Let’s start out NaBloPoMo by copying someone else’s post!

Suz posted a fascinating series of questions about blogging protocol, and I am stealing the idea from her. (I refuse to allow an AI to write a post for me, but I have no qualms about being a copycat.)

Where do you get your blog updates?

At one point, I used Feedly pretty regularly. Somewhere along the way, I stopped adding new blogs to my feed (did I forget how to do it?), and so my feed only reflected a partial list of the blogs I wanted to visit. So I stopped using Feedly, and now I do a haphazard mix of visiting whatever blog pops into my head, clicking on links in my comments, and clicking on links in other people’s comments. I also have a blog roll right here on my site (if your blog isn’t reflected, tell me and I will add it), which I sometimes use… but it doesn’t tell me if there’s a new post available, so sometimes it’s a lot of clicking and not a lot of reading. I NEED A NEW SYSTEM.

Michelle figured out how to get her blog roll to show people’s recent posts, and kindly told me how she did it; alas, that function isn’t available with my blog theme. So sometimes I go to Michelle’s blog roll to see who’s posted something new as we have a lot of overlap in the blogs we read.

Do you read posts in chronological order?

This question may be referring to a list of posts in a feed reader. As I don’t regularly use a feed reader, I am going to interpret it differently. On those all-too-often occasions when I fail to keep up with the bloggers I love, do I go back and read the posts I missed in order? No, I do not. I usually read from the top down: most recent post back to the first post I skipped.

Do you ever skip blog posts that seem uninteresting/irrelevant to you?

Ooooh this is a tricky question. I think the simple answer is no. However… sometimes there are specific posts I am hyper-interested in, and if my blog reading/commenting time is limited, I might go straight to those. 

Do you respond to comments?

I will tell you a little story, which I may have already told you. When I was a fledgling blogger, back in the late aughts, the trend among the blogs I read was NOT to respond to comments. Once in a while, a blogger would respond to a sprinkling of comments on a given post… but it was more typical not to. That was just The Way It Was Done among the blogs I frequented.

I didn’t MIND that, by the way. Not only was it just The Way It Was Done, but I felt like the posts and the comments on that post were the conversation. Sometimes posts would “speak” to one another, or bring up things that commenters had said. But I never felt that the conversation was one-sided.

At one point a zillion years ago, I posted about the anxiety of commenting on other people’s blogs, and responded to pretty much every comment. One blogger called me out for it, saying I was sucking up to other bloggers by responding to their comments. That tiny, harmless interaction became a MUCH bigger specter in my mind than it actually was. (I was a huge prickly bitch to her, by the way – god it is so cringeworthy to read one’s own words and righteous outrage from 16 years ago; whose idea was it to post my ridiculous thoughts and reactions on the internet for all eternity?! – I wish I could apologize to her for my response. I also wish I could give Past Me a big hug and tell her to chill the fuck out.)

Now, the trend among my current blogging community is, by and large, to respond to commenters. I love this trend! It makes blogging feel even more like a conversation.

So I TRY to respond to comments. But… I’m not great about following through all the time. I swear that I read and relish and appreciate every single comment. If I fail to respond, it’s not you, it’s me; I am terrible at managing my time.

Do you care if a blogger responds to your comment on their post?

I mean, I LOVE IT if a blogger responds to my comment on their post. But, please see above, I don’t expect it. Also, I never know if I should respond to their response. Or, if someone else responds to a comment I made on a blog, do I respond to them? Is it “okay” to respond to someone’s comment on another blogger’s post? I DON’T KNOW and I (apparently) still have a lot of anxiety about it.

Do you continue to read bloggers whose content you enjoy, even if they never respond to comments or comment on your posts?

Yes. Again, I think this goes back to how I was “raised” in the blogging world. It wasn’t typical to get a response to your comment, so the enjoyment was in the reading of the posts.

Do you prioritize reading posts from people who: a) always comment on your posts or b) seem to be the most interesting posts?

I don’t think I prioritize either. As I mentioned, I have a very haphazard methodless system of seeking out blog content. Sometimes, because it’s simple, I click over to people’s blogs when they comment on my posts… but that doesn’t determine the full breadth of my blog reading.

Do you like to post on a consistent schedule and feel the need to adhere to it?

I know several bloggers who post on regular days each week or month. Bless them, they are far more organized and disciplined than I am. Consistency is not now nor has ever been the path for me, Internet.

Do you get hurt feelings? If a blogger stops reading/commenting on your posts, does it affect you?

Am I made of stone? Of course it hurts. But that doesn’t mean someone should keep reading my blog if it isn’t their cup of tea.

Do you have a word limit when you share a post?

LOL forever. I am not much of a talker, but when it comes to blog posts, I am a wordy girl. If you’re here, though, I feel like you probably know what you’re in for, and you either don’t mind it or you’ve mastered the fine art of skimming.

I’d love to know your thoughts about any or all of these questions! Here’s the list if you want to answer them yourself.

• Where do you get your blog updates?
• Do you read posts in chronological order?
• Do you ever skip blog posts that seem uninteresting/irrelevant to you?
• Do you respond to comments?
• Do you care if a blogger responds to your comment on their post?
• Do you continue to read bloggers whose content you enjoy, even if they never respond to comments or comment on your posts?
• Do you prioritize reading posts from people who: a) always comment on your posts or b) seem to be the most interesting posts?
• Do you like to post on a consistent schedule and feel the need to adhere to it?
• Do you get hurt feelings? If a blogger stops reading/commenting on your posts, does it affect you?
• Do you have a word limit when you share a post?