I have a blogging confession. It's a big one. I might lose followers over this.
Ready?
I have no idea what Google Reader is and why it matters that it's gone.
There. I said it.
This is how I read blogs: I go to blogger.com. I sign in. I see all the blogs that I'm following. I right click and I open them up in a new tab. Then I click through and read them. So when I read a blog post, I'm reading it on that blogger's actual website. I like it that way. It helps me put a "face" to the name. And if they took the time to make their blog look a certain way, I want to view it as I read their words.
But I take it this is not how most people read blogs?
Why am I an idiot about this?
Does blogger.com=Google Reader? Or are they different? And is Google Reader already gone? Or is it about to expire? Is the way I read blogs going to be affected? That's the real question.
So I really don't understand all this bloglovin and feedly crap. I can't just read black words on a white page with no fancy headers and feel like I've read any blogs.
What am I missing? Help a clueless blogger out.
And our laptop has gone to laptop heaven. I may have helped it get there by dropping it on its side a month ago. I really wish I had moved "back up every single thing on the dying computer" to the very top of the to-do list. But as you can probably tell guess, it did not get done. A friend is staying with us this week and has graciously supplied his laptop for my blogging addiction. But when he leaves I'll be roughing it (with my Kindle....) until we get a new laptop. Dare we dive into the world of Mac? Most likely.....no.
I do the same thing as you, or at least I used to. Google Reader and the reader in Blogger are not the same thing, but the blogger reader is part of Google Reader. From my understanding, yes, the way you read blogs will go away when Google Reader goes away. I use Bloglovin' now and it's pretty easy once you figure it out (it takes a little while to get the hang of it). I was really freaked out that I would lose my whole list and forget the names of my favorite blogs, so you might want to at least write them down!
ReplyDeleteI am with you. I am clueless. I read by clicking from my blog roll or seeing links on Facebook. How lame is that?
ReplyDeleteI read blogs the same way as you! As far as I was aware, that will still be possible. I think? I thought Googlereader was that one screen I got into once or twice by accident where it shows the latest post from each blog you follow, and you read it there instead of opening the actual blog page...?
ReplyDeleteGlad you asked! I actually do use Google Reader but my brother set it up for me. I am curious what I will have to do when it goes away.
ReplyDeleteI'm up eating cereal at 3 am!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I was all "uh huh, uh huh, yes, me too" through every single word of this post...
Until I got to your laptop. That parts just you.
But yes, I'm also totally clueless about everything technical w/ blogging.
I don't know either!!!!! I read them the same way you do!
ReplyDeleteI have no clue either! I read them the same way you do or, if I'm on my phone, I go to Sew's blog or your blog and click through the blog roll.
ReplyDeleteI like google reader because:
ReplyDelete1. I can follow wordpress, typepad, AND blogger blogs
2. I can follow blogger blogs that don't have a "follow" button
3. My computer can be ridiculously slow and some pages take forever to load, but I can easily read them in google reader
4. I can keep track of what I have and haven't read and sort by blog type easily
That said, if you're used to the blogger dashboard, bloglovin' is pretty similar - it only shows partial feeds, so it's easy to click over to the actual blog and read the whole thing.
me too Kaitlin!!! clueless.
ReplyDeleteps I really like the new look.
i agree completely with everything you said. it was only recently that i learned that dashboard does not equal google reader. i prefer not to use a reader, but i can understand why people use them (aka rosie's reasons)
ReplyDeleteI read blogs the same as you do, so I guess I'm of little help. I did want to throw in my 2 cents about Mac, though... After years of waiting on constant updates (watching the computer get slower, then defragging and starting all over again, still slower than when we'd begun) and ALWAYS keeping my anti-virus programs updated, I lost more computers than I care to remember. I finally took the advice of friends and bought a Mac. That was about 3 years ago and I've never looked back! Good luck with whatever you decide... :)
ReplyDeleteI am clueless, too. I figure that if it doesn't affect my life, I shouldn't be so upset. But then all my friends are so upset, that I wonder if it is tantamount to the scrolls of Alexandria being found & then burned again?
ReplyDeleteAlso clueless... I read them like you too. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm blogging from a Mac... that I LOVE. I don't think I'll ever go back...
I don't know what the heck google reader is/does either. I read them the same way as you- or the same way as Karen! Hahaha...sometimes it's just easier to find someone's blog roll and open them that way!
ReplyDeleteLol, so funny!! I read them by clicking on my blogroll too but since I google everything now I think I should google Google reader and see what happens :)
ReplyDeleteSame here... I go by the blogrolls!
ReplyDeleteI read blogs just like you! I like to see the pictures, the font and all the fun stuff on the blogs!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what google reader is....
You can only use Blogger dashboard to read Blogger blogs - so if you want to follow a blog on Wordpress or something, you're stuck.
ReplyDeleteI switched over to Feedly and I like it a lot. I can easily mark all things as read, and I can sort blogs into categories (e.g., Clubfoot Mom blogs, Humor Blogs, Catholic Mom blogs, and so on).
Totally agree! I click from my side-bar!
ReplyDeleteI may be missing something, but I follow a number of Wordpress blogs from my Blogger dashboard. And a couple of other kinds, I think. If this whole change affects the dashboard, I'm out of luck!
ReplyDelete