Don’t Feed the Geeks
According to the Google Webmaster tools, I have 285 Google subscribers to my feed.
Wait, huh? 285?? That can’t be right….
For one, the number just seems high to me. For two, I’d say that other than HNT posts the most number of commenters I’ve had on one post is less than 20. Which says to me that either I have a lot of lazy/lurker readers, or the 285 is just nonsense.
Because it was pointed out to me (most recently) by my friend Sarah, I do realize that there are folks who read my blog in the feed (Hi, Rob) and can’t ever really visit my decidedly NSFW/Not-Family-Friendly blog. So I’ve been trying to do more with the feed. It’s being met with equal parts “whahoo I did it” and “goddammitwtfpieceofshit”.
First I started out seeing if I could find a WordPress plugin that would not only show comment count, but allowe the reader to submit a comment right from the feed. But I don’t think that exists.
Next I added in the “share” icons to the posts and to the feed, so that’s somethin I guess.
Then I was at somebody else’s blog and saw their Feedburner icon showing the number of subscribers. Their number was considerably lower than mine; the reason that struck me as odd is because they have been around as a blogger for a lot longer than me and I was under the impression that they and their blog were a lot more popular an well-known than mine. So I figured Feedburner was more accurate. I signed up for Feedburner.
And here’s where my eyes go wide and I realize I’m in over my head.
Feedburner (which is friggin -owned- by Google now, yes?) says I have 27 subscribers to my feed. Now I don’t think that number is accurate either…why isn’t it picking up on the Google subscribers that Google Webmaster Tools reports I have? EDIT: After having Feedburner manage things for a full day rather than partial day, it’s now reporting 455 subscribers. And you think I was gobsmacked about 285.
So then I started poking around in the features with Feedburner. Changing how my feed looks, etc. In a section called “FeedFlare” there’s a couple options I thought I’d put in, like the comment count, the ability to email the post, and the ability to email me without having to go to the website for my address. But the comment count isn’t showing, nor is my “Email the author” link.
“Allow subscribers to email you directly using a web-based form FeedBurner provides. (If there is no author email address encoded in your feed, this Flare does not display.)”
Encoded in my feed?? How and where??
*sigh*
OH! I forgot this! I did away with the comments feed when I switched to Feedburner…..I never use it on other blogs, but if you did subscribe to that, please let me know, I’ll put it back.
Ok I put the comments feed over to Feedburner too.
And I still can’t fucking figure out this shit, the FeedFlares. I selected both the WordPress and the Blogger comment count, knowing full well I’m WordPress…..and the fucking Blogger one works, but not the WordPress! However clicking on the comments count doesn’t take you to the comments point of the post. And I can’t edit it. Can’t make the “Email the Author” work. Can’t figure out ANY of it. Grrrrrr.
I wonder about the number of Google Reader subscriptions too. I have about 140, Veronica about 250, yet I get more traffic on a daily basis. Not sure what that means..
I read you on Google Reader because I read EVERYTHING on Google Reader. You’re one of my three or four favorite feeds in my NSFW folder.
~ And I’m quite flattered you occasionally include my HNT pics in your tumblr ;) Thank you
I’ve always subscribed to both blog and comments because most of the time I’m at work and can’t pop in. When you get all this figured out let me know *grin* because someday I’m getting a big kid’s blog instead of just the wordpress site.
As far as google reader goes… yeah we have about 270. Don’t know if that’s true or not but that’s cool. We have anywhere between 500 – 1000 hits a day.. and maybe 3-7 comments. So yeah.. the visitor to comment ratio is dam near invisible. Oh well… such is life.
Count me as another Google Reader scriber.
What plugin did you use for feedburner? Feedburner is actually a different url for your feed. The plugin has to capture requests for the old link and redirect to the new one.
Changing stats providers usually changes your numbers because they count differently. It could be that the previous stats included false positives from bots and people who clicked the link instead of actual subscribers.
I lurk in a feed reader but I use Bloglines.
I feel bad telling you this after all the trouble you went through, but the truth of the matter is you have plenty of readers, it’s just that typing with one hand is a bitch.
Google feed user here. I read almost any site with a feed with google reader. In fact, I have two Google accounts, one for my erotic/nsfw browsing, and another for the rest.
Also, I can easily read feeds via Google Reader on my Treo phone! Trust me, I have enjoyed many a Lilly post on the bus, at work, on the train, in the bathroom, etc.
I’m one of your lazy readers. I feel your pain though. My blog has a lot of lazy readers too.