Google Reader Gone Wild
There comes a point when you must pair down your Google Reader. Seriously. When I open it to find 1000+ unread posts each time, something has to give. So here are some guidelines to follow when you realize you will never be able to catch up to your reader.
It’s Never Been Worn You know when you clean out your closet and you think, “Have I worn this in the last year?” If you are coming across blogs that you have marked “read all” each time you flip it open, you need to delete.
Scan and Discard If you don’t recognize a blog by name and know the content, you need to do a scan. Open it up and roll through as many posts as you have interest for. If you get through 15 or 20 and nothing has caught your interest, you are probably safe to discard it.
Re-posts are Time savers Some blogs make their living posting links to other blogs. This can be a huge time saver. Is there one blog that you like that takes the best of the best from five others you subscribe to? You can delete the five and keep the blog-scanner with just the one. You know you will get the cream de la cream of your favorites with none of the fluff. (no idea what I’m talking about? Think Crafty Cow. I can get rid of several other blogs that are hit or miss and just reference the Cow to catch up on all the best art projects from around the town.)
This is not Facebook The world is not judging you by how many “blog friends” you make. If you added someones personal blog about their family, friends, and life because of one cool general post six months ago, it is time to delete. You don’t know them and you don’t need to know about their sister-in-law’s wedding plans.
Folders are Friends Once you have paired down, it is time to make folders. Click on the blog you want to read, go to feed options, and make a folder for the content. This way, you can put all the “food” blogs together and all the “knitting” blogs together. When I open my reader, I want to see family news and kids crafts. When I have more time, I explore the general crafts and sewing. On really lazy days I get into food and knitting blogs or the blogs I just wasn’t ready to part with yet. You know…that sweater that you know is pilled and doesn’t fit, but you can’t seem to part with because it might match a fictional pair of boots that you wish you had.
Happy Organizing!
PS — Anyone think it is weird that a blog editor doesn’t recognize the word “blog” as being spelled correctly? Geesh!
