Kent Newsome on technology, music and life

7/07/2007


The 7 Quickest Ways to Get Deleted From My Reading List

delete-key As I've mentioned before, I've read a lot of blogs over the years.  During that time, I've developed some serious likes and dislikes.  My personal belief is that every reader is important, and unless you are at the very top of the Technorati 100, you should work hard to retain every reader.  Conversely, you should avoid things that may cause readers to unsubscribe from your blog.

I'll cover the likes in a series of posts when my swivel feeds experiment is over.  For now, in honor of 7-7-07, here are the seven quickest ways to get removed from my reading list.

1) Use partial feeds.  Unless you write like Cormac McCarthy, you are generally pissing up a rope by trying to force me to your web site in the name of ads, or whatever other illogical and self-defeating reason led you to use partial feeds.  This is especially true for newer and less known bloggers.  Darren Rowse may be able to get away with it, but you almost certainly can't.  If Scoble can push a full feed out the door, so can you.  When my swivel feeds list is complete and I start pruning my personal reading list, partial feeds will be the number one reason blogs get axed.  Not only will these blogs lose a reader, they will also lose the potential for links and cross-blog conversation.

2) Engage in excessive self/blog promotion.  When someone tells you how smart they are, they are almost always lying.  I don't want to read post after post about what a genius you are.  Let me make my own decision based on your writing.  I also don't want to read post after post about your latest give-away or whatever to get people to visit/link/subscribe to your blog.  Don't misunderstand, occasional give-aways, contests, etc. done the right way are both appropriate, fun and productive.  But if you're spending more time acting like a carnival barker than a writer, you are not going to stay on my reading list- or many others.

3) Don't reciprocate conversation/links.  While linking to me and/or commenting here is a very good way to get on my reading list, it's in no way a prerequisite.  It's simply a polite way to tell me about your blog (I subscribe immediately to the large majority of people who link and/or comment, and those who keep my attention get a permanent place in my feeds).  Once you get on my reading list, I will likely reach out to you conversationally.  But, over time, if you don't respond or, even worse, tend to link around me, I'll conclude that you aren't interested in conversing with me and I'll move on.

4) Add scads of junk or filler to your feeds.  One common example of this is posting a big series of photos on your otherwise non-photo blog as separate blog posts.  This results in the Engadget Effect, whereby I get overwhelmed by the sheer number of posts.  Get a Flickr account and post a link to a photo set instead.  You might think the photos of trees and buildings and whatnot from your recent trip to Peoria are fascinating.  I probably don't.  And even if I do, I can see them better via a Flickr set.

5) Bombard me with ads.  I understand about the need to make a little money.  Really, I do.  But just like TV, if the ads overwhelm the content, I will turn the channel.  I am willing to suffer through an unobtrusive ad or two - even in feeds - but I won't suffer through a bunch of ads for a bit of content.  And if you want to get deleted from my reading list immediately, combine partial feeds with banner ads in your feeds.  I dive for the unsubscribe button when that happens.

6) Use a lot of gratuitous profanity.  Anyone who knows me via my job knows that I have been known to curse like the proverbial sailor when provoked.  It's not one of my better qualities, but it demonstrates that I am far from a prude.  Nevertheless, when I'm reading a blog post or watching a video post and every other word is an F-Bomb, it really turns me off.  If you can't make your point without a bunch of gratuitous profanity, then either your point or your writing skills are lacking.

7) Ignore/dismiss the other side of the issue.  I can't stand most talk radio simply because the hosts can only see one side of the issue and either ignore or attack those who feel differently.  If there aren't two sides to an issue, then why write about it?  And if there is another side to the issue, then address it logically and rationally.  It's OK to feel strongly, but if you really feel that way (and are not merely regurgitating what someone spoon-fed you), you should be able to explain why.

Those are the fastest ways to get deleted from my reading list.

What are the fastest ways to get deleted from yours?

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Posted by Kent @ 7/07/2007 03:42:00 PM | Permalink

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10 Comment(s):

The short list:

1. Content rehash without "added value". I can visit the blog echo chamber all day long, I want blogs who give me some editorial content to get me thinking not just rehash the same old meme.

2. Shameless self promotion. I agree with you, unless you're John Chow and that's your "thing" then I don't want to read your shameless self aggrandizements.

3. Lack of voice. I give a *lot* of blogs a chance to catch my attention, what forces me to give up on you is if I read your blog and can't distinguish a unique voice. Again, the echo chamber is vast.

Those are my top three, good post Kent.

By Blogger Steve Spalding, at 7/07/2007 5:21 PM  
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Partial feeds. The only partial feed blogs that I keep are ones of friends that don't know how to turn them off. There's some A-lister that I accidentally resubscribe to every couple of months and then unsubscribe when I see the partial feeds.

Using the post teasers on the main page of the blog doesn't bother me, but partial feeds are another evil story.

By Anonymous Mike, at 7/07/2007 8:10 PM  
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Your Number 7 for sure. I want a blog to have a point of view, but it should acknowledge the other side.

Number 2 bugs me too. And it seems to be far more subtle than it used to be.

Another thing that gets me a bit is new bloggers arriving and "pronouncing" truths from on high. Sort of like when your kids tell you they've discovered this new band called the Beatles. But of course, I have to laugh even as I type these words, 'cause a few years ago, I was a new blogger. It is certainly possible that the folks who'd been blogging a while had a similar reaction to my early posts :-)

By Anonymous Susan Getgood, at 7/07/2007 8:59 PM  
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I hate it when people comment on my post, and obviously only read the title or the first couple of sentences. I REALLY want conversation... I just wish it were more intelligent sometimes.

I also hate it when people use SMS abbreviations like ppl or wldt in a reply. just spell out people or wouldn't. It's not like you don't have a real keyboard!

By Anonymous Brad Trnavsky, at 7/07/2007 9:11 PM  
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I think what will get a person popped off my blogroll is continual rudeness. I think I've only deleted one person, but he made very sexist, aggressive comments about some of the other people who had made an earlier comment.
This happened more than once, he was asked to not participate anymore via e-mail and I removed him from blogroll.
I see people commenting on my blog as "guests".
With that sense of community, I feel a responsibility to make them feel safe. They can argue and disagree, but they need to also feel comfortable.

My two cents.

By Blogger 'Coma, at 7/07/2007 11:00 PM  
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Hi,
You lose me when your home page is blown out. :-)
(Yours appeared to be 070807)
I don't like light type on a dark background. They have to be very well written to stay in my feed.

I just unsubscribed from a feed because he was always right.

Never unsubcribed because of captcha, but ARGH.

By Blogger GoingLikeSixty.com, at 7/08/2007 4:38 PM  
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Oh yeah, gratuitous profanity can be fun if the writer knows it's gratuitious.
http://flyonwallstreet.blogspot.com/
He writes M-F and is outrageously profane. But that's one of the reasons I read him.

Got screen shots of your pages if you want them. Goinglikesixty (at)gmail(dot)come

By Blogger GoingLikeSixty.com, at 7/08/2007 5:04 PM  
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Steve, the echo chamber is a huge problem. I wrote about it in my Earnest Web post a few weeks ago. In fact, that issue is what led me to trash my feed list and rebuild it.

Mike, I actually get irritated by the teaser posts on the main page too. It's like those news story pages that make you do 3-4 click just to read one story. If I were an online advertiser I would not like my ads served on those pages, particularly any in the middle.

Susan, that pronouncing truths from on high business is everywhere. Some blog experts even recommend it as a way of building faux credibility. The only place I've seen it more widespread is in the songwriting space. I am amazed at the number of people who haven't had one song recorded who are convinced they are the world's expert on songwriting. The real bummer, in both areas, is that newbies looking for information get led down a bunch of rabbit trails.

Brad, I've even seen people try to rebut a post with another post after reading only the title and first part of a post- and get the whole point backwards. I actually think this is a big problem in the blogosphere- everyone wants to write (talk), but few are really reading (listening).

Coma, I haven't had that problem in the blogosphere, but I've had it a ton on the various message board communities I've developed over the years. There are always those who are so tied to their positions that they view any contrary view an act of treason. And then there are those who only want to disrupt and vandalize the process. You have to get rid of them as quickly as possible.

60, as you may have noted, visibility (generally in the form of text size) issues are dear to my heart. I am amazed at the number of popular sites (Valleywag being one example) that are almost impossible to read due to text size, colors, etc.

By Blogger Kent, at 7/08/2007 6:11 PM  
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Turnoffs:
1. Partial feeds
2. Not allowing comments (I know moderation is a pain, but ...)
3. Too many ads

"Content rehash" - don't like it much either but am somewhat guilty of it myself (use del.icio.us feed to provide link posts, which ATM is about the only activity on my blog - mea culpa!) - but I DO try to add a comment of my own to the tag ...

By Anonymous Ric, at 7/10/2007 4:21 AM  
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I agree with Brad - people who comment by only reading the title of the post, or by highlighting an obtuse portion of the post and treating that as the main subject. If you unintentionally come across sounding link RoseAnna RoseannaDanna, I will probably not continue to read your blog.

Posting nasty, belligerent or crass posts or comments will keep me from reading your blog.

Making it difficult to comment on your blog.

I also agree with not acknowledging the other side of the argument. I also don't like posters being highly critical of opposing views.

By Anonymous Thomas, at 7/10/2007 4:29 PM  
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