Media Orchard: Media News, Marketing Views, Celebrity Culture, Political Spin

Monday, July 17, 2006

Got Rid of the Blogroll Last Week. Did Anyone Notice?

We didn't think so; no one's mentioned it. We've decided they're more or less a waste of space. Between Pick of the Orchard and Technorati Favorites, we give plenty of link love to the blogs we read.

Blogrolls get out of date pretty quickly. Some of the blogs in the list we just booted hadn't been updated in weeks.

Our Picks direct people to recent, specific posts, and our Favorites to the blogs we're especially fond of at the moment. We've decided to limit our Favorites list to around 30 blogs, and will rotate blogs in and out of Favorites on a regular basis to keep our reading -- and yours, to the extent you care about our Faves -- both fresh and manageable. We don't like looking at a scroll of hundreds of blog links or feeds, and can't imagine why you would, either.

Since we just added a few new blogs to our Faves list, we encourage you to check them out:

Own Your Brand (Midwestern wisdom from Mike Wagner)
Bad Language (We're proud to say we were the first blog to link to Brit Matthew Stibbe)
Think Progress (our favorite "librul" blog)
Independent Sources (because they love Melissa Theuriau as much as we do)
Best Week Ever (The VH1 blog is much better than the TV show of the same name)

They're all worth a visit.

10 Comments:

I should have added that I don't use a feed reader; they give me a headache. So I have my own little routine in how I figure out what to post about. One part of my routine is to read my e-mail. If you've got a Pick-worthy post, please don't hesitate to e-mail it to me. I not only don't MIND the outreach -- I welcome and appreciate it. Happy blogging.

By SB, at 7/17/2006
Thank you for the kind comment about the Midwest and wisdom...

Getting rid of the blogroll and having your "own" routine for figuring out what it is you want to write about (instead of the increasingly predictable posting subjects out there) reminds me of what I put in Jungle Jim's mouth, "be what they ain't!"

Keep creating your difference! Mike

By Michael Wagner, at 7/17/2006
Actually I did notice you dumped your Brogroll, but thought it'd be weird if I pointed it out. Funny, I just added a Blogroll, almost a year later (but then again, I don't have a Favorites set-up). Hey, as long as we point others to blogs we think are worth reading on a consistent basis, that's what's important, right?

By Andrea Weckerle, at 7/17/2006
Well, since you mention it, I did realized it, and that you dropped me from your favotites too ;-)

I also noticed that Andrea dropped her blogroll for awhile, but was relieved that she is still talking to me.

I guess everyone goes their seperate ways sometimes. Shhesh, go on one business trip, post a little less and you get dumped! Ah well, guess I will have to earn your respect once again.

By Kami Huyse, APR, at 7/17/2006
Wait, I was wrong, you do still have me in your favorites. Guess I am getting old and need glasses. I feel much better now!

By Kami Huyse, APR, at 7/17/2006
C'mon Kami -- you know I like your blog! And you'll be back on Favorites; like I said, I decided to keep it at a manageable number for me and to rotate blogs in and out periodically. And you'll still get link love through Picks. Promise.

By SB, at 7/18/2006
Now THAT'S funny; you see how closely I'm paying attention to who's in and who's out.

By SB, at 7/18/2006
Maybe you have a touch of dementia? Still, I'll takw it, as long as I'm in :-)

By Kami Huyse, APR, at 7/18/2006
ONLY a touch? You're very kind (if also a brown-noser, according to your lunchmate.)

By SB, at 7/18/2006
My blogroll is seriously outdated and I go back and forth about ditching it. But it helps give others an idea of what I'm reading (if they care) and it gives the folks I'm reading props.

If no one figures out a better way (like using cloud tags instead of categories) I'll eventually move the whole thing to delicious to get rid of the visual noise.

By Kevin, at 7/22/2006