Mysteries of the Blogging World

I sometimes subscribe to a site that hasn't updated for a while so that when, or if, there is an update it will flag in my RSS reader. Saves time visiting the site in the meantime. Possibly others do the same?

I always thought the same as John. That you get a few extra subscribers if you publish less often to save people coming and checking all the time. Perhaps I should try that some time???? As if I could just STOP posting!!! LOL.

But I don't know all that much about the fact that some subscriber numbers don't show up if they don't access the feed or whatever it is that they talk about when they discuss numbers going up and down.

John - welcome. :) That's an interesting point I hadn't even thought of. The way I understand it, many blogs encourage readers to subscribe regardless of their posting frequency. It would be such a pain to login at every blog separately, which means there isn't a way to keep track of the posts you have and haven't read without using a feed reader. Subscribing therefore becomes a convenience for any site, at least in my opinion. I subscribe to all the sites I enjoy reading.

Lightening - Some sites update frequently, some don't. But some readers want frequent updates, and others don't. I guess we find the sites that work for us. I've yet to unsubscribe from a site due to posting frequency, though. I usually unsubscribe if the content goes downhill for a lot of posts in a row.

Thanks for the comments, keep 'em coming :)

How on earth did John get his comment to have so much space after his? I want to be special like him!

I need to ask an ignorant question Ben (ignorant and lazy because I could probably find this answer on the net but I always prefer to ask all-knowing you :D)... how do you know how many subscribers a site has that isn't your own?

i don't usually read from a reader though I am subscribed to some blogs. I think it's really that sense of anticipation that leads readers to subscribe to blogs that are not frequently updated. Much more if they have no reason (like the entrecard widget)for a daily visit.

fragileheart - it seems like there may be a problem with my theme, I'll see what I can do about it. As for finding out how many subscribers a site has, just look for the Feedburner image. You'll find mine on my home page, on the right-hand side. Right now it shows that I have 111 subscribers.

ceblogger - as far as I'm aware, the subscriber count doesn't actually show the total number of subscribers. It shows the number of active subscribers. Feedburner has no way of knowing if you subscribe until you view a post or click it (I'm not sure at what point Feedburner counts you as a subscriber). The fluctuation is not always due to new people subscribing or other people unsubscribing, it can go up or down depending on whether people are reading it.

Thanks for the comments. :)

I have the more logical problem. If I stop posting people stop coming. Last year I had a huge Technorati rating. Too bad I didn't take a screenshot. On a site that gives you rank based on Technorati I was an A list blog. I was C last time I checked. I don't know how I got there but it was right before a lot of in life chaos, with job hunting and then moving to a different city and then another different city. I stopped posting for months, other than the odd burst of some kind of babble as a sop to my guilt for not keeping up with my blog and the people I was chatting with through it then. Anyway, I came back to it and found I was just a nobody again according to Technorati and clones. It was a nice perk to be A listed. My secret, wicked little goal is to get there again, but only accidentally, never on purpose. :)

Here's something to think about. When you post feverishly, those who can keep up are fine with it. Those who can't, unsubscribe. Hence the lowering of subscriber count.

Here's the thing. Once someone subscribes to a feed, the person might forget about the existence until a new post comes up. Exceptions are the few feeds the person actively engages in.

So what happens is that a person is still subscribed to a feed, even if that feed/site isn't updated on a regular basis (or even for weeks on end). The person simply don't know until he goes in and do housekeeping.

Since those who are already subscribed, remain subscribed, the only direction a subscriber count can go is up (more or less) with the addition of new readers. Even if one doesn't post.

My intuitive guess on the subscriber count (based on observations of FeedBurner and Google Reader) is that whenever a person logs into his feed reader, the reader goes out and gathers all new posts. In the process, even if the site is, like, dead, the reader still has to check.

This continual checking is what the FeedBurner count is reporting (roughly). If a person is still subscribed, even though there are no new posts and he didn't personally click through the old posts, he's still counted.

My thoughts are similar to John's. I follow a number of blogs, but usually don't subscribe or use a reader since I prefer to read posts in their 'natural environment' of the website they were posted at.
It can happen, though, if I repeatedly go to a site and there is nothing new for a long time that I subscribe just to get a note when there's something new there that makes taking another look worthwhile.

Laura - I haven't stopped posting for long enough to find out if that's the case here. I'm worried it'll kill my site!

Vincent - good points, although I think Google Reader in particular might grab posts even if you're not using it - so it will load faster when you start it up. I'm not positive about this, though. It just seems pretty quick to open even when you subscribe to lots of sites.

Andranneth - it's certainly interesting to hear how other people feel about this, and what their reading habits are. I'm still not 100% sure of how the subscriber count is calculated though.

Thanks for the comments. :)

Ben- I have the six million dollar blog... it can not die I just rebuild it. :) It's on rebuild number three now. I had a time a few years ago where I was deciding whether or not I wanted to stay on Blogger or change to WordPress. I stuck with WP for about a year and then came back to Blogger. Everything on WP was lost and there was almost nothing on Blogger. So, I got to start rebuilding then too.

Don't fear the reaper... I mean the rebuild. If you last long enough at the same blog the rebuild will come. You can't avoid a time of being too busy or just needing a break from it. Have fun instead. Be the phoenix and arise from your own ashes.

Edited: May 10, 2008 15:38

There's a lot of websites I still visit directly. I have loads of bookmarks and sites on my links page and, oddly enough, it just seems easier to go straight to the source rather than subscribe to an RSS feed. A few sites I look at are old skool and don't even have RSS so a direct visit is the only option sometimes.

While I have a RSS feed I don't really push it. I used to have the big RSS button but it seemed everyone was using them so I dropped it (my site's not called disassociated for nothing ;). As someone once said to me, if a reader likes a site enough they'll subscribe to the RSS feed of their own accord without needing to be compelled :)

Laura - last night I wrote down a few post ideas that might be good for the next week or so. We'll see how it goes. Meanwhile, it's good to get a few spontaneous posts out (hence this mini-series) and it's great to get some comments, too. :)

John - I'm still very keen on Google Reader, but I am totally with you on two things: not using a big feed button, and not pushing the feed too much. In subscription should be an offer your visitors can't refuse, I said that forcing feeds on people will probably do more harm than good.

PS - John, I looked at your site and we like some of the same music. Blue Lines and Music for the Jilted Generation are in my collection too. I've subscribed to your site and will check it out a bit more soon. :)