Workshop

Random musings on all things business, technology & internet

State of the Blogroll

Around every three months I run a link checker on Blogroll.org to see who’s fallen by the wayside or whatever changes there might be via URLs shifting ’n all. It’s how I keep the blogroll fresh and clean just for you!

My observations from these scans:

  • An average of one or two blogs disappear completely during each cycle (i.e. their domain no longer works or the blog has been deleted).

  • While it’s fortunate to only lose a couple every few months, it’s always sad to see them go and they leave a hole in the blogverse. Like losing friends.

  • A large portion of redirect errors come from blogs changing their URLs (i.e. moving to new locations or changing the way they do links, etc.) and forgetting to also redirect their RSS feed. So don’t forget your RSS feed when you change things up, folks!

Read more…

(Note: I’m now writing about blogging and such on my other blog at Blogroll.org and sharing them from here.)

Have you “Moved to Substack”?

Lately I’ve been coming across quite a few abandoned blogs with a note along the lines of “Moved to Substack.”

That’s all well and good but when you do that you no longer own your platform (and IMO lose a bit of character that makes you different).

There’s nothing wrong with utilizing Substack (I certainly see the appeal) but why not keep your blog alive as your central home at the same time?

Read more…

(Note: I’m now writing about blogging and such on my other blog at Blogroll.org and sharing them from here.)

Keeping it simple

When I first built Blogroll.org I went big with a fancy home page, several explainer pages, boxes of links, a message board in lieu of comments and so forth.

Fun and exciting times!

But then…

I noticed over the past few months I was slowly backing off posting new links, posts, etc.

Read more…

(Note: I’m now writing about blogging and such on my other blog at Blogroll.org and sharing them from here.)

A couple things

Quick notes on things at the Blogroll.org HQ: – I got hungry and added Food/Drink as a new category for personal blogs focusing on those topics. If you have any favorites, feel free to let me know by commenting or replying. – In the Blogroll Scroll weekly newsletter I’ve added a little space to share extra thoughts on certain blogs/links I’m sharing. You’ll see those in italics. Enjoy, fellow net-wanderers. Ray

Read more…

(Note: I’m now writing about blogging and such on my other blog at Blogroll.org and sharing them from here.)

“A Gentle Intro to RSS”

I talk about RSS feeds quite a bit — they’ve been around for decades and are one of the easiest (and best) ways to keep up with your favorite blogs.

However, in the zeal of my love for it, I sometimes forget that not everyone knows what RSS feeds are, much less how to use them in the first place.

Read more…

(Note: I’m now writing about blogging and such on my other blog at Blogroll.org and sharing them from here.)

Beware Chrome’s follow button?

By now you’ve probably heard Google’s testing an RSS follow button in Chrome that lets readers follow blogs, etc. and read those articles in a new “Following” tab in the browser.

At first glance it’s great news — anything that helps readers follow blogs can only help, right?

The problem is this is Google we’re talking about…

Read more…

(Note: I’m now writing about blogging and such on my other blog at Blogroll.org and sharing them from here.)

Free your blog from the tyranny of pace

When it comes to personal blogs and blogging, screw pace. Rather than pressuring yourself under artificial time & quantity constraints, just write for yourself. Readers (and you) will be happier when you do.

Read more…

(Note: I’m now writing about blogging and such on my other blog at Blogroll.org and sharing them from here)

Time to ditch Unsplash photos?

It happened again — the Big Guy (Getty) bought out the little guy (Unsplash). And the Big Guy usually ruins the little guy.

Getty Images has an notorious reputation among photographers (low pay) and is a copyright tyrant (charges for public domain images, buys popular existing images and ex-post-facto goes after folks for using ’em).

From Om Malik:

[perfectpullquote align=”full”]Hearing this was like a red hot spike through the eyes. A startup whose raison d’être was to upend draconian and amoral companies like Getty Images was going to now be part of Getty.[/perfectpullquote]

My initial thought was despite promises made, Getty will find a way to charge for Unsplash’s images, perhaps along the slippery slope of commercial usage.

Om seems to think the same:

[perfectpullquote align=”full”]In a couple of years, when the Unsplash founders are gone, I won’t even be surprised if Getty’s strongmen started sending legal notices to those who used the photos. New rights-related legalese is probably already being drafted.[/perfectpullquote]

Technically, Unsplash’s license says it is irrevocable but they have changed their terms of service before.

I’d start going through your Unsplash images and swappin’ em out with other, more friendly alternatives out there.

Better to be safe than sorry.