I recently made a change to the blog and I wanted you all to be aware. I updated the blogroll. Doing so will make visiting your blogs more efficient. In order to understand why, I will briefly discuss what I used to do in the past, and how I’ve updated the blogroll. Let’s take a look.
Previous Approach
On my Resources page, I have a list of the blogroll. I sort it alphabetically and try to make it easy on the eyes. Although the blogroll is there as a benefit to the DGI Community, I also use it quite frequently. Specifically, when I have time, I will start from the top, visit each blogger’s page and read their most recent post. Part of the problem is that I don’t know if there’s a recent post until I get to the site. That waists time.
At the time of this writing, there are 47 links on the page. Going through each of those links every week takes time. Sometimes, I can only get through half of that list. That’s probably why my feedback is higher at links closer to ‘A’ than the ones closer to ‘Z.’ There have been Saturdays when I just spend the whole day reading blog posts and commenting where I feel appropriate. I certainly can’t do that all the time. It’s fun, but definitely, time-consuming.
Well, I found a solution to my problem. It’s a solution that existed before, but I just failed to notice it until now.
Blogroll Solution
One of the things that I had on my site was a feed of my favorite bloggers. Those are the bloggers whose blogs I visit almost everytime I want to view someone else’s content. That list was about 8 or so bloggers.
The feed is great because, from my own site, I can see the most recent post. If it’s one I haven’t read and/or it looks interesting, I click the link and it takes me right to that post. Brilliant!
It has a scrolling feature that updates every few seconds. I figure that was a nice touch since it makes the page come alive.
To make things easy on me, I’ve now chosen to include all the blogs on my blogroll into the feed. That way, I no longer have to manually visit each link on my Resources page.
What Does This Mean For You?
If you’re not on my blogroll and would like to be, let me know. Ideally, it would be great if you also include me on yours but that is not a requirement. I do visit the blogs on my blogroll regularly, so ensure your site is up-to-date. Also, keep in mind that there can be additions or deletions at any time at my discretion.
But, a lot of bloggers out there posts really interesting content. It’s hard keeping up with them all, and I figure this is one way to do it. It works for me and hopefully, it can work for you too.
Conclusion
I didn’t want to make this a long post. I just wanted to give you an update as to what’s happening with my blogroll. I plan on updating the Resources page as well, but that’s for sometime in the future.
What do you think of the update to my blogroll? Think it’s a useful feature? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.
Hi DP,
I love the tool! It helps to find some new blogs I wasn’t aware about as well. Good job and I think that it’s definitely a useful feature 🙂
-BI
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Awesome BI. I’m glad you like it.
Very nice DP. I would love to be on your blog roll if I’m not already.
I have a similar set up with an updating RSS feed (every 30 mins) from selected blogs. Take a look here if you’re interested. http://www.buyholdlong.com/dividend-blog-feed/
Cheers
Buy, Hold Long recently posted…And Your Winner Is…..
BHL, of course you’re on my blogroll. You’ve been on there for some time!
Seems like a nifty feature. I’m afraid I can’t use it since I’m use the free version hosted on wordpress.
For me I usually subscribe to a blog so I get the post in my email. Doesn’t work for everyone though so it’s still a lot of manual stuff.
I need to update my blog roll as well haven’t been there in a while lol.
Mr. Robot recently posted…June 2018 Dividend Report
Hey Mr. Robot. Subscribing via the blog itself isn’t a bad option either. Plus, I always think it’s good to have an updated blogroll. There are certainly some parts of my blog that I really haven’t touched, but I have to force myself to give some TLC to those aspects of the site as well.
Hi DP. Thanks for including Dividends Diversify on your blogroll. And for being a regular reader/contributor. For Mr. Robot and others looking for a way to keep up with new blog posts, the free version of Feedly is a good option. Put in the websites your interested in and it prompts you with new posts. I found it a little over whelming after I loaded it up with to many blogs. So I have had to reduced it and cut back on blog commenting a little bit. Just to keep my sanity. If I have ever had that. Tom
Tom @ Dividends Diversify recently posted…Abbvie | Big Time Dividend Growth – Some Business Risk
You’re welcome Tom.
I like the update, and was about to ask to be included when I noticed that you have me on there. Thank you so much for including me, as a newcomer to the DGI community that means a great deal.
Reading this has also made me realize that I’ve yet to establish one of my own, so I need to get on that. As I like the way you have done this with the scrolling list, may I ask if that is a plugin or is now built-in to WordPress?
I’ve been using the approach Mr. Robot mentioned, and subscribing to notifications of new posts on the blogs that offer that option. And some that don’t I keep tabs open on their site so I can periodically check for new posts. Your new approach looks like it will make that easier and benefit the readers as well.
DivvyDad recently posted…Don’t Be Afraid To Change Course
The plugin I use is called the WP RSS Aggregator, which is free. However, to get the specific feature I have, I use a paid version of one of their widget options. I would suggest backing up your site before trying it. I wrote about it before when I accidentally crashed my site. I would suggest checking out my post entitled, Backup Your Blog. But, it’s a good plugin.
Very nice blogroll tool DP! I have actually being thinking about my blogroll page recently lol. I was thinking about alphabetizing it at the very least. Maybe this weekend I will do it. I like how yours is set up. Good job! 🙂
My Dividend Dynasty recently posted…One Year Blogiversary and Recent Buys – AT&T (T) and General Mills (GIS)
Thanks MDD. I’m trying to keep it at a manageable amount, but there’s just so much good content out there. Looking forward to seeing what you end up doing with your blogroll.
We are very pleased to see our name in your new blogroll page.
Appreciate that!
Not a problem GNB.
DP – nice use of an actual blog roll! I have a static page for blogs I visit regularly but it’s also getting long and doesn’t include all the blogs I read.
You know, I never thought of it like that, that the blogs actually roll on the page. Hahaha. The length of the blogroll is something I am struggling with. I don’t want it to be too long, but it’s tough finding that right balance sometimes. So, hopefully, you can find that right balance for your site.
Hey Div Portfolio, I love the automatic scrolling blog-roll. I like to keep things very simply on my site so no plans to add a blogroll, but if I did I think your solution is a great one.
Cheers,
Frankie
Thanks Frankie. I really like it myself.
As always, I appreciate you adding me into your blogroll. I like the feed. It is for sure a great way to let you be aware of any new posts. I know of a few external sites that do similar things. Feedly or Feedspot come to mind. Basically make a feed of the ones you follow and it will put them all in one place for you. Can quickly run through and see if anyone posted anything new or if anything is interesting how you mentioned. No wrong way to go about it, but saving time is key with so many bloggers in the community and articles on the web.
I agree Daze. I find that I tend to get busy at work every now and then and so I don’t always have the time to blog or keep up with other bloggers. So, anything that can help reduce the time and make things more efficient is always welcomed.