One of my readers asked how do those who use Blogger follow me. I thought that this was an excellent question, especially after a discussion with Pierre. He said, and I quote, “Subscribe? Follow? Hon, I’m not even sure what a blog is.”
So, if you’re wondering how to set things up so that you can feel my love with as little fuss as possible, I’m going to see if I can gather together the pertinent information for you. Are you feeling the love?
First off, are you using Firefox? Firefox is a browser that simply makes everything easier. There a zillion addons which make it do everything except wash and fold your laundry. Firefox calls that customization and considers it one of the top three reasons to use Firefox. The first is security. Firefox is safer than any other browser out there. The last is something called “organic software”, which I have to admit means nothing to me. But the addons are the awesomest. (Yes, it’s a real word. I just made it up.)
Now, HOW to read these darn blogs? It’s not as though people will settle on one platform. I moved from Blogspot to WordPress, and suddenly I’m not following my favorite blogs any more! Eek! So I have the same problem as some of my readers. And I definitely want you to be able to follow me.
Well, did you know that they’ve come up with something called Really Simple Syndication? (RSS for short, and from here on in) RSS makes it possible to gather together all sorts of different information (like excellent blog posts at Of Books and Writing!) and make them easily readable in one place. But for that, you need something which can read RSS. That is called a feed reader. You know, I’m picturing this almost like a shopping center full of stores.
Now, if you’re a blogger on one platform, that platform makes it really easy for you to read other blogs – as long as they’re on that platform. They want to keep you at home, and they don’t want you wandering off to other platforms. Just like the shopping centers don’t want you spending your money at other shopping centers. But, if you’re using a feed reader, you don’t need to fall for their tricks. You can choose just what you’re going to read and where.
There are two very popular feed readers. One is Google Reader, which I use. The other is Bloglines. I use Google Reader because it integrates nicely with all the other Google stuff I love – Google Docs, Youtube and Gmail being high on my list.
The next step is to search the blog you like for something that says “Subscribe” or “RSS”. Click on that, and you’re off to the races. You can find my RSS feed way down at the very bottom of the site – and a couple of Subscribe links on the left (both feed reader and email).
Just follow the directions, selecting the feed reader that you use, and everything should work out just nicely. You’ll have a page which you can set up as your homepage (if you still use one) or simply bookmark. From there, you’ll get immediately notified about any new posts on the blogs you like.
There’s another way to do it, and I’m quoting this directly from Email @About.com:
Subscribing to an RSS feed is easy.
* Look for a little orange XML icon on your favorite news site or blog, telling you to “syndicate this site”.
* Copy the feed’s URL (it will usually end in .xml, .rdf or .rss).
* Paste it in your RSS feed reader.Now let the feed reader do its aggregating work, and enjoy the news.
Should you ever encounter “Atom” or “web” feeds instead of “RSS” feeds, do not let that confuse you. Essentially, they are all the same, just different names and slightly different protocols for the same functionality. Your RSS feed reader should be able to use either version just fine.
So have you subscribed to one of these, or are you using one where you cut and paste the feed’s URL (that sounds like a PITA to me)? Awesome. If you have another feed reader, and you’re not sure what to do, just drop me a note and I’ll try to figure it out for you. Not that I’m promising miracles, but I’m awfully good at researching and finding out information.
Making it even simpler with Google Reader
Now, when I’m logged into Google Reader, I select the “Settings” link in the upper right corner. Then I select “Goodies”. There I find a ‘Subscribe’ button – click and hold it and then drag it up to the Bookmarks Toolbar. Now, when I find a blog that I like – whether it’s in Livejournal, Blogger, WordPress, or any of the many others, I just click on Subscribe and it immediately launches my Google Reader. Bloglines does the same thing.
Does that help at all?
