Google’s decision to kill Google Reader has impacted more than our ability to have all our blog feeds in one easy-to-access place, it has impacted many blogs and their ability to be read at all. You see, Google did not give anybody a real alternative to Reader. Some jumped in, like Feedly, making it easy to transfer your feeds to their readers. For some users of Google Reader, it was hard to decide which of the many alternatives out there to use, so they didn’t transfer their feeds, and now, that ability is lost.
In the past few weeks, I started to notice that this blog’s feed was taking several days to update on Feedly (which is the alternative I chose). Then, the last two or three posts NEVER updated at all. I wrote to Feedly this morning, and their customer service rep told me that it is a capacity issue on which they are working. In the meantime, people who are looking for this blog on Feedly think I haven’t written anything in two weeks. And you may not even see this post.
The demise of Google Reader may turn out to be a disaster for many smaller blogs like this. Unless Feedly steps up, and all readers out there have the capacity that Google offered, blogs will be affected. Once you aren’t present, you disappear from people’s minds. With the plethora of blogs and other content available, the competition is intense. To have cut through the clutter and made it on to people’s Google Reader only to be demolished by an nonexistent “transition” is not only a real shame but could be a destroyer of business.
I am not sure what to do. I will continue posting my content to Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook as appropriate, and people are free to subscribe via email (and that updates instantly as the post is published).
If you are reading this post, what do you suggest?
About Deborah Brody
Deborah Brody writes and edits anything related to marketing communications. Most blog posts are written under the influence of caffeine.
Sorry you are having issues getting your blog content in Feedly. I have checked your feed, which we have in the system as http://deborahbrody.com/feed/. The articles seem up to date as of now (except for this one, which will be pulled in on the next poll). in general, your blog content should be updated in Feedly within a few hours. The next time you see a longer delay of days, please contact me directly.
Pingback: Before you send that email… | Deborah Brody Marketing Communications
It’s encouraging to see Feedly’s rapid response to your problem, which probably wasn’t affecting only you :p
I’m interested in knowing if their fix remedied the issue? Inquiring minds want to know.
Hi Woody,
Thanks for checking in! Yes it is encouraging, and it seems to be partially fixed, although I have yet to see today’s post appear in my Feedly. I am not sure why this happened or how it is being seen on other readers or by other people.
Deborah
The latest post has made it into our system. The rate at which your feed will be polled is influenced by a number of factors. The surest way to guarantee faster polling is to sign up for a pro account and subscribe to your feed. That is totally up to you, in any case your feed should be updated in Feedly within a few hours of posting. Please contact us if you see any longer delay than that. Thanks!
Pingback: Self-monitor or …. | Deborah Brody Marketing Communications