Proximity is key?
When you are looking at a new-to-you blog, what are the first things you check for to see if you want to continue reading it? What are the things that turn you off?*
I noticed that my 100 Things About Me page gets quite a bit of daily traffic, and thought, “Gosh, maybe I should review that page** and make sure it is accurate… as I wrote it in 2005!” Geesh! That was a looooong time ago!
One of the first things I look at when I read a new blogger is their “about me” info and their location. Location is a big deal for me. If they live close to me, or in an area I am interested in, chances are I am going to continue reading their blog (and by that, I mean add it to my rss feed, and hopefully remember why I subscribed to it). Edited to add – this does not mean I don’t read blogs written by people who don’t live near me. I’m just more likely to start reading a blog because of proximity.
I like it when I am on a new-to-me blog and I can find this info right away – I have very limited amounts of time to waste on the internet, and must do it efficiently… riiiiiiiiiiight.
But I do think about that in relationship to my blog, so I keep a little introduction widget in my sidebar, to make that information quick to find.
I also think about not leaving whiny posts at the top of my page for two long. Because, yeah. I don’t want that to be the first post someone reads. That is another good question – when you are looking at new-to-you blogs, how far back in posts do you read, to see if you want to “follow” the blog?
This all implies I am looking for new reads. Of course not! You guys know I am spending ALL of my free time studying. All of it!!!
Um…
*Yeah. Not posting THAT list here.
**Added to list of things to do after July 25th exam.
Themocracy
…umm, not that I obsess or something, but I tend to go back to the start of the blog if feasible and read it all if I decide I’m interested. If I’m doing that I’ve already found a topic the author wrote about that interested me – I think when I found your blog I went back and read all your race recaps? I can’t remember now, but I tend to obsess over a new blog I like 😛
I have definitely done that too! It’s exciting when you find someone you feel like you can click with (and a bummer if you never make a connection, but that is another post for another day, lol).
This is a good question. I guess I start skimming and see if I find something worth reading. If I find myself mostly skimming, it is not a blog I will be returning to. I also love people that are relatable. Are their PRs close to mine? Are they also pregnant? That kind of thing. I also don’t like reading blogs where it is a bunch of photos of salads, oatmeal and healthy snacks. Borrriiinnngggg (IMO).
I didn’t even think about the PR/pace thing. But that is a good point. I can’t relate to some of the faster peeps. Especially when they talk smack about people who run my pace. LOL.
I bet you have found a lot of cool new pregnant bloggers!!! 🙂
Note taken – add more salad, oatmeal, healthy snack pics… like popcorn with cayenne pepper on top! 😛
Have you found some good pregnant running bogs, Kelly? I’m trying the whole run while pregnant thing with my 4th. I’m at 13 weeks and still going 25mpw but I fel like I don’t know what I’m doing or if the things I feel are normal! I like the salty running blog (have you read them?) they have a whole section on pregnant running.
I love your blog, btw! Kim told me about it right after I found out I was pregnant. You are so cute! Hope you’re feeling well 🙂
Thanks so much Emily! I have read Salty Running but I find the blog layout not very user-friendly. A few of my favorite pregnant bloggers I followed actually had their babies already, but they had some good posts if you look a few weeks back.
crazyrunninglegs.com
danielle09justdoit.blogspot.com
Another pregnant blogger that I follow is TheLocalElite.com but she is quite the fastie and I don’t always find what she does very relatable. But she is another pregnant running mama 🙂
And another local Chicago blogger is also pregnant and running and doing barre. Her blog is below.
theperfectcompilationtape.blogspot.com/
Hope this helps and congrats on your little bundle of joy on the way!!
Thanks for the new blogs to check out! I agree with salty running. A little tricky to explore. Have you checked out hungryrunnergirl.com? I like her too. I’ve also read blondponytail.com but she just had her baby and did more weight training than running. I love that there is so much information and that people are so open to their experiences. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep running, but I’m enjoying it while it lasts 🙂
I have checked out HungryRunnerGirl and BlondePonytail. They had different experiences than me in the pregnancy workout department so I found some of their posts to be unrelatable. I was only able to run until I got to the 5 month point, and then I threw in the towel. It got to be too difficult and painful so I stopped. I’m glad you’re able to keep up with the running! Wishing you lots of luck to keep it going as long as you can 🙂
If the author has bad grammar or spelling then I am out. I see too many blogs where I don’t even know what they are trying to say. English!!
Things that make me put a blog in my reader:
-good writing/story telling/pictures
-a sense of humor
-if it’s a running blog I like it when they have a similar pace as me. It’s fun to see how they train and how I compare.
Proximity is cool, but not at the top for me.
Ha ha ha! Good point! I didn’t even think of that. Or how about it they don’t separate paragraphs… I have a hard time reading a HUGE block of text.
I think you forgot one… lots of cat pictures?!
Hi Kim. Yes, I usually read the About Me section first, too. Sometimes that’s very interesting, like a little short story about the blogger. Then I’ll probably read a couple of recent posts. If the blogger hasn’t posted recently, I often skip the blog. If the blogger has a really intriguing story and/or writing style, I might go through and read a whole bunch of posts.
I think you should keep an open mind about bloggers who don’t live near you. We’re awesome. 😉
I usually skip too if they don’t post that often. Although… I still have your blog in my rss feed! HINT HINT!
Yeah, while proximity is important to me, I still read a lot of blogs from all over. But I am more likely to add some random person if they live in this area.
Excellent question!
For style blogs I look at two things: 1. Do they have a similar dress code as me and 2. If their dress code is different, do they seem genuine and interesting enough in their text for me to want to stick around and read them anyway
For other blogs, I need the post not to be full of references to things I won’t understand if I haven’t been reading them for awhile. Either they need to explain who all those people are in their About Me page or they need to remember to clarify what they’re talking about. Not go into a paragraph every time, but saying “Jason (the hubs)” or something like that so I’m not scratching my head.
Do you look at fashion blogger location too – like, climate-wise? I know you thought about that a lot when you started your blog!
Ahh! That is a good point. I think I do that sometimes, and I need to be more careful about it. Remember that awful book I read that was part of a really bad series that you could supposedly pick up a copy and run with? Yeah, I needed a relationship diagram. And it wasn’t Game of Thrones or something!
Yes, climate is important, too! I guess I kind of lump that into dress code. I’ll occasionally follow people for awhile who live in a different climate or who have a different dress code to try and get inspiration, but if I don’t click with them I’m more likely to “like” their Facebook page and just see the occasional picture than I am to keep their blog in my RSS reader.
THis is an interesting question! When i first started blogging, I read parenting blogs. I read a LOT of infertility blogs, mostly because their stories spoke to me and I fell into a group of wonderful writers. For me, the voice is the most important thing. THen it was the running blogs. At first, I strted looking for chicago marathon writers, then just running writers, then chicago AREA writers.
But lately, I’m back to voices that speak to me. Quality writing goes with that, for sure – it ensures that the voice gets through as intended.
And cat pictures never hurt 🙂
It’s all cyclical, isn’t it?! So interesting. My blog was NOT about running when I started it, so I mostly connected with people based on their voices. Then the running!
I need to hear more about why you were reading infertility blogs!
It was an accident really – I stumbled on one somehow from a parenting blog. And followed links in their sidebars (many of the ones I read commented on each other’s blogs). But their voices and their stories were so powerful! I read them for years, and still poke my head in on several of them now that they’ve become parents in various ways. So interesting 🙂
Hmm you still like my blog even though I don’t have an about me section… :). I usually look at their race page and check out their PRs.. If they are similar or especially faster than mine, then that perks my interest a lot. (Also if they are running many of the same races as me regardless of pace) I also look for interesting writing style unlike my own 🙂 how many of your100 things would change now vs 2005?
Wait, who is this? I clicked through on your blog link but there was no about me… so I left. HA HA HA! JK!!! 🙂 Yeah, I like it when a blog has an About Me, but like a lot of blogs who don’t… and my “About Me” is crap anyway!
It’s interesting that you want to read faster runners! I sometimes find I can’t relate. Because they are more serious. Buah ha ha.
Hmm. 100 Things. Gosh. I need to make it more who I am NOW. Less about architecture/design. Less about specific things I like. #28 is totally wrong. #70 is dumb. A lot of my ideals are still surprisingly the same. Maybe I should add something about organized religion.
OMG #84 story of my life with this studying!!!! #94 isn’t really true anymore.
Sorry. You probably didn’t want the play by play.
I haven’t added too many blogs lately, mainly because I am super whiny lately, and there are a lot of “what ifs” going on right now, and honestly I need a good support system.
I find new blogs I like by clicking on the comments posted on other blogs I like. I figure liking the same blogs is step 1. Then, I start skimming and comment if I’m interested. If I really get into a blog I add it to my blogroll. Funny about the location–I don’t have mine listed anywhere on my blog, but I suppose if someone looks at the races I’ve done, they could figure out my general area.
Funny you mention that, because I just added someone I clicked on from a comment in your blog! 🙂
Haha funny!
I will start to skim and see if an article interests me. Voice is important because even if its something interesting, if I can’t get into the writers way of waiting, it’s a turn off. You write just like you speak which is why you’re so relatable! Also, I’m all over the pregnancy/running/parenting blogs now and trying to figure out how to run while pregnant. Is all this weirdness I feel normal?! I do pay attention to pace and pr as someone else stated but only if its a big deal. It’s hard to relate if the person is talking about how easy a 6mm felt! Ha!
Aww, thanks! Another person told me I write the way I speak! I am happy people like that. Or, find it relatable 🙂
Isn’t it awesome to be able to search for other bloggers to see what they are feeling while pregnant? So different than even a few years ago, right?!
You are very relatable and funny so your log makes me laugh! I also like that you post often. I lose interest if there aren’t a lot of posts.
I am loving the wealth of info about preggo runners! So fun to be able to find out what worked or didn’t work for others and it’s great that people are so open and honest too!
hmmm interesting! I’ve never thought about this. I’ve really cut down on my blog reading lately so my reader pretty much consists of friends and food blogs.
If I manage to come across a new person I like, I typically like to start with their archives first, It’s always fun to go through those 🙂
I think I mostly am interested in relatable blogs.
Funny enough, when I first started reading blogs, I read ‘mommy blogs’. It all began when a friend of mine started a blog after having her first daughter (in about 2006) and I found it fascinating. Obviously I still don’t have kids of my own but I still follow along with a few mom blogs. It’s even more fun for me if the mom starts running after I’ve read her blog for a while.
I do take location into account some of the time. It can be really interesting to see what other people are doing in the area I live, which races they are running, how they are dealing with the weather, etc.
I also check the about me first! Are they in Chicagoland or Chicago proper? Are they funny? Do they talk about running?
I like to comment on any blog I read, but If I find I have a hard time relating, I probably am not their target reader (eg- lots of cooking and style posts)
This is super interesting! I usually skim the “About Me” section but those tend to be pretty similar and I know that I don’t update mine very often so I don’t expect others to either. I also look at PRs, the blog format (pictures, etc), and click through the archives to see what they usually write about.
I check into the about me section too although I don’t have one really on my blog. but usually I find new blogs from commenters or from other peoples links to other posts. I seem to be gravitating towards recipe blogs lately as I am cooking a lot and running is taking a back burner I guess since I am not training. I also am loving all around blogs that deal with life, fitness, family etc.
For me, the first thing is a black background with white text. My eyes can’t look at that for very long and that’s one of the things that will turn me off on the blog, even if I like the content.
Ahh, good point! I used to have black on a grey background and I bet that was hard to read, too!
Oh man, if someone’s “ABOUT ME” page is boring, I immediately close the window. (Related: I hate it when people say “…just trying to figure out this crazy thing called Life.” WHAT THE FRICK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN???)
I also read the little sidebar blurb if it’s available, so it’s really a faster way for me to judge a blogger, if I’m really being honest. I was worried that the “About WVT” link was too hidden on our site, but I’m not gonna’ worry about it because (1) my friend designed the layout and I don’t know how to fix it and (2) our friends and family are the only readers anyway….
Ha ha ha. Next time you see that, you should ask! 😛 It would be very stressful to try to be figuring out the meaning of life!