Some Tips For Reading Blogs

 

You may wonder who is that crazy person who wants to give people tips on reading. It’s only me, your weird blogging friend Noirfifre, haha. I want to share with you some manoeuvres I use to make the most of reading on a platform hosting millions of bloggers. Isn’t that just down right crazy and exciting at the same time. Since, I dip my toes into blog reading both on Blogger and WordPress around 2009/2010, I learned some tricks. It was through reading that I became attracted to WordPress.

 

1. Subscribe to blogs that carry topics which interests you, you do not have to “follow” another simply because that blog showed an interest in your blog. Now I am not saying you if you have a regular reader/commentator on your blog, you should not go over to their world from time to time. Who knows you may come across some posts address in a special  way which piques your radar to a new delight. However, when you do reciprocate subscribe just for the sake of it, you will open your Reader to topics of no appeal to you. What would WordPress feel like then? Yes, I subscribed  to a few bloggers who are not subscribed to me and that is fine. For example, I read regularly of  bloggers quest in conquering the world through travelling. Shoot, I live vicariously through them because I love seeing photos and reading tales of gorgeous sites and extraordinary natural creation. However, my blog has no major interest to these persons because I am not a world traveller and certainly think thrice about experimenting with unfamiliar food.

2. When you read any post go directly to the blogger’s page. I notice with the changes to WordPress (2nd before last set of new changes), you can read posts in the Reader by clicking on the middle text. I suggest you click on the ‘visit’ button and head to the mother board especially if it is your first time on that site. You can enjoy their theme and all the cool gadgets/widgets you would miss if you stayed in the Reader. You could discover a cool category and read their ‘About’ page. I always love knowing what the blog I am exploring is about, it tells me a summary of everything, it saves time.

 

3. Do not and I repeat do not log into WordPress tired  or hungry. I am sure, there are a few persons who can identify with me that when hunger strikes everything looks different. When you feel tired , you do not read a poem or article in the same way as when you are fresh and energetic. You may end up leaving comments like “Great Post” or “Cool” but when you are in the reading groove, you are alert and read between the lines say “great story, I catch how each time it rains something dramatic happen.” Inevitable you engage your mind with the story and the blogger will appreciate and a conversation will ensue. Isn’t that the purpose of the comment section? Speaking of comments I have a blogging pet peeve with bloggers who ask for your opinion, open the comment section but never respond to loads of comments. I am not sure how others view it but I think it is unpleasant.

 

4. Do not feel guilty about not reading every post on your Reader, every day. Most times, I do not read blogs every day, I have books to read and other pleasantries to do with spare time ;). If some persons can manage it every day then hats off to you. However, if you follow   many bloggers who post multiple times per day, your reading pile grows. You may miss a post or two and that is ok, so breathe and keep enjoying your blog reading journey. If you stress out about it, then reading becomes a chore. How would WordPress/blogging feel for you then?

 

5.  You could choose days for certain readings. For example I take part in two weekly prompts and one book meme. Whenever I publish my contribution to the group, I dedicate my reading quota for blogs only from the prompt group. The topic/image is fresh in my mind, so I navigate with ease and excitement through other blogs. In addition, prompts are a good way to get to meet other bloggers, most times you are talking weekly and perhaps a blogging relationship may blossom. Furthermore, there are times you read one post on the Reader and you feel like hearing more from that blogger. That is why I recommend going to blogger’s homepage to read. For me it makes reading easier when I read the recent works of one particular blogger on their site instead of going back and forth from my Reader. Additionally, there perhaps are times you feel like reading only one particular topics and this is when ‘Tags’ come in handy. I  am really disappointed that WordPress permanently disabled, the section where there were popular tags and a search bar at the top. I used that gadget to do research on WordPress especially for History related topics. If you are a student I recommend WordPress for research, there are many History and English Literature articles explained in simple language.

 

6. Subscribe to WordPress News and other WordPress notices. If you are part of any organization it is important to know what is happening around you. You will receive alerts on new themes, blogging courses and WordPress is really good at explaining tech subjects in simple form such as basic coding. The Community Pool and WordPress Daily is a nice way to meet and greet and to learn.

 

What methods do you use to read and subscribe to different blogs? I am sure I left out a reliable and fun method, tell me about it.