One of the main reasons I have not switched to Wordpress before is because of GFC & Google Reader. I had gained so many followers that switching didn't seem wise. With Google's recent announcement that they are shutting down Google Reader I can only assume GFC is going to be done away with soon too. Do I know this for a fact? No, I haven't been able to confirm it but that is the rumor going around.
We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months.
I set up a new blogger blog recently and it was hard to find how to add a Google Friends Connect widget to the blog. GFC was retired for all non-blogger sites last year and now pages on Google that used to deal with GFC redirect to Google + www.google.com/friendconnect/. It seems to be just a matter of time before GFC disappears leaving Google Plus as the only available option Google offers. Since I'm moving to wordpress GFC has to stay behind because it won't transfer. So I just want to say a quick thanks to my current 9,459 followers. Thank you for following me :) I hope some of you will find a new way to follow me other than GFC.
I did add a Linky Followers Widget on my blog last year but it honestly seems like just a way to build numbers. Does anyone actually log onto linky followers and follow blogs there? When I switch to Wordpress I've decided I'm leaving Linky Followers behind to.
Following Options
Email is by far my favorite way to follow a blog. I follow several dozen blogs that I really enjoy this way because I never miss a post. True it doesn't do anything for their actual blog traffic and I don't comment very often because I'm not actually on their site, but I do at least skim everything they post and if something really interests me I click through to it. Currently the email subscription to my blog is available through Feedburner. This is a service that I can transfer to Wordpress without losing my 2,500 subscribers. However rumor has it that... Feedburner is another service Google is going to be doing away with. *sigh*
Google Plus
I'm so new to Google Plus. I don't really get it yet and all too often I forget to hit the share button to have my posts sent to Google Plus. I've read there is a way to automatically have your feed posted on Google Plus but I've yet to learn how to do it. I'll figure it out eventually. Google plus will transfer when I move to Wordpress.
Facebook is a great place to gain "likes" but honestly how many people actually see the blog posts on facebook? I like tons of different bloggers but when I visit facebook I rarely see their blog posts.
I don't love twitter. I visit it occasionally and my posts automatically get tweeted but it's not my favorite.
RSS
There are lots of different options out their for following a blog via its RSS feed but I have never used any of them.
Blog Roll
Most often the blogs I visit are ones on my Blog Roll list in my sidebar. However over time I have subscribed via email to the most of the ones I visited most often.
What was my point in writing this post? Seems like I got sidetracked at little ;)
Oh yeah... Followers! If you are currently following by GFC, Linky Followers or Google Reader please find a new way to follow me. Subscribe via email, google +, twitter, facebook or simply bookmark this page or add it to your favorite and stop by to visit.
The domain http://iamareader.com will be pointed to my new wordpress blog when it is ready. When I make the switch http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com will still be here but no new posts will be added to it.
And for those who are interested in seeing how the new blog is coming along I was able to accomplish several things yesterday. Still have a long way to go but it is coming along:
Temporary link:
http://69.195.124.118/~iamaread/
Hey Kathy - have you thought about using bloglovin? I am just switching over and they import all your Google blogs into the new feed. I just signed up yesterday and all the blogs I follow (and that have a bloglovin account) are in my feed now.
ReplyDeletewww.bloglovin.com/
http://computergirl2007.blogspot.com/2013/03/how-to-import-your-blogger-dashboard.html
I hate this. I hate that it is going away. All that work to build a following and Poof it will be gone. I have a bloglovin' account, so I am thinking I will go to that but it doesn't bring over all my followers. This makes me sad. I am surprised they are not replacing it with something similar.
ReplyDeleteI also signed up for Bloglovin' a couple of weeks ago and think it is by far my favorite reader. I've tried several recently. It's easy to import your feeds, easy to add a button to your site so people can add your blog easily and best of all, it gives the site the pageviews! I'm reading this post and commenting right now from bloglovin'!
ReplyDeleteOh, My!! My daughter and I have been having this exact conversation! We are both on blogger and are wondering how hard it is to switch to WP and does it cost any money? My younger daughter is on WP and loves it.
ReplyDeleteI can't decide if I like Bloglovin yet. I don't like the email though, because I already get at least 50 emails a day, and that is with no blogs being followed by email! And some blogs, sorry to say this one especially, post so often, that I'm afraid I'd get a ton of emails. I actually like Facebook following. Or Networked Blogs following. I will just have to bookmark your page and go check it out, as I'm going to refuse to do anything that gives me more email. And that stinks. Bloglovin at least gives me one email a day with any updates, so it is kind of nice. I refuse to give up on GFC until I hear for sure it is going to be gone. All this stuff is kinda scary!
ReplyDeleteRight now, this blog is in my blog roll and I receive the e-mails. I'll look forward to keeping up some other way. Love many of the interviews and reveals.
ReplyDeleteI've been using Bloglovin lately and it seems like the best option. It's really easy to use and I'm liking it a lot so far. There's just way too many blogs for me to follow by e-mail, but I like that on Bloglovin I can create categories for the blogs that I follow to keep everything organized.
ReplyDeleteMy friend works at Google. He said that he hasn't heard anything about GFC going away, but that it does look like it is headed in that direction.
ReplyDelete