Comments on: RSS Readers Hinder Discussion http://chadlehman.com/?p=316 Teaching, Technology, the Library, & more. Sat, 28 Aug 2010 03:19:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: John Robinson http://chadlehman.com/?p=316&cpage=1#comment-2645 John Robinson Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:16:21 +0000 http://chadlehman.com/?p=316#comment-2645 Hi Chad, Connecting the conversation is a very relevant topic for what we're doing at Joyspoon so thanks for your thoughts on the issue! I think there are two main problems with RSS and the conversation right now. The main issue is one which I feel most people don't give enough weight to, and that is the low adoption rate of RSS amongst the non-techy crowd. This makes it hard for non-RSS readers to not only stay up to date on the latest content but also to sustain any sort of meaningful conversation. By making it difficult for the average web user to stay up to date on your content, you reduce the total number of users participating in the discussion right from the beginning. For the users who are RSS readers, the main issue I've found is exactly what you've said above, the lack of an integrated community component. I seem to get into a groove when I read RSS feeds and unless the article really speaks to me, I will very rarely click-through. And when I do, I feel the need to write long-winded comments like this. If there was a way to package the discussion with the content, I think it'd just become part of my routine and I'd become a more active participant on a larger number of blogs. (Teaser: we've found solutions for both of the above problems, send me off an email if you want to see how we're doing it!) Anyways, always a great topic! Looking forward to hearing what others think. John Robinson Joyspoon Community Manager Twitter: @Joyspoon Hi Chad,

Connecting the conversation is a very relevant topic for what we’re doing at Joyspoon so thanks for your thoughts on the issue!

I think there are two main problems with RSS and the conversation right now. The main issue is one which I feel most people don’t give enough weight to, and that is the low adoption rate of RSS amongst the non-techy crowd. This makes it hard for non-RSS readers to not only stay up to date on the latest content but also to sustain any sort of meaningful conversation. By making it difficult for the average web user to stay up to date on your content, you reduce the total number of users participating in the discussion right from the beginning.

For the users who are RSS readers, the main issue I’ve found is exactly what you’ve said above, the lack of an integrated community component.

I seem to get into a groove when I read RSS feeds and unless the article really speaks to me, I will very rarely click-through. And when I do, I feel the need to write long-winded comments like this. If there was a way to package the discussion with the content, I think it’d just become part of my routine and I’d become a more active participant on a larger number of blogs.

(Teaser: we’ve found solutions for both of the above problems, send me off an email if you want to see how we’re doing it!)

Anyways, always a great topic! Looking forward to hearing what others think.

John Robinson
Joyspoon Community Manager
Twitter: @Joyspoon

]]> By: Cathy NElson http://chadlehman.com/?p=316&cpage=1#comment-2644 Cathy NElson Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:05:58 +0000 http://chadlehman.com/?p=316#comment-2644 I use Google Reader too, but if a post strikes me as interesting, I open it in another tab to be looked at again later, and then possibly comment. (But of course this one I went directly too for my comment!) I dont mind having to link out, as it 1) gives me a chance to see if there are already comments there so I can extend the conversation and 2)more time to reflect and sometimes calm down my emotional response. My pet peeve is that many bloggers DON'T offer a comments feed in their blog, making it impossible to follow the conversations. Some confess they don't know how. I say to that, EZ, pick a new blog theme. No excuse is accepted. Ive dropped some from my reader for that reason alone before. Once again, nice post. I've blogged about it before too. I use Google Reader too, but if a post strikes me as interesting, I open it in another tab to be looked at again later, and then possibly comment. (But of course this one I went directly too for my comment!)

I dont mind having to link out, as it 1) gives me a chance to see if there are already comments there so I can extend the conversation and 2)more time to reflect and sometimes calm down my emotional response.

My pet peeve is that many bloggers DON’T offer a comments feed in their blog, making it impossible to follow the conversations. Some confess they don’t know how. I say to that, EZ, pick a new blog theme. No excuse is accepted. Ive dropped some from my reader for that reason alone before.

Once again, nice post. I’ve blogged about it before too.

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