Feeds, Readers and Reading and Open Gates

Now that I have finished my Swivel Feeds experiment (look for the OPML file shortly), I can get back to reading (or not) and writing (or not) blogs that genuinely interest me.  The main thing I learned from my Swivel Feeds experience is that:

(a) there are a lot of good writers out there who don’t show up on Techmeme;

(b) there are a lot a bad writers out there, some of whom don’t show up on Techmeme; and

(c) I really like Techmeme.

In other words, I find too many blogs saying slightly different versions of the same thing.  Which means that, for me, the goodness or badness of a blog comes down to the interestingness of the blogger.  Not so much the network, formal or not, surrounding such writer.  And I still find most of the “social” networks to be nothing but billboards for whatever the user is selling- be it a personal brand or a page full of AdSense.  I also question how many “networkers” are really looking for friends as opposed to leads of one sort or another.

I also know that I cannot keep up with hundreds of feeds.

So where does that lead me?

First, it led me to delete about 140 blogs from my personal reading list.  Not because I find no value in 139 of those blogs (I admit that I find no value in the cats), but because if I see hundreds of unread blogs in my reader, I get either discouraged or pissed off (depending on my karma level) and close the application.  I don’t want 500 people to talk at me at a party (I say “at me” intentionally, because like most cocktail party banter, the blogosphere is largely un-conversational).  And I don’t want 500 people to talk at me when I fire up my computer.  All of this makes me very grateful to Dave and Mike for letting me co-host the podcast so I can keep some virtual connection to the void which binds while we wait for the lions, tigers and bears to show themselves.  Yes, I finished all the Hyperion books, and I see entire religions, past, present and future, in those words.  If I win the lottery before I forget about them, I’ll probably devote all my time to talking about those books and the lessons therein.

Here’s the latest podcast.

Bloglines is still slow and unreliable.  I tried hard (for the third time) to use Google Reader, but I can’t.  I hate Google Reader. In fact, I could write 1000 pages on how much I dislike the interface.  So for now the shitty application I know is better than the shitty one I don’t.

Last but not least,  I also have to figure out what to blog about.  My current thinking is to just go feral and start typing whatever pops into my head.  One way or another, that will solve any readership issues.  In that regard, why it is so freaking hard for Gene, Gene the Dancing Machine to lock the gate when he leaves?  A wide open gate is much worse than no fence at all.  Now, I get to venture out in the wet and cold to round up animals and kids, none of whom will willingly walk back through the gate.  Gene, if by some miracle you read this, tell your guys to get off the tractor and lock the damn gate when they leave.

I am enjoying Pownce.  I like the music sharing feature.

It doesn’t yet feel like Christmas to me.  We’re getting our tree tomorrow, so hopefully that will help.

Here’s the best song I heard for the first time in 2007.  Go buy the record, it’s really good.  You can download it DRM-free via Amazon.

I’ve got to stop now and go deal with that damn gate.