Blog Preference Request
Posted under: I have a question for those of you who read my blog. Yes, that means you. Even if you’ve never commented, I’d like to hear your opinion.
I … um … oh, how to say this delicately? I blather.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that the average word count on my posts is somewhere in the 1,000+ range. Sometimes, my blog posts contain a lot of photos.
What is your preference with regards to the “Read More” tag? Example below. (to see, you can temporarily visit http://tamimoore.com/blog , until new content pushes this entry off the page)
This would NOT affect those who read via a feed reader (I am NOT a fan of “read more” in feed readers) but it would clean up the display of the blog on my website.
It would, however, require an extra click to read the entirety of the blog post on my blog, which can be understandably irritating.
Since it would be YOU who would be most affected by this, I ask your opinion.
- Keep the blog posts as they are, fully displayed on the page.
- I’m okay with an extra click. Add the “Read More” tag so that I can scroll through your old posts more quickly.
In gratitude for taking the time to answer, I offer you one of my favorite animated gifs. Popup kitty loves you and wants you to smile.
*IF* it were possible to have a ‘read more’ on the local page but NOT over the RSS feed (i.e. feed readers would get the whole thing) that might be something useful (IMO).
The reason I wouldn’t personally want to cut off the RSS version is that some people can only read some blogs that way (i.e. work webfilters, etc). I’ve know I’ve been known to drop feeds that end up being like that. (I’m looking at YOU, Defamer).
Doing it locally, OTOH, is more of an aesthetic choice, an attempt to decrease clutter and improve page load speeds. It’s not a cheap ploy to get pageviews (already got that), and most people don’t seem to mind.
Hello, Popup kitteh!
.-= Grimmtooth´s last blog ..Oh hai =-.
I agree with Grim, I tend to unsubscribe from blogs where I can’t read the whole thing in my feed reader, however good the content is.
On the site though, it may be aesthetically easier on the eye to be able to scan a bunch of posts quickly rather than scrolling down and down.
Elsenx
.-= Soph´s last blog ..Bit of an update I guess! =-.
@Grimmtooth
Agreed. This post came through my feed reader without the “click to read more” – as it was intended.
I am opposed to trimmed blog feeds. I find them awkward, I’m less likely to read the entire blog post, and they feel like click-whoring. I wish my blog reads counted as “clicks” automatically. I don’t mind a blogger wanting to know what their click counts are, but not if it makes my blog reading experience a pita. I use a feed reader because I find it convenient, not because I still really want to visit every single blog page individually.
And that doesn’t even touch on the blocked website issue you mentioned.
I couldn’t find a plugin that would neatly fold OLD blog posts for me, while still leaving the most recent blog post fully displayed. That would be handy, indeed. =]
I bet I could build something that would work, though. *ponderthink*
As my boss is fond of saying, “I can do anything, given time and resources.”
@Soph
*nod* Totally agreed. And the quick scanning on the page itself would be the reason to add the “more” tag (locally, definitely not in the feed reader content).
I *HATE* “read more” in feed readers. Usually too much readmore = unsubscribe. I’m also not a fan of the read more button in general.
However, if it doesn’t affect the feed, I’m content to say it doesn’t affect me, so do what seems the most aesthetically pleasing to you. ;)
.-= Marianne´s last blog ..ANFSCD =-.
@Marianne
I wish more folks who used the “read more” in feed readers could see these comments.
There’s a pretty big hate-on for that tactic!
Thank you for adding your opinion to the bucket! Thus far, it looks like most folks don’t care what the BLOG looks like, as long as the feed remains fully readable (which would be the plan). Waiting for the evening manual-blog-visitors to chime in before making a final decision on it. =]
I don’t like the “Read More…” tag, especially in an RSS feed. (As it happens, 99 percent of the time—at least—I come here to read your blog rather than via GReader, even if I don’t comment.)
If you could set it up so the first couple articles are presented in full, and the others on the first page have the tag, I’d love that. In fact, that’s how I’ve set up my home page. The problem is, I doubt your template supports that.
However, just in case I wasn’t clear: “More” tags in RSS feeds are evil.
EDIT: Oh my—just found out the difference between BOLD and STRONG here. *grins*
.-= Steve Hall´s last blog ..Saucy Wenches Prompt: Towel and Weed =-.
@Steve
I think I need to go up and clarify more strongly in the post. I’m not talking about adding the more tag to the rss feed at all. I’m adamantly against it.
I’m talking about the more tag on the blog page.
Oh, that was clear enough; I was just adding for emphasis. :)
.-= Steve Hall´s last blog ..Saucy Wenches Prompt: Towel and Weed =-.
@Steve
Whew, good. I understand the hate for the in-feed more tags, but the number of comments dealing specifically with that made me wonder if I’d been unclear about my own dislike for them. =]
My posts are in NO danger of getting cut off via feed readers. I dislike the practice, myself.
Wouldn’t bother me to have “read more” on the site as I read through a feed reader. I have to read most blogs this way because most blogs are blocked by my company’s firewall. Yours is one of the few that apparently is not recognized as a blog, at least not yet.
BTW that kitty is too adorable.
@Daria
I, too, live under the harsh and unforgiving hand of the Company Firewall. I’m glad I’m not blocked yet!
Thanks for the additional feedback. Sounds like most of my readers wouldn’t be affected by this decision one way or the other, which is nice. I don’t like drastically changing a user experience.
As a manual reader of the site, I will attempt to weigh up the pros and cons of a “read more” tag from my perspective ^_^
Pros:
+ Could potentially increase page load speeds. However, since this is the era of broadband and your site is hardly screaming a thousand ‘evony’ and ‘get ripped quick’ ads in our faces i think the increase in load speed would be negligible.
+ Could make blog look neater as posts would be short and regular in length. Honestly, in my opinion the blog looks great anyway so im not sure the potential prettiness outweighs the disadvantages, though you may disagree.
+ Makes it easier for readers to pick and choose which posts to read by skimming through all the beginnings of posts. (This could also be a con if you want the reader to read absolutely every word written in your blog, as it makes it too easy for them to just ‘pick and choose’ to read what they like the feel of!)
+ You can find out your click counts. In the interests of remaining objective, i will not express any opinions about the moral soundness of holding this a signifcant factor :P
Cons
- CLICKWHORING!!!! I probably have a stronger opinion than most on this, but having to click for every single post you might want to read really annoys me. Especially when you read all the posts!
- People are more likely to choose not to read posts. There are two reasons for this:
1) it forces the reader to decide whether they are interested based only on the stuff up to the ‘read more’ tag.
2) the fact that they have to click a button to continue rather than just keep reading means that they are likely to be far more critical in deciding whether the introduction has sufficiently interested them, since they wont make the strenuous effort to click if they dont think they’ll enjoy it :P
- Oh, and did i mention CLICKWHORING!
To me, the most important pros are that it makes it easier for the reader to pick and choose what interests them, or alternatively it makes it easier for them to sift through a large number of posts to find a particular one they are interested in. The most important con is the annoyance and disadvantage caused by the clickwhoring, so for me the decision would be about weighing these two considerations up. Personally, I come to the conclusion that the benefit does not outweigh the whoring of clicks.
However, if you do find a way to give older posts the ‘read more’ tags whilst keeping the recent posts in full then this represents the best option. Whilst reading new posts in their entirety should be made as easy and click-free as possible, looking at old posts is generally for the purpose of finding a particular one, meaning the ‘read more’ tags are a perfect solution.
Phew, hope this is helpful and not too rambly! …maybe you should include ‘read more’ tags in your comments, haha :)
@Bella
That’s actually a hugely helpful viewpoint!
Especially considering your final “positive” isn’t something I’m interested in. I don’t really pay that much attention to how many clicks or views a particular page or blog post has. I’d rather write something because I want to than because “that sort of post got a lot of clicks in the past”.
Heck, if I was going to do THAT, I wouldn’t have ended Ego. Even on its worst days, it got more clicks than the best days on this blog, and this blog’s most popular posts have been gaming related.
I’m interested in general, but not really in a way where I feel having specific numbers is a benefit.
The positives I would see are more along the lines of your second and third positives. Page load for my blog is rarely an issue, and I agree that it probably wouldn’t improve much by having the more tags.
However, especially if the more tag can be seen as clickwhoring, that’s a serious negative. That’s exactly why I hate more tags in feed readers – knowing that my blog-visitors feel similarly about more tags here on the page is a significant negative.
One that vastly outweighs the potential positives I’m seeing.
Thank you very (VERY) much for your input! I believe, based on this, that I’ll keep the blog as-is.
=]
.-= Tami´s last blog ..Photoblog : Choose =-.
I reallly have no preference at all. I always click on the link in my feed reader to open up a new tab with your website. I like looking at your website!
ALSO I WANT THAT KITTY, PLEASE MAIL IT TO ME. It’s already mostly in a packing tube.
Never mind the “read more” break. I just want to know why it says “FOLDER” at the bottom of your main blog page…
;)
.-= Charlie Hills´s last blog ..Total Solar Eclipse =-.
@KristenSue
You could gank the kitty image and look at it whenever you’re feeling blue! that’s what I do. =]
Thank you for the perspective on the click-throughs!
@Charlie
THHHBBBBBTTTT.
Okay, it does look like “Folder”. For anyone reading this and confused, it’s the “handwritten” arrow and “OLDER” to show previous entries.
Also.
THHHBBBBBTTTt.
.-= Tami´s last blog ..Photoblog : Choose =-.
Kitty! C.U.T.E.
Wait, what was the article about? : )
Oh right. I read all your content through an RSS feeder, so read more links don’t really matter to me (articles per page = non-issue)
@Wulf
*laughs* I do love that kitty.
I didn’t even know you were reading the blog! <3 Welcome, welcome!
Thanks for the RSS reader viewpoint – the goal is definitely to have it seamless for the way I know the majority of my readers prefer to get the content. =]
Doesn’t matter to me either way (I am *so* helpful).
@Brad-o
It’s more helpful than a professed hatred of the full posts I currently feature! Then I’d have two readers hating opposite blog content. =]
Thanks for the $.02
.-= Tami´s last blog ..Photoblog: Balcony Garden 2010 =-.
Your site isn’t blocked at work. Long story short, I’ll read it however it comes! I’m totally okay with “Read more” clickies.
@Byrd
Thank you, Byrd!