then go to the site to comment. I don't feel like that keeps me from going to the site. I find myself getting annoyed with blogs that ARE partial feed...
meant to say I hate that SOME blogs are partial feed...
I agree - partial feeds make me less likely to click through to read and/or comment.
Amen!
Not only do I not click through to comment, I unsubscribe. I mentioned this last week (I think) and since then at least 3 or 4 more of my regulars went to partial feeds. Gone. I do a lot of my reading at work and I am not opening every post just to see if I WANT to comment.
A week ago this was a non-issue for me as very few blogs were partial feed, but I've discovered some new bloggers and much to my dismay a lot of them have gone to partial feed.
Christina - you don't need to change based on what others say, but I tend to agree with them that I'm less likely to comment on partial feeds. For me it is a time issue.
I don't like the partial feed thing either. It drives me nuts. I hope this isn't something new that's happening with all the changes on blogger lately. I know they've made some random changes (one friend had all her blogs she's following go to anonymous overnight), so I wouldn't put it past them to have changed the setting as a default. (So if you suddenly see me on partial feeds, let me know, 'cause I don't want them that way!)
So glad you raised this ... partial feeds are irksome, to put it mildly. Like others, I do all my reading in Google Reader. There's much less of a chance that I will go and read the full post from a partial feed.
I generally don't read partial feeds.
I agree. I have to be really interested to read a post set in partial feed. However, I do recommend a plug-in for firefox users that actually allows you to see the whole blog and comment within Google Reader. It's a lifesaver.
http://lifehacker.com/software/exclusive-lifehacker-download/trick-out-google-reader-with-better-greader-262020.php
I much prefer full feeds to partial feeds, though I'll keep subscribing to a partial feed if it puts a good summary of the entry in the feed. A lot of bloggers put their conclusion at the end of the entry. Meaning the usually auto-generated summary that's in the feed is the bland introductory first paragraph that gives no reason to click through to read the rest.
Also, I'm hugely fond of bloggers that put the title and/or author of the book being reviewed in the subject of the entry. An example of what I generally dislike, Movieholic & Bibliophile's Blog today titled its review of Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood." If I didn't open that up, I wouldn't know what the hell it's about. Worse yet are the ones that title their posts "just finished".
I usually have over 300 items a day in my "reading blogger" folder. I can't read it all. I can't even open them all. Please give me a clue or a reason to open it. With that many, I'm way less likely to click through to a partial feed unless I see something really compelling in that paragraph.
So sorry to hear this, but I'm in the very minority. I used to have my blog at full feed. But then I recently only started using Google Reader, and much to my dismay, saw that a number of my posts that I have already deleted a while back are still there. I searched for ways to delete them but apparently they're there forever. That is the reason I switched to partial feed.
At full feed, I have no more control over my post. When I edit, say for example, to add links to other reviews, they don't show up in the Google Reader. What you first posted is the only thing that will show up. They're not editable.
I'm sorry to hear that a lot of you delete partial feeds. Thinking about it now: between losing subscribers and losing complete control over my posts, I'd rather have control over my posts.
(I'm especially wary of the "share" feature, which allows anyone to share others' posts to others, even without permission, even if the post may have been just a draft and was published mistakenly, or still have been unedited, etc.)
I may go back to full feed someday, but for now I will just have to be content with having readers who are okay with partial feeds, which, apparently are almost no one. But that's okay.
P.S. As for my reading in Google Reader, I read only a few of the posts there, such as blogs I keep track of for other things, like, say, giveaways.
But for my favourite blogs whose content I love to read, I tend to click to the main blogs for the aesthetic feel. I'm a visual person, and usually, when I read about a review in a person's blog, I remember it by the look of the blog. And then when I get to read and review that book, I'll remember which blogs I saw those reviews in.
With Google Reader, I tend to forget whose blog I saw a review in because all posts look generic. And also, a bit of the blogger's personality is lost because I don't see their banner and their sidebars and everything, which is one of the reasons I love to bloghop. I didn't realize how alone I am in this. But again, it's okay.
I HATE partial feeds! Why, why, why do they insist on doing this? I very rarely click over or end up unsubscribing to their blog!
But maybe some don't realize they are set on partial feed? I had two feeds for a while and one was partial and one was full. I was subscribed to the full and thought all was well. So embarrassed when I realized otherwise.
And FYI to Claire - if you use Firefox you can use a add on script with Greasemonkey which allows you to "see" and comment on a blog w/o ever leaving Google Reader. Right now I see Trish's pretty background and am leaving this comment but I didn't have to click over to her blog at all. Well worth checking out if interested.
Yup, it affects me too. I've unsubscribed to a few blogs I like just because of partial feeds. I just don't have the time to open every post, read it and then comment. If I can read the entire post in my google reader, it makes it much easier to comment.
And besides I do read blogs at work too, mostly google reader. It's very risky to keep a colorful blog open for a long time. I generally read posts in google reader, write my comments in a notepad and then open the blog just for 10 seconds to comment. Works for me when I should be working instead of reading blogs and commenting :)
Also, some blogs take longer to open than others considering the internet speed here. I don't want a blog to take 2 mins to open, and then for me to read it and then decide that I don't have anything worthwhile to add to the discussion. Sad but true :) Thanks for bringing up this topic.
Claire: Google Reader does show edits, but it takes a while. After you edit your post, check after half an hour or so, you'll see the changes.
violetcrush, thanks. but i notice you will always have the deleted posts. do you know how to fix that? i used to have so many mistakes posting when i started my blog, and was in horror to realize they all showed up on the feeds!!!!!!!!!
p.s. violetcrush, thanks again. you are right about the editing. and, trish, thanks for putting up this post. i'm considering going back to full feed again, after, umm.. five or six days of partial feeding.
but, let us not be overly harsh to partial feeders. i admit to feeling a bit bashed over here, like i've been bombarded with hate mail for having partial feed. partial feeders have feelings, too, you know. peace. :D
(trish, sorry for dominating your comments space.)
So, here I am, techo-phobe that I am, wondering what the heck a partial feed is.
Could someone please fill me in? I'm not really a techno-phobe; it's more that I don't have the time or the inclination to get too savvy with my blogs. Is that a bad thing?
cjh
I'm not at all a fan either. And I agree with others who said they make it less likely that I'll comment, not more. Not on purpose or anything - it's just a matter of convenience. I mean, for blogs I already know and love I'll click over no matter what, but still...I much prefer a full feed.
I'm not a fan of partial feed either. I only subscribe to a few, and have to admit that those few are far less likely to get comments than the rest. I tend to go and have a look at their sites once a week and leave a few comments at the same time rather than having to click through every time they write a post.
I don't like partial feed either. I'm just not going to click over to the blog to read a full post. I always read the posts in GR and click if I want to comment. If I can't read your post, I'm not going to wait for it to load in another tab and then read it only to discover that I don't really want to comment. I do subscribe to several partial feed blogs and I have noticed that I almost never comment unless I know that I am interested in the post. That happens very rarely.
I agree! I read all mine in Google reader as well. I just don't bother reading the partial feeds so they're not doing themselves any favour. I just keep scrolling!
Ummmm...the whole living in a cave issue again come to haunt me...what's a partial feed?
Well, glad to see I'm not the only one! I hate partial feeds too and it is only very, very rarely that I will go to the blog to find out what the rest of it says. Mostly I just delete them and if the subject line doesn't catch my eye I don't even read the partial bit.
Once I've read the full post, that's when I'm itching to click over and post a comment.
Boo to partial feeds!
Another though, what's the point of having/updating sidebars if you're just going to do all your reading in Google Reading. I know people comment on posts that have a full feed, but more often than not I don't because I've read the whole post and either forget to comment or comment to myself and forget to go back. So then I never see their sidebars and never find out what books they're reading, what giveaways they're promoting, what challenges they're participating in...
I hope no one feels like I'm singling him/her out since I'm not responding to all comments. Mostly I say dido.
**Debi and CJ, I've emailed you about partial feeds.
**Claire - I really appreciate your input about the benefits of partial feeds. I really had no idea. Google Reader does update edits, but like some others said, it takes a while. Don't know what to do about deleted posts--sometimes I'll read an entire post and pop over to comment and post is gone. I've even sometimes commented about that deleted post (left the comment I would have anyway) on a different post. :)
Interesting note about the texture and look of a blog, and I would be really sad if people could comment without actually coming to my blog like Natasha said. I had no idea you could do that! I love looking at blogs as well, but sometimes it is just a time issue for me (always time...ggrrrr!).
**Christina - Good point about the sidebars, etc. I keep mine updated mostly for me but also for aesthetics (although sometimes sidebars are so junky that I find them too overwhelming to look at). BUT, there are also new people coming to your blog all the time and I'll bet they are looking at your sidebars also. And I guess if readers know about certain sidebar features, they'll look when they pop over to comment? In the end, though, you need to do what works best for YOU!! :)
I don't particularly like partial feeds, either, but I think some people might choose them for copyright/plagiarism protection. Most content-stealers take it from feeds rather than the original site, and it's harder to get it if the whole content isn't there.
Just adding my two cents. (As for commenting, I'm not very likely to click through either way, unless the title jumps out at me. So, really, that's the best way to get my attention.)
Oh, I do see your entire blog when I leave a comment! It's just that a different tab doesn't open. I can see your background, header, sidebars, comments, everything all within the frame of my Google Reader. It's as if I'm really there! This script thing is one of the best things I ever added to enhance my blogging experience. The few that have converted as well, LOVE it. Makes viewing blogs in Google Reader so much nicer because you get the both of both worlds. Seeing the blog and staying in Google Reader.
**Melissa - Interesting through about plagiarism/copyright. This is something that I don't really think about but know I should. I hate to think that someone out there is "stealing" my stuff, but I'm so conversational in my writing sometimes that I'm not sure it would be worthwhile! :)
**Natasha - but you have to have foxfire to be able to use it? Tricia was saying something about the advanced features using foxfire. I used Internet Explorer, but that does sound really really appealing and would probably save me a ton of time. Although, part of the reason why I use reader to read other's posts is because sometimes the fonts and backgrounds that people use are really hard to read! Especially when the post part is transparent over a fancy dancy background. You know what I'm talking about? The blogs look lovely but aren't really reader friendly.
I used to subscribe to blogs with partial feeds as well and head over to the blog if the title of the post caught my eye.. but I quickly found myself skipping all those blogs in reader and I have unsubscribed now.. I for one, cannot understand why anyone would want to do the partial feeds stuff!
The Firefox thing does sound cool, but part of the reason I love Reader is because I can use it at work without all the colors and flashiness and music (tho that seems pretty rare now.) I might have to install it at home though.
One thing I think everyone should do is subscribe to their own blog through Reader so they see exactly what everyone else is seeing.
I don't like partial feeds, either. There's just too many blogs in my reader. If I can't glance at the whole feed and see if a new book is going to be interesting, I skip it. I only click through on partial feeds if the title is a book I've already read and might have something to say about- if it's unfamiliar I just don't have the time. So a partial feed actually makes me less likely to click through and comment, not more.
Trish.. No harm done. Thanks for the reply. My email is on my sidebar. I didn't mean you were implying me. I just feel sorry for all the other partial feeders who received very harsh words here. We can voice our opinion in a nice way and not resort to saying hurtful stuff.
Anyway, just to make things clear, I like full feeds better than partial feeds, too. The only reason why I tried partial feed was TO PROTECT MYSELF. That's the only reason why. So for the others who don't understand why some do partial feeds, they do have a valid reason. You may unsubscribe but I hope the hateful words will stop.
You do have to use Firefox, I would be curious to see if it's available on other browsers. I have no idea. Concerning the fonts, backgrounds, etc: it's not really an issue. You have the choice of viewing the blog w/in the frame by clicking on a preview button. So what I do is read the blog post normally in Google Reader and THEN if I want to both read the comments and comment I go to preview mode which loads the blog within the frame. So it's both! This is a link to what I'm talking about: http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/9455 It has a couple of screenshots, if anybody is curious about it.
Hi, My name is Trisha as well. :) I just came across your blog and added you to my google reader! But I totally agree with you about the partial reads. I honestly don't click on them to read the rest of it either. I like to go through my reader and if something sounds good then comment. :)
I am having a book giveaway on my blog. It is my first one so please stop in and check it out. You will have to scroll down because I don't know to make my posts sticky. :)
I have absolutely no idea what a partial vs full feed is. I've always used the GreaseMonkey plugin that Natasha mentioned above, so I see a person's blog completely within Google Reader using the preview mode - it's seriously the most amazing plugin. It even seems to allow superfast viewing of some blogs that are slow to view in a normal browser window. But now I'm wondering whether my feed is full or partial? Full seems like the best way to go (crosses fingers that mine is full) lol :)
I agree Trish, I don't read blogs with partial feeds. Plus a lot of times it's easier on the eyes to read it in google first and then pop over to the blog to comment.
Ditto! There are a few blogs I visit with partial feeds but I visited them before Google Reader and love them. I really wish they would switch to full.
There are literally 2 out of 200 blogs that I have subscribe to that have partial feeds and I'm a lot less likely to comment on those blogs as often, even though I like them. And now if I see a blog that has partial feed I don't subscribe at all because I know that not matter how much I think I might love their content I know I won't click over or comment.
I'm not a fan of partial feeds either. But I just installed the Firefox/Greasemonkey plugin last night, the one Natasha is talking about, and love it! By switching to the preview mode in Google Reader, you can see the whole post, even on those blogs that only have a partial feed. It's one way around it anyway.
ditto!
I've been known to unsubscribe from blogs for partial feeds...
I also really dislike partial feeds.
I installed the preview thing for Firefox, but it seemed slow to me, so I rarely use it.
I don't subscribe to any feeds at all. I'm old school, baby!!!
You do know how to stir things up, don'tcha? lol
Thanks for the info. Now I feel a little less phobic.
cjh
I do not care for partial feeds either, especially the ones that have the title only. I am a visual person, too, so I like to see a photo of the book that is being reviewed, too. I try to pop in and comment on all of the blogs I subscribe to once a week so I do see sidebars and links, etc. Partial feed is designed to make the reader come over to the blog to read more, but it has never worked that way for me.
I don't use a reader too much. I tried using Google Reader, but I subscribed to too many things and just couldn't keep up!!
I'm not a fan of partial feeds either. One of my favorite foodie blogs just went to a partial feed and it really bums me out.
I like to do all my reading in my reader and I am much less like to click on a partial feed just to read the entry. I do open blogs that I want to comment on as I read though.
This might be a baby level question, but what if we don't know if our blogs are on partial or full? How do we regulate that setting in blogger? Does Google set it, or does Blogger set it?
By the way--I'M not the one stiring the pot. Ok, maybe I am a little by asking what the deal with partial feeds is, but wow do you guys have opinions!! Wish some of the hate could have been a little less vocal, though.
I tried downloading firefox and that little greasemonkey thing but it didn't work for me, so I guess I'll have to work on it this weekend. I'm kind of computer inept.
Karen Beth - I don't know how to set the feed to partial or full, but I think full is default. Your blog is definitely full-feed. Even though it seems silly, I subscribe to all of my blogs so that I can see what my posts look like in google reader.
*For those of you not using google reader--oh how I envy you. :P I definitely have a love/hate relationship with it. :)
On a completely unrelated note--I WILL write a review sometime soon. I will dangit! I've been so lame lately! :)
I won't read a blog that's on a partial feed. When I find a new blogger I like who is on partial feed, I shoot them an email asking if they'll go to full feed. Many don't know what they're doing.
Trish, if you have problems with the Firefox and greasemonkey thing, shoot me an email! I'm good at troubleshooting that stuff and helping people get going with that.
Trish, thanks for letting me know about my feeds. :) I should probably subscribe to mine just so that I stop having anxiety attacks every time I post something. This way I could see what everyone else is seeing if they only read through GoogleReader and don't go to my page.
I love your rambling posts, too. Cycles are good! Especially since you mentioned in your last Sunday Salon that you wanted a bit of a break. Take this time to enjoy it rather than worrying, because it looks like you have tons of dedicated readers, regardless of what you post!
I don't like partial feeds, either. I tend to just hit "delete all" on the partials because I like to do my reading at the reader and then click through if I want to comment.
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