Blog Buddies

Is it just me, or are we bloggin' fools lately? I love it!

This conversation started when EHaz decided that she had a LOT of running nuggets (of wisdom?) worth sharing and it was time to unleash her fury into the blogosphere. She's not the only one, though. This Btown running crew's already killing it with documenting running, life, and everything in between.

After all, there's:

| US! | Christy | EHaz | Craig |
| Taylor | Savannah | Heather |
| Miranda | Scott | Mandy |
| Frank | Emily | Andrea | Wendy |

* Hope I didn't forget anyone...
PLEASE leave a comment if you have a blog you want to share!*

See, I subscribe to 100+ blogs. I don't read a lot of books -- blogs are my version of bedtime reading, and I love it because it's genuine and (hopefully!) pretty much real-time. It's like a magazine minus the month-long wait for the next issue! While the design blogs I frequent are fun and have lots of pretty pictures, I still love reading about even the mundane daily ramblings from my friends. 

For me? Well, my blog is my 21st-century version of journaling. Because writing is just WAY too hard. ;) It's my own little slice of the internet.

Print: Etsy

The beautiful thing about blogging is that once you start, you just can't get enough. So let's share the love! 

The rest of this post is about how to keep up with your favorite run/blogging friends.

Do this by:

1) Reading all of the blogs you follow at one website, with Google Reader or Blogger.
2) Following (Blogger) /Subscribing (Reader) to your favorite blogs.

3) Extra credit: Organize your favorite blogs in Google Reader

Blogger or Google Reader?

As much fun as typing in the URL to 10,000 blog sites every morning sounds, you can read every blog you like at one compact website! There are plenty of other readers out there, but these are the two most popular and easy to use.

So, decide if you're going to use Blogger or Google Reader.

• Blogger allows you to read blogs only. If you're already a blog owner, this might be most convenient, since Blogger is the site you go to to author a post (if this is your platform). New blog posts from friends will show up at the bottom of your dashboard.
  To see your favorite blogs in Blogger, you must Follow them.

• Google Reader gives you the chance to subscribe to both blogs and news feeds (like if keyword: "Steph Bartley" pops up in a news article somewhere on the interwebs). Downside: You have to visit the separate Google Reader website to see your newest reading material. I personally like Google Reader because I subscribe to a lot of blogs, which is visually easier to read and allows the possibility to organize my blogs into folders I can name (Running Blogs, Home Decor Blogs, Food Blogs, etc.). To see your favorite blogs in Google Reader, you can Follow or Subscribe to them.

If you're not doing it already, FOLLOW US! Or, Subscribe! Go ahead and click that button under the Subscribe! heading at right. C'mon.... you know you want to.  ;)

Reading In Blogger
The easiest way to do this is to Join on Google Friend Connection - that's how you follow. See the Follow Me! option at the right? Join this Site, and you'll officially be a follower.

Then, go to Blogger. Scroll down past your blogs and you'll see all of the blogs you're Following right in your Reading List. Ta-da!

Reading In Google Reader
Don't be scared- it looks harder than it is. I'll do it in photos. Pictures are worth a thousand words!

First, go to Google Reader.

 It should look like this...

Click the red Subscribe button and type in the website address (I like to copy/paste) you want to subscribe to. Then, hit Add.

Your newly-subscribed blog will show up in the bottom of your reader, along with any unread posts. Now, whenever any of the blogs you subscribe to post new updates, they'll show up here!

Here's what the Subscription list looks like with a lot of subscriptions:

Yikes! Lots to read.

Messy? Lots of topics?

This is why you might want to do some organizing with a handy feature in Google Reader!

Extra Credit: Organize With Folders in Google Reader

As soon as you get into Google Reader, click the Setup button at the top right. Select "Reader Settings."

Click on the "Subscriptions" tab at the top. Then, Add a New Folder.

Go back to Google Reader and select a blog. Choose the folder you want to assign it to, and it'll get moved to the folder once you select it.

Now, when you read, you can see each of your subscriptions and folders exactly how you want them!

That's the big show! So thanks for Following us, and good luck subscribing to your favorite blogs!

Happy reading!

Update: Drive more traffic to your blog. Add a Blogroll, or list of favorite blogs you haunt, somewhere on your own blog. The idea is that you send readers to them, and they send readers to you. Cross-promotion, right?! :) If you & your running blog would like to be considered for our blogroll (screen shot below), shoot me an email or comment!