Blogs and Blog Readers

Blogs and Blog Readers

All things considered, I am new to the world of blogs. I have read some blog posts in the past, but I don't recall ever consistently following a blogger. This is mostly because I am forgetful and my inbox is ridiculous so even if I signed up for emails they are doomed to remain unread until that magical day when there is absolutely nothing else to do. Now, here I am, a blogger - by requirement for grad school classes - although I have no idea if I will ever be read outside of my professors and classmates. Like the proverbial tree in the forest, if a person writes a blog but no one reads it unless they are required to, does that make me a blogger? Nonetheless, being introduced to blog readers was a bit exciting. Maybe now I can actually follow those blogs consistently because technology is doing the remembering and monitoring for me.

In order to choose a blog reader, I relied on an article by Lindsay Liedke titled 7 Best Free RSS Feed Readers. As the title indicates, Liedke has summarized the feed readers she has ranked as the 7 best. After reading through the options she presents I decided that FlowReader would be the best fit for me because it would not only manage blogs but social media as well. I figure if I am going to do this it should help as much as possible. Unfortunately FlowReader was experiencing technical difficulties on multiple days and so I had to consult Liedke's list again. My next choice was Good News, simply because I would be able to change the view to comic strip which sounded fun. Unfortunately I did not read closely enough to realize that Good News was only a news feed, if there was a way to add blogs to the feed I did not find it. After losing too much time down the rabbit hole of current events, I reevaluated and considered between Feeder for the web browser extensions, and Inoreader because the description indicated that it included cross-format options (email, Facebook, etc.) similar to FlowReader. Ultimately I settled on Inoreader, and while I am still figuring out the particulars of navigating this reader I am liking it so far.

Once I had settled on a feed reader I took to discovering some blogs to follow. Through Inoreader I found the following blogs that appear promising:

    Creative Library Displays - this was instantly interesting to me as the thought of creating library             displays is daunting so I know I will need help with creating displays to help inspire interest in the         library I will one day run. I was both disappointed and relieved that the posts I read did not include a      picture. At first I wondered how I would know if I wanted to use that idea if I didn't know what it         looked like. After some reflection I realized that the lack of a picture will help the displays be unique      and not just a copy of someone else's work. Then I actaully went to the direct link and found that         pictures were included there. http://www.creativelibrarydisplays.com/   

    Librarian.net - I was drawn to this blogger's tag line "putting the rarin back in librarian since 1999."         She has interesting articles, an "Ask a Librarian" series, and impressive deals of the day on several         books each day, or so it appears through Inoreader. http://www.librarian.net/

    Goodreads - for anyone familiar with Goodreads, what more is there to say? For anyone who is not         familiar with Goodreads it is a site with book reviews and recommendations. It is a place to find and      share books. http://www.goodreads.com/

I also decided to set up a Tumblr account (https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thoughtkandi) where I found these gems:

    teachinginreallife - I was instantly drawn to the teaching related memes posted by this user, because       everyone in education needs something to smile at.  https://teachinginreallife.tumblr.com/ 

    libraries-and-coffee - the first post I saw under this account said "If you ever feel bad about yourself      just remember that if you were a fictional character people would love you for all your quirks and         flaws that you probably hate so just remember that for me." I felt like I found a kindred spirit, time         will tell if that proves to be true. https://libraries-and-coffee.tumblr.com/ 

These are the thoughts of a blogging novice. If you are a beginner as well, I hope they help. If you are a seasoned veteran share your tips in the comments.


Liedke, L. 7 Best RSS Feed Readers. https://www.wpsuperstars.net/free-rss-feed-readers/

Comments

  1. Jennifer RundioSeptember 11, 2021 at 4:33 PM

    Thanks for sharing your findings! I also chose Inoreader but had trouble finding a good displays blog- I will have to check out Creative Library Displays! Blogging has been new to me as well, it's a lot to get used to! But, now knowing more about feed readers (also a new term for me!) and doing some research on how other people use their blogs and how to access them easily, I hope to become more comfortable with them. As a librarian, I can see how they would be helpful to follow.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sabrina RichardsonNovember 11, 2021 at 12:53 PM

    You and I are in the same boat...being new to the blogger world! It has been an interesting ride though!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Iltis The LibrarianNovember 26, 2021 at 6:03 PM

    Regular blogging and even reading blogs is new to me as well. I do love the practice though and can see how short regularly posted blogs could be useful to share with teachers and students. Currently, I post a "book talk" on my Google Site with my campus Destiny Discover links to the titles for students to access. I recommend I plan on checking out your recommendations: librarian.net and libraries-and-coffee.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Emma's Book BlogDecember 2, 2021 at 8:00 PM

    I am new to the blogging world as well. I sometimes come across interesting blogs or articles but never follow any consistently. I like the blogs you shared. I also really enjoyed your findings on Tumblr!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ms. ShattuckDecember 4, 2021 at 9:11 AM

    I'm not new to blogging, but blog readers aren't something I find useful for myself. I do see the benefit of them, but my brain doesn't need that particular type of organization. I think they're great for those who want everything front and center. Welcome to blogging! After browsing your entire blog, I think you're really getting the hang of it!

    ReplyDelete

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