Change is in the Wind

I felt ridiculously rejected! For several months, my blog had appeared on another blogger's (let's call her Millie) list of links and because I admired her and her blog so much, I took a strange pride in being included on Millie's list. And then one day she apparently cleaned house, and my blog no longer appeared in her sidebar. It all felt a little bit like the time about twenty years ago that my daughter walked into her third grade classroom and there was a birthday party invitation on every girl's desk except hers. (Yes, I can still tell you the name of that mean, rotten, third grade girl -- you hurt my kid, you're on my list for ever!)

Over the years of blogging, I've followed so many different blogs. Some eventually seem to evaporate and others say goodbye and close down (don't get me started on how much I've been missing Mrs. Goodneedle, just don't get me started). Sometimes a blog on my sidebar will change its tone and I'll find I'm not really that interested in what the blogger has to say any longer. This happened a couple of times, for instance there was the time that a quilter began sharing very personal aspects of her life -- I felt uncomfortable, as if I'd opened a door and found her standing there naked! I deleted her from my sidebar, hoping she found a good therapist who helped her learn about boundaries. Each time I delete a blog, I flash back to the time I was deleted by Millie, and hope I'm not hurting someone else's feelings. And then I get a grip and say, "Nancy, get over yourself already. Why would someone care if she was on your sidebar?"

I've got a whole 'nuther list of blogs in my "Favorites," ones I check regularly but that I don't need to know immediately when they are updated.

The string in the sidebar has become unwieldy. And just in the nick of time, I've learned about Bloglovin, one of many ways to follow blogs relatively effortlessly. And I spent some time the other night listing all of the Quilters in my sidebar with Bloglovin. I'll still be reading them all, but through Bloglovin, where I believe all of the updates will come in one place, rather than clicking individually as I see blogs rise to the top of the update list. Next step will be to plug the "Favorites" blogs into Bloglovin. Oh, the tidiness! Oh, the organization!

While I was writing this, it occurred to me that perhaps Millie didn't reject me and my blog after all. Perhaps, instead, she subscribed to a reader of some sort. She was always way ahead of me technologically.

I'm mentioning this whole thing because there are a couple of blogs that I frequent where I regularly click on folks in their sidebars. And in case there are folks doing that from here, I don't want you to feel left out in the cold when I take down my list of quilters' links. Which will likely happen by the end of this week, once I've had an opportunity to really test Bloglovin.

'Kay?


Comments

Anonymous said…
I'm one of those who clicks to blogs from your sidebar so I appreciate the warning. I will miss that sidebar because I've been introduced to some wonderful folks through your blog. However, I'll just have to begin creating some new bookmarks of the blogs that I like. I hope I can remember them all.
Sue
Quiltdivajulie said…
I totally understand your need to have them all listed in one place. Blogging has evolved dramatically since I first became involved (and I was not one of the pioneers by any stretch).

I find that I can read blogs through my reader but cannot comment without visiting the blog in person ... I suspect this is why my counter shows far more hits than I ever see as comments. Folks are busy and they speed read posts through their readers without visiting each site individually. That's why I especially appreciate those who make the time to leave a comment!

And yes, I miss Mrs. Goodneedle A WHOLE AWFUL LOT.
Tricia said…
Oh no! I love sidebars! That's how I find other fabulous people! Thanks for the heads up!
Mrs. Goodneedle said…
Now I'm in tears. I miss you guys too, a whole awful lot! Thanks for making me feel so special this morning; love ya, my friend, great big bunches!
LoieJ said…
I use Bloglines for a number of blogs when I want to know when they have a new post. I have a number on my side bar (My Blog List, which tells when there is a new post), but they are not identical lists. On my other blog, I have some quilting blogs listed on the My Blog List.

I came to the conclusion that if the blogs are listed on the side bar, I don't feel so compelled to check the new postings immediately, which can be a good thing on a busy day. When I use Bloglines, I can read a posting and go to the actual blog if I want to post a comment. I've also tried Google Reader, which has other pluses.

I like to read actual blogs better than read the posting on a blog reader because I need the visual cues from the blog to remember who is who.
I use Google Reader to catch up on blogs and love it. But I do enjoy going right to blogs once in a while and clicking on their list blogs I may not know about. I find some of my new favorites there all the time.
Pat said…
I will miss the blog roll on the side bar as well. I need to print it out so I can use it as a reference to do my own Bloglovin?
Having never used the blog listing on the sidebar in anyone's blog or created my own listing, I won't have a problem. I read all my blog subscriptions in Google Reader. I miss Mrs. Goodneedle too.
*karendianne. said…
Well its good you told me because, well, you know...
i read all mine in bloglines.............it is so easy and I have heaps more in bloglines then on my sidebar. I do like having people on my sidebar though as sometimes I go and look what is on others sidebars........and find new bloggers.......

a subscriber does save heaps of time though no matter what you use as you aren't wasting time going to a blog to find they haven't posted anything...........
Anonymous said…
I need to update my sidebar and I plan to do so during christmas holidays (I hope). Some blogsinterest me less that others and my taste has changed. Your not on my bloglist....but you will be! Not that I have many visitors, nor is my blog elaborate or inspiring; but it's a blog and you'll be in my sidebar :)
Thanks for letting me know. I'd be wondering where all your blog links went otherwise.
Laurie said…
Thanks for letting us know. I'd be heartbroken to see I'd been summarily deleted without an explanation! :-)
Tanya said…
I've never heard of Bloglovin. I've had the same thing happen and admit I was a bit disappointed when I found "I'm not there." And I guess that is one reason I've never put the sidebar or the favorites on my blog because I don't want to hurt someone's feelings if I stop visiting...

It is interesting to notice when past visitors are no longer visiting or new ones turn up regularly. But we all have only so computer time the changes are understandable.

Nice to see Mrs. Goodneedle is visiting your blog!
Brenda said…
Aren't you Miss Fancy Pants using BlogLovin? LOL! I use Blogger to keep tabs on my "secret" list of Blogs...it's basically the same thing as Bloglovin...you check in one place for all the blog updates. Which is pretty cool, I had them on my "Favorites which I hated because my list is VERY long and I kept clicking and no one was writing...and here I was going to all these blogs that had no new posts. Hello? Don't they know I need some updates? DUH! But now with Blogger I can just see who has "news" at a glance. I love it!
Oh, and I have dumped a few blogs. Most of them for whining. I have whining issues, LOL! If I want to listen to complaining I can talk to myself 'cause God knows I have loads of crap to complain about, LOL~!
Kim said…
What?! Oh no! LOL! Okay, I suppose you can do what you want--it's YOUR blog after all! As usual, though, you got me thinking--I don't really have a blog link list in my sidebar for many of the same reasons you mentioned but I DO appreciate the bloggers who DO. Am I contrary, or what?! LOL!