I began collecting RSS feeds in Google Reader in 2006 or 2007. I subscribed to any blog that seemed mildy interesting or had something to do with credit unions, banking, marketing or technology. Google Reader was an easy solution to keep up with new posts on my laptop and phone. But there was a point when Google Reader became largely unusable for me with too many unread items and too many feeds that didn't hold my interest. I used to be in Google Reader multiple times per day but that faded as Twitter became the way for content to find me.
I had some time today, so I decided to tackle my digital hoarding and relentlessly unsubscribe in an attempt to make my Google Reader usable again. I unsubscribed to any blog that hadn't posted within the last 60 days or blogs that didn't appeal to me anymore. I nuked at least 400 feeds. I was amazed at the number of credit unions that have given up on their blogs. I have to agree with Jeffry Pilcher in his assersion that most credit union and bank blogs aren't the greatest!
I was also surprised at how many industry bloggers have given up on their blogs as well. There are a few strong industry bloggers left, but there are dozens that no longer post. I think it's a sign of the social media times—it's tough to dedicate time to quality long-form writing (I say this looking directly in the mirror). Easier mediums like Twitter, Posterous and Tumblr have definitely taken over.
I'm glad I took the time to purge and I look forward to getting only the stuff I really want pushed to me again.
How has your blog consumption and blog creation changed over the past couple of years?
Tim