Wednesday, May 8, 2013

I Want a Blogging Social Network

Add this to the list of things I really, really want but don't have the technical skills to make a reality.

We all know Google Reader is going away. This is a bad thing for those of us who try to keep up with a plethora of different blogs. By far, the RSS thing is the best way we have of keeping track. But the more I think about it, the more I notice that the RSS system has some serious flaws.

Keeping up with commenting is tedious. For every blog I comment on, I have to click on it from my reader, wait for the everything to load, wade through the other comments, and then post my comment.

Then, if I want to check on follow ups, I have to remember which blogs I commented on, go back to the old posts, wade through the comments... More often than not, I don't go back.

But this thought hit me the other day. What if there was a better way? What we need is a blogging social network.

Imagine. A reader-like system where you could make your comments. Have those comments appear on the blog you want them to appear on. Then, it would keep track of the fact you commented, and it would notify you of any follow up comments.

Yes, I know there are plenty of social networks out there. You can upload your blog. Follow others. But they don't really play well with blogs. Not in the way I'd like them to, I mean. Because, while you can make a comment on the social network, it's separate from the blog itself. And the system I want should integrate with the blogs.

If I had a modicum of computer programming know how, I'd be working on the coding right now. But since I don't, I'm putting it out there. Would someone please make a system like this for me?

9 comments:

  1. Oh yuck. Pass on another social network. But maybe you should try it and make a billion dollars. And then hire me with a comfy package to keep all your pc's running smooth.

    On a side note, switch over to Feedly. I think it's better than Reader ever was. I'm using Feedly right now to visit you.

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  2. I agree, I agree. I have much less know how than you so I'm one of the nameless masses that just has to hang on to whatever is thrown at us. mercy!
    What's Feedly? and how do I get one of them suckers?

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    1. Feedly is at www.feedly.com and it's a reader like Google Reader. It works really well, and I find it's a great replacement for Google Reader. But like Google Reader, you have to click through to comment, so it doesn't do what I whined about in this post. That is, it doesn't help manage commenting.

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  3. If I could, I totally would because that's a great idea for both readers and bloggers. I rarely keep track of what I comment on either, and if the blogger isn't on the email-back system, I never get a follow up. I wish I knew how to make this happen!

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  4. This post made me click over from reader to say...

    AMEN!

    Sign me up.

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    Replies
    1. Know anyone who can do the coding for us?

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  5. Hi. I switched over to feedley midway in the A-Z and didn't have too much trouble. You can organize your followers and others, but making comments is still as tedious. What bothers me most is that sometimes you can click on a blogger's name and go straight to their blog, while others you can't. I then have to go back to feedley and figure out who they are (blog name is always different). I finally made a separate list in Word to refer to when that happens. But I still have one follower I can't reply to because they never made a comment (and clicking their name doesn't work)! Frustrating!!

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    1. Feedly works just fine as a replacement for Google Reader. I just want more. (Greedy, I know.)

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  6. Twitter and Facebook are definitely better for keeping up with more people in less time. There is no better solution when it comes to blogging, I think. The time just to read the posts makes it more unwieldy than other formats.

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I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.