Recent Outdoor Blogging Tips
Alert: Google Reader is being Retired
If you’ve signed into your Google RSS Reader in the last week, you were greeted with a box that said Google Reader will be shut down on July 1st.
As part of a”Spring cleaning” announcement, listed are changes Google is making, one is in regards to the widely used Google Reader:
“We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months.”
The announcement left many angry, upset, with more questions than answers and scrambling for solutions.
So first and foremost, to be clear:
This ONLY applies to readers who use the Google Reader.
So let’s look at the change from two perspectives:
- A user/reader of blogs via the Google RSS reader
- An Outdoor Blogger who has readers subscribed to their blog via a Google Reader.
User of the Google Reader:
It’s going to be ok! There’s comfort in familiarity and it’s always painful when things change and I know you’re thinking of all the blogs you’ve collected up over time and added to your Google Reader.
You don’t want to lose your blog collection and you don’t have too…
Google Takeout is your escape.
You just need to export your RSS Feeds from the Google reader and add them to a New Sparkly reader. You have a lot of options out there and instead of re-writing the information others have compiled, I suggest visiting these links:
Once you’ve exported your RSS feeds and imported them into a new reader, you’re all set and you haven’t lost a single RSS feed/blog.
Look for your new RSS feed home now. Don’t wait until the last minute and risk losing your information.
As an Outdoor Blogger who publishes an RSS Feed:
The first concern anyone who writes a blog should ask in regards to this change is… How will it affect my readership?
I believe everyone will lose a small percentage of readers based on this change, namely the people who rarely check their Google Reader or those who ignore the impending change and don’t export their feeds from their Google Reader to a new one in time.
BUT…with some proactive measures, we can preserve the majority of our readers that see our content via the Google Reader by letting them know what to do.
Let’s help our readers out! They read our blogs via the Google RSS Reader, so what better way to let them know about the changes than by writing a post in our blogs alerting them to the change and how they can fix it. The helpful post you write will pop up in their Google reader and then it’s up to them to take action.
Feel free to copy and paste any of the above information I’ve wrote in a blog post of your own. Readership is hard earned and here at the OBN, we don’t want any of you to lose a single reader!
Rebecca
Graphics, Icons, Banners and Photo Generators
Fishing For Photos ~ From Loonapix
Recently one of my clients asked if I knew a simple (free) way to create some unique buttons and graphics for their site. Since I usually leave graphics and such to the pro’s, I went strolling the Internet Streets to see what I could find.
Since it’s fun to enhance a photo, create an unique graphic or just add a little something extra on the visual front to our Outdoor Blogs, I thought today I’d share some of the gems I came across.
From Cool Text:
As you can see with the Molten fun I created above, you can use Cool Text to create a moving banner, but you can also make stationary ones that might highlight a post you have written.
Button Graphic
At Cool Text you can also make buttons that can either be inserted into your post or you could make buttons that could be hyperlinked and put into your sidebars.
Putting a hyperlink with a button can be a great way to direct people to a post within your site you’d like to call attention too or maybe a giveaway you are having.
From Flaming Text:
Flaming Text looks to be all about making a logo-ish type graphic. When I was in there I made up a very basic banner, but maybe with some playing around someone could create a real logo from the templates. There is also an ImageBot in the mix, but I didn’t try anything with it…
For More Banner/Button Makers, check out:
From Loonapix:
Have fun with a few photos. There are options galore to take a photo and make it special. Or humorous. Or strange.
The photo at the top of this post is also done through Loonapix. I had to stop myself or else turn every one of my pictures into something strange and unusual.
From Profile Picture Maker:
Here’s another one you can get lost playing in.
Sure you can make graphics to use on your Outdoor Blog, but this one really specializes in making unique and interesting profile pictures for the many social media outlets.
I always thought I could hack it on the Deadliest Catch and now I don’t even have to put in my time as a greenhorn.
It takes some time sorting through all the options, frames, movie posters and such, but if you dig around you can probably find something to use to spruce up your profile picture around the net.
Or you can try being a greenhorn the old fashioned way…
From Photo Notes:
You can use a personal photo or use one of the photo’s they have in their templates.
This is just a fun way to recreate a polaroid type photo. You never know when it could come in handy to spice up a picture on your blog.
Ok, that’s enough photos of me for one day. Hopefully one of these sites is just the ticket you are looking for to create something new. If you know of any out there that you use, feel free to share the link in the comments below.
And as always, have fun blogging!
Rebecca
Outdoor Blogging Tips
Alert: Google Reader is being Retired
If you've signed into your Google RSS Reader in the last week, you were greeted with a box that said … [Read More...]
Graphics, Icons, Banners and Photo Generators
Recently one of my clients asked if I knew a simple (free) way to create some unique buttons and … [Read More...]
Outdoor Photography & Video Tips
Video Editing on a Budget 2
Video editing can be the most frustrating thing on earth to do, well at least for me it is. … [Read More...]
Video Editing on a Budget
Most people think that to edit videos for your website you need to own two or three $2000+ … [Read More...]
Outdoor Social Media
Social Media and How it Connects Outdoor Enthusiasts
There's no denying the fact that Social Media can open doors, create new friendships, build a … [Read More...]
Let’s Add another one…Google Plus Pages
If only I had gone on blissfully unaware, I probably could have made it another week or two without … [Read More...]
How To Get The Comment Avatar
As you wander around the blogosphere you’ve probably noticed that when some people post a comment, a default (generic image) avatar symbol will show … [Read the Rest...]