Monthly Archives: January 2009

Google Reader makes me lazy

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I read a lot of blogs and graphically, I have no idea what most of them look like. Like many people, I read blogs via RSS feeds dumped into my Google Reader. I love Google Reader because it aggregates and organizes all the information I want to read. I can usually save posts to del.ici.ous right from the reader or e-mail a post to someone if I think they’d be interested.

But in most cases, I can’t read comments or make a comment directly from Google Reader. I have to click on the article to be taken to the blog’s site and then make a comment. And I rarely do this. It’s not that I never have any opinions on what I read or anything further to share, it’s just that I’m usually blasting through posts at work and never take the time to visit and comment. If there was an “add comment” functionality in my Google Reader at the bottom of each post, I’d probably be all over it. Maybe there’s a better feed reader out there that has this type of functionality. If so, I’d love to hear about it!

Now, I know that you can often get RSS feeds of a blog’s comments, but I already feel overwhelmed just trying to make it through all the blog posts I subscribe to, let alone the comments! I understand that often some of the best gems come out of the comments, and I know I’m missing out by just passively observing the blogosphere and not actively participating.

So, I’m hoping the fact that I have my own blog now will push me to click-through and add my pair of pennies to posts I enjoy. It’s a month into 2009 and I haven’t made any resolutions yet, so here’s one: I resolve to click through and comment on at least three blog posts per week.

There. Let’s see how I do. I suppose it wouldn’t be half-bad to see what some of these blogs actually look like.

Mind if I join you?

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So, I’m late to the party. Really late. I remember thinking five or six years ago that blogs were for tech nerds and the unemployed. When I finally started to realize their value, I felt like it was too late for me to jump on the blogging bandwagon and add anything new. I’ve always been more of a consumer of information than a producer. But I’m quickly realizing that in my profession, social media isn’t optional anymore. Even though I currently work as communications manager in an industry that could in no way be described as cutting edge, I figure it’s time for me to get some skin in the game and start fully participating and contributing to the conversation.

Oddly enough, what seems to have pushed me over the “to-blog-or-not-to-blog” precipice is Twitter. Since opening an account about seven months ago,  I’ve grown more and more comfortable sharing information 140-characters at a time. I’ve started following and engaging with brilliant social media minds and I’m constantly discovering new sources of information and ideas. And sometimes I just have more to say than can fit in a tweet!

In general, I’m a fairly private person, and so this blog will be a true test for me to put my thoughts out there and open myself up for debate and critique. I’ll share my thoughts on organizational communication, marketing, social media, writing, customer relationships, and occasionally some personal tidbits, too (beware of college football fanaticism, kittens, cycling and photography).

So even though I’m late to the party, I hope there’s still some dessert to be had… and maybe I’ll get invited back to the next big thing.