25 October 2009

Going Private? Try sending emails to avoid loosing readers like me.

There's a growing trend of personal blogs I read or want to read are private. I always am late sending people my email address (don't you have it), so I end up getting locked out. This makes me sad.

I'm more open than most people and tend to through everything out there on the 'internets.' So, I don't have a private blog. Everyone can find my contact information by searching. And, I prefer, that others don't have private blogs either. Why? I read blogs via a feed reader.* This means, I spend very little time browsing blogs. I find out a friend has a blog, and I subscribe to it. Once you go private, I barely visit (sorry). But I do miss your blogs.

Sign me up to get email updates about every post.
  1. First sign in to blogger.com
  2. Select Settings > Email & Mobile
  3. Add my email address under Email Notifications > BlogSend address
Now, like my feed reader, I get updated every time you post. It's great for me. Not much gain for you, unless you need help with some Google product - you can shout out on your blog 'help me!' and I'll be there. :)

My email address: joel.headley@gmail.com - if you want to get really clever, help me filter my mail by +yourblogname to my email address. For example, joel.headley+headleyhomestead@gmail.com - hint, hint.

*By the way - I recommend (with bias) Google Reader as a feed reader. That way, if you want to share what you're reading on the web (not just writing), we can share together.

8 comments:

  1. Thanks! This is very helpful! :)

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  2. Well, that was such a subtle "hint hint". I got it and added you. I haven't posted anything new yet, but I hope it will work the way we want it to! Thanks Joel!

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  3. Thanks, Debbi. It only allows for 10 email addresses. However, one could use a mailing list (even a private Google Group, I think) to send it to more than just 10 recipients.

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  4. Joel,
    So I'm not private (at least I don't think I am :) do I have to add your email for you to get updates as well? Or...would you be the one doing that or choosing to or not to do that? Just curious how the whole thing works.

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  5. So...if you aren't private, I'm probably subscribed via RSS (which is the case for your blog, Christine).

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  6. Oh - and I hadn't realized you added a 'Followers' widget. Must be new since I last visited the site. Now you can see I'm getting your blog in a feed.

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  7. I wish I understood all that, but I don't. I'd love to subscribe to my friends blog but I barely understand my own. One of these days...

    On a related note, Josh was just asking me last night why people have private blogs. I had only two reasons I could think of: people want to complain about stuff they don't want everyone knowing about and 2, the privacy bit, which I'm not too concerned about either. Maybe a combo of both?

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  8. Afton - sounds like you don't understand the RSS thing, not the email thing - is that right?

    RSS subscribing is easily. See the following video:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU

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