I’m a visual person. Personally, I’d rather people visit my site instead of adding my feed to an aggregator. It’s a sad fact that the number of subscribers to my feed nearly doubles my daily visitors. The look of my site is a reflection of my current personality and mindset, and even though it hasn’t changed in a while, it’s still relevant. I’ve held off using a feed reader for as a long as possible, because I believe that a site’s look is as important as the information that it conveys.
But my blogroll keeps growing, and I’ve reluctantly turned to using an aggregator to keep track of the sites I read on a daily basis. It’s a lot more efficient, but cold, and boring, and I feel like I’m missing out on something the writer is trying to say.
I use Vienna on OS X and Google Reader everywhere else.
I couldn’t agree more. The presentation of the writing is part of the experience. I very seldom read posts in Google Reader–instead I just use it to keep me updated and use the keyboard shortcut ‘V’ to open up the original post in a new tab.
I always read posts through Google Reader. If I feel like commenting, then I’ll visit the site. I have no problem people visiting my site through a news feed.
But some people have horrendously ugly sites that look like a 14 year old’s myspace but somehow make good posts. I don’t want to subject my eyes to epilepsy inducing glitter animation!!!!
I would also like to visit blogs instead of reading via a feedreader, but I guess we have to give and take sometimes. With only so much time to blog-hop in a day, I choose to read in a feedreader.
@trolley — I use Google Reader; I admit that one of the advantages is that my blogroll follows me everywhere.
@Oktober Five — Ah, I should use Google Reader to keep track of updates as well, and use that shortcut to visit instead. Even though it makes a lot of sense, it still seems like an extra step.
@J. — One of the disadvantages of readers is that I can’t read other people’s comments first, which often add something to the conversation. I’d rather not add a feed just for comments.
@Tiana — Really? I don’t come across terrible designs anymore, not from people I’m interested in, at least. The designs I don’t care for aren’t horribly offensive, just boring, sloppy, or badly coded.
@pelf — I also have to admit that there are sites I would never read on a daily basis if it wasn’t for a feed reader. They’re right on the cusp of being interesting enough to visit regularly.
I love your site– I think from the moment I sat down, I read so many of your entries, which were really beautiful.
The thought of reading words to a lover in a cold morning.
::Raises guilty hand:: –One of the ones with horrendously ugly sites that look like a 14 year old’s myspace but somehow make good posts. (we hope.)
P.S. just read your wee update: “Left the window open overnight and my humidity meter is pointing way over to the humid side. Must have rained.”
(Sometimes I envision you in a tiny round spacecraft with one round bubble hatch window, rotating ever so slightly around in a wafting orbit, all by yourself, floating out over the cosmos, commenting, Hm, Humid today… )
I have to disagree, your page is nothing close to offensive.
And that image of me in a classic round spaceship is hilarious. For some reason, I picture myself holding a cup of coffee while saying this. And I don’t even drink coffee.