Category Archives: Blogging

How I use Google Reader without going insane

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It’s a never-ending refrain in the social media world: “There’s just so much content out there!” So many good blogs to read and think about. For a while my Google Reader was getting out of control as I continued to add RSS feeds.

I’ve tried various ways to get a handle on the many blogs I read, but my latest incarnation is to group all my social media/marketing blogs into folders, labeled by the frequency with which I want to read them:

Google Reader Organization

Blogs in my “Check Daily” folder are my top priority. These bloggers typically post regularly and it’s content that I continue to find valuable or thought-provoking. Currently blogs from folks like Amber Naslund, Olivier Blanchard, Dave Fleet and Todd Defren are in this folder.

Next is my “Check Weekly” folder. It consists of interesting blogs that either don’t post as frequently or that I’m not as religious about following. Their posts might not usually be as time-sensitive and I can wait until later in the week to catch up. Or they may tend to be bloggers who write longer posts that take me more than just a few-minute scan in the morning to digest. I try to rotate different bloggers into this folder every so often. Right now people like Tom Martin, Brian Solis, Jason Baer and Mack Collier live here.

My “Twitter Friends and Tweeted Posts” folder is where I put a lot of bloggers I’m friends with whose content I’m likely to see on Twitter long before I get around to checking my reader. Arik Hanson, Lauren Fernandez, David Mullen and Scott Hepburn are all in this folder. Usually I see tweets and retweets to their new posts throughout the day and so I really just use this folder to scan headlines and peek at any posts that I might have missed. For the most part, though, the posts that end up in this folder are ones that I’ve already seen.

The folder I call “Popular and Prolific” features blogs like Chris Brogan, Danny Brown, Copyblogger and HubSpot. These are “big name” blogs that post a lot of content. I don’t necessarily have time to read them every day, but I can count on their content being good and useful and I want it all in one place to go back and access later.

My last folder is the “Check Infrequently” folder. These are blogs that don’t update frequently or that I haven’t found a real connection with yet – but I still want to be alerted when new content is available. I find that I enjoy blogs that are less frequent but more thoughtful. Every once in a while I’ll check this folder to see if Lisa Hoffmann or Shonali Burke have anything new.

To see what posts I like and am sharing, you can check out my Google Reader public share page.

The result of this folder system: It’s still way too much content, but at least now I feel like I can take it in chunks and read a little at a time based on how I’ve prioritized the blogs I’ve subscribed to. Every few weeks I’ll look at the trends and analytics that Google Reader provides and see if there are blogs that I’m consistently reading or not reading and move them to a different folder (or unsubscribe) as a result.

What works for you in organizing your RSS feeds? Do you use a plug-in like Postrank to help you sort through content? Do you find yourself relying less on your feed reader to discover new content? I certainly see plenty of posts shared on Twitter, but I’m in no way ready to give up RSS because I feel like I’d miss too much.

Share your strategy for managing the beast that is your feed reader in the comments.

A new look for Mengel Musings

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If you’re reading this post in a feed reader, stop! Click over to the site right now and check out my new design. I purchased the Thesis theme for WordPress about a month ago and have been mired in CSS and PHP mods for the last month trying to come up with a fresh look for the site. I’m pretty happy with the result and I hope you all like it.

In addition to wanting to upgrade to a theme that allowed for more flexibility and customization and better SEO, I also wanted to give the blog a more professional look as I start to take on more freelance work and consulting projects. I’ve rearranged my work schedule such that I have more time for these kinds of opportunities now, so you’ll notice the consulting tab above. If your organization could benefit from some brainstorming on marketing, PR or social media strategies, please contact me (there’s a tab for that, too).

I’ve also spelled-out a comment policy and moved the site’s archive from the sidebar to its own page. The SMB-TV link above is where I’ll continue to post updates about Social Media Breakfast Tech Valley (I’m close to nailing down the details of our second SMB).

So what do you think? Take a look around and let me know how else I can improve.

Thanks for coming along with me on this blogging adventure for the last six months. I appreciate all the comments, feedback, tweets, links and just general love. You guys are the best!

Michael Arrington isn’t a journalist

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Twitter Boxing GlovesIf you’ve been obsessed with the Tour de France and haven’t been checking any other media outlets this week (raises hand), you may have missed the Internet scandal/dust-up/spat of the week between Michael Arrington at TechCrunch and the boys at Twitter. It’s been blogged to death, so I’ll keep this one short.

The :20 second summary is that a hacker got access to Twitter’s corporate Google accounts, got hold of a bunch of confidential documents about Twitter’s strategic plan and financials, e-mailed them to TechCrunch, and Arrington published (some of) them. Ev, Jack and Biz at Twitter cried foul and are getting lawyers involved. Many people have denounced Arrington’s decision as unethical. He’s keeping some of the documents suppressed (for now) at Twitter’s request.

Guy Kawasaki (seriously, this is the most name-dropping post I’ve ever written) slapped up a copy of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics up on his Posterous page last night, circling the following tenet:

Journalists should avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except when traditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public. Use of such methods should be explained as part of the story

But, let’s all remember that bloggers, like Arrington, aren’t journalists. They don’t operate under a professional code of ethics. they don’t report to an editor or publisher who tells them what to write about or what they can or can’t reveal. Many of them are ethical, many of them are former journalists, many of them would have chosen not to publish the documents.

Credibility is what’s keeping traditional media alive. Readers respect and trust publications and news outlets that do operate under a code of ethics like SPJ’s. This may be a short-term win for Arrington, but over time stunts like this are going to erode (what’s left of) reader’s respect for TechCrunch.

From the standpoint of a PR professional or a corporate communicator, we can’t forget that bloggers operate under their own rules. They aren’t necessarily motivated by the truth or by serving the public or by being objective.

We can’t count on them doing the right thing.

Image via Flickr user KayVee.INC

A little less conversation, a lot more discussion

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Is there any ideal more vaunted in the blogosphere than this notion of The Conversation? Creating one, participating in one, shaping one… Gah! Stop! My malarkey meter is buzzing. Is “conversation” even useful?

Conversation is definitely happening on blogs. If I think about the many blogs I read regularly, most of them feature conversation, but not discussion. Don’t think there’s a difference? Let’s bring in old Noah Webster:

con⋅ver⋅sa⋅tion

-noun; the informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words; oral communication between persons; talk; colloquy. The ability to talk socially with others.

dis⋅cus⋅sion

-noun; an act or instance of discussing; consideration or examination by argument, comment, etc., esp. to explore solutions; informal debate.

Semantics, maybe, but what’s present in the definition of discussion that’s lacking in that of conversation is the element of argument and debate.

Most of the blog comments I read are along the lines of “great post!” or “LOVE your thoughts here, so true!” It’s more rampant with the big-name bloggers some readers are trying to cozy up to. David Spinks’ post from last month hit on the idea of people being overly complimentary just to conform to a community.

Few social media or marketing blogs I read seem to really be able to drum up discussion — actual debate in search of solutions — and not just conversation. (Beth Harte’s blog is pretty good at it.) I’m not sure if it’s because the blog authors themselves are too “safe” with topics and don’t offer posts that inspire debate, or if the commenters are afraid of offending the blogger or other commenters. To our credit, most of us “social media types” comment with a real name and URL attached, which makes us more accountable for our thoughts and words. But does it matter if you stand by what you say if you’re really not saying anything?

Before you go all “she who casts the first stone” on me, I’ll readily admit that I am not often one to dig in with debate or discussion on a blog post. If I disagree with a post, I’m just as likely to not comment at all versus commenting critically. I’ve never been an argumentative person or a debater. Some of it is not wanting to “offend” the blogger or community. Some of it is self-doubt as to whether my opposing view is “right” or not. I’m relatively new to this portion of the interwebs and I don’t always feel like I’ve gained the knowledge or credibility to be able to articulate my position and criticize the ideas of people who’ve been doing this for much longer than I have. I need to do better at articulating and sharing my opinions, even if they’re different. I need to discuss, not just converse.

People want to be liked. An easy way to achieve this is to never say anything contrarian. But that’s also not how people come to understand different points of view and create solutions together. I’d even argue that most bloggers would prefer comments that challenge their views and make them think differently than a chorus of “me, too!” voices. Brain wrinkles are good, folks.

So let’s all shoot for a little less conversation and a little more discussion, eh?

Back in the Saddle

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upcomingnom

It is really hard to come back from vacation, especially one in which I had been primarily unplugged for two weeks. I had very limited Internet access and therefore no Twitter, Facebook, e-mail… even my Blackberry didn’t work. It was great and a much-needed break, but I’m hoping to get caught up this week and back into the social media swing of things.

One piece of great news I did get upon returning home was that this blog has been nominated as “Best Up-and-Coming” blog in the PR Reader’s Choice blog awards. I’m quite humbled to be in the amazing company of folks like Lauren Fernandez, Narciso Tovar and Stuart Foster. If you read this blog and like it, please consider voting in the contest! Apparently voting has been going on for a week already and ends on Wednesday, June 3. I really need to get back in the loop!

I’ll leave you all with a parting shot of one of my favorite photos I took of the Eiffel Tower last week:

eiffel

C’est magnifique!