My name’s Vic and I have a confession to make: I’m a bad blogger.
I started blogging when a comment system was something you signed up for at Haloscan and the idea of community was a few bloggers leaving you the odd comment now and then. Blogging wasn’t backed up by forums and social media and there certainly wasn’t the obsession with stats that there is now.
I spent over a year letting my blogging habit have free reign and pursuing it with vigour. A job that gave me little to do each day left me with ample time to read my blogroll which held the regular musings of over 200 different people. Little Mister came along and I had to cut back somewhat but I still found a way to combine blogging with family.
Then I returned to work. I looked forward to expanding my blogroll once more, to finding out about all the new writers that were appearing amongst UK parent bloggers and spending some much needed time on my own blog.
But things don’t always work out the way you plan.
Through unintended but perfect timing I’ve ended up in a role I love, one that may even see me stop floating in the near future and settle down in a permanent position. What it doesn’t leave is time for blogging. I’m lucky if I can manage to refresh twitter four times in a day. Posts are something I write on the train and copy and paste from Word docs to wordpress. My blogroll remains largely untouched.
I’m trying to read your blogs. In rare spare moments I open up greader and feel so overwhelmed by the treble or quadruple figures that I mark most posts as read. If I see a link on twitter I’ll click on it and maybe even try to comment. It seems though that the blogging gods are conspiring against me. I have an outdated version of IE at work with no option to upgrade or download another browser. I can’t view anything with Flash and disqus doesn’t work. Every time a page with disqus comments on loads I get an error message and there goes my blog reading.
The 3G (or even Edge or GPRS) connection on my route to work is so patchy that I’ve given up trying to read blogs on my phone and I’ve come to the conclusion that a mobile broadband modem would be of little use. My time at home is limited to three hours in the evening when I get the boys into bed, eat and sort my things for the following day at work. I wouldn’t have a spare hand to type a web address in a browser if I tried.
I need a system. I’ve categorised the blogs in my reader but I need to do more. I can’t cull, the idea alone breaks my heart. I’ll have to rank in order of importance. Know that if I don’t make it to your blog to comment it’s not that I don’t care – I do – but I just haven’t figured out how to balance yet.
So what do I do?
Hmm. Can google reader download the content so that you don’t have to be connected to read the updates whilst travelling?
Also, you may well be following too many blogs. For each new person you follow, you should probably let go of one. Harsh? Probably, but you’re a busy working mother of 2, holding down a job in the City. Tough decisions go with the territory and you shouldn’t feel afraid to let some go (so long as it’s not my one! >:) )
I’ll agree with Mile in that one…
And also agree that not mine too…
lurv ya!
I think it’s about ebs and flows hon. Sometimes we’re busy sometimes we’re not. You’re in a busy stretch now and for the next while, and then you wont be and you’ll be back- ride with it and don’t feel guilty. I don’t see any reason to let anything go, other than the guilt. Without the guilt you can hit mark all as read and know that the people on the other end of the line aren’t taking it as a personal insult, but you still have the option of checking in again from time to time. When I am really low on time, in general, I tend to choose one slot per day/week/month/whatever and read 1 post from each person in my greader. That way they know I’m still around and I can focus on everyone. If I run out of time, I remember where I stopped and start at the next one next time. It’s just life. This is how (we) it rolls.
Don’t worry about it! Honestly, if you don’t post or read for a while then that is fine as its you that is important and we all love you.
I go for weeks without reading more than a couple of blog posts and then I might spend the next month reading everything in my reader and Twitter and anywhere else!
Oh and if there are some sites that you really really want to read, the get them sent to you by email. I have three sites that send me emails as I want to read the posts.
‘What do I do?’ << Put Me,The Man & The Baby at number 1 in your order of importance!
See I'm full of usefulness!! ;D x
I’m fortunate as I’m not working at the moment but I still don’t seem to have enough time to get through the vast amount of posts in FeedDemon.
Even my blog has suffered. Averaging at around 2 posts a week when before it was daily.
I don’t know what’s changed for me but something has to have to make this much impact.
Don’t feel guilty, I’m sure everyone feels the same way every so often.
I used to be able to read everyone in my reader, and get bored looking for new posts. After I went to cybermummy and got hooked on twitter I’ve got to the point where I barely keep up with my own blog! And I’m not working, although I am home educating and have a pre toddler to keep out of mischief.
Never feel guilty, it’s not ever about that.
you know what, family is most important, I dont mind if you dont comment, I still read and you are still my friend!
Its hard finding a balance isn’t it. For ages I was reading all these different blogs as I was establishing myself, 400 in Greader, but now Ive become more established and theres been various writing opportunities I’m finding less tme to comment and that makes me really sad
I normally manage to read a few on my ipod when getting J to bed but I cant always comment on there so “star” it for later and it never gets done.
I suppose as much as we love our blogging world and life sometimes something has to give and its the easiest thing to losen a little.
I know what ya mean. Catch up on them when you can and don’t be so hard on yourself. x