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Use Bloglines OPML to Find Interesting Blogs

February 14, 2006 by Guest Author

John Cox, Guest Writer

I suppose that I can be described as the post-modern Slacker. I am not that lazy when it comes to work as I have kids to feed, but I am always looking for something to fill my limited attention span. However, I tend to be rather lazy when it comes to finding new sources to read. Using the OPML option with Bloglines is the easiest way I have found to discover new reading material from folks that have the same interests as I.

OPML is similar to a table of contents of your RSS feeds. It shows what you are subscribed to, and how you have it organized. If you have a peek at my OPML file you can see each of the blogs that I am subscribed, as well that I am a rather unorganized person that just leaves them in my root folder. This is the file that I have generated from my Bloglines account, and is just a collection of blogs that I have found over the years by downloading others OPML files.

The process is rather simple on Bloglines on utilizing the OPML of others to find some outstanding (and some not so outstanding) reading. I would assume that it is rather simple on other RSS Aggregate tools as well, but you need to consult the documentation for the tool that you are using. Here is how I go about it. (You might want to open this article in a second window if you want to go through it with me.)

Find a blog that you enjoy in Bloglines. We will use Successful Blog as our example. From Bloglines we can see that there are 74subscribers that read this blog on that feed. If we click on the “74 Subscribers” link you will see that of those 74, there are 28 souls that leave their blog reading list public. On that list is “niceguyeddie” which is my subscriptions (I am a fan of Reservoir Dogs, and have absolutely no taste in reading).

When you click on my nickname the left frame changes to my subscriptions. This is where it gets fun. If you scroll down the list you will see a link for “Export Subscriptions”. That should bring up my OPML file in the right frame (or if you chose to open in a new tab / page then you know where it is going). Simply right click on the right frame and “This Frame -> Save Frame As” in Firefox. The instructions are similar for you 7 IE users left, as there is a “Save Frame As” in IE as well. Simply save the frame as an XML file to your desktop or folder that you use for working files.

We now how the OPML file from our like minded reader on our computer. This is only half the process, as we now need to import the feeds into our account so that we can enjoy and track them. Get back into “My Feeds” and you should see a link for “Reorder / Sort” in the left frame. Simply go to that link, and at the bottom of the left frame you will see a link for “Import Subscriptions”. When you click on that link your right frame will change to an OPML import where you can upload the OPML.xml file that you just saved to your desktop or working directory. Once imported, it may take some time for the feeds to end up on your reading list, but generally I have found that it is almost immediate.

What I have found is that most folks have subscriptions to their own Technorati watch lists for vanity reasons (I do as well). I generally unsubscribe from those immediately and sift through all the new blogs that i have found. On any given import, I tend to find ten or so blogs that interest me enough to remain subscribed and to follow with some interest.

This technique might not work for you as far as finding new reading, but it is worth a try when you feel that you are in a bit of a reading rut.

—
When SOB John isn’t showing us tricks at Bloglines. He’s at Wyome. com definitely NOT slacking. Check out his blog.
Thanks for a great post, John!–ME “Liz” Strauss

Success Is NOT Sleeping Faster

February 13, 2006 by Liz

If editorials put you to sleep, read on, a little snooze could be a good thing.

Everyone needs a nap now and then. I’m a firm believer in them. I think that naps are good things. American Naps are a way of refueling. Take a nap at the right time on a weekend, and you get two Saturdays instead of one. . . .

It was only three years ago, that BBC News quoted a Harvard Research study which suggested 60-90 minutes around 2p.m. every afternoon would rejuvenate us. I still subscribe to that theory.

But late last year, things started changing, new studies reported in Men’s Journal were touting the benefits of sleeping “as fast as possible” and smaller naps from the now-called “lazy-man’s” nap of 50 to 90 minutes to the “nano-nap” of 10-20 seconds.

10-20 seconds? That’s blinking!

Of course, if that doesn’t suit you, Steve Pavlina began talking about the uberman sleep schedule of polyphasic sleep. That’s where you sleep for 20 minutes at six different times a day–no more daytime and nighttime. One long day with lots of little naps–sort of like being a human laptop.

Now British researchers are discussing the CAFFEINE NAP. That’s right–drink one cup of coffee, and go to sleep for 15 minutes. (The coffee must shave off that extra five from the original 20 minute power nap.) According to Achieve-It, the reporting blog, this process clears your system of adenosine, the chemical that makes you sleepy. (I came across this tidbit browsing Lifehacker.)

Could I just say something? . . . What’s wrong with sleeping?

Success is not about sleeping faster. It’s no wonder someone wrote a Snark Manifesto recently. Snarky–that’s how little kids get when they haven’t had a good nap–all kinds of cranky and hard to get along with. Maybe we should all take a couple hours, have a snack and take a siesta. Not for ourselves, for the community.

Don’t even get me started on the topic of one-minute bedtime stories for kids.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Blog Promotion: Checking Out Curb Appeal

February 13, 2006 by Liz

Steve McKee writes the Smart Answers column in Business Week. Last Friday he was talking about how everything a company does comes down to marketing. His column was replete with examples and well made points, but I was particularly taken with this story.

. . . The other night, my wife and I decided to try a new restaurant. But when we turned down its street, we just kept on driving, never even getting out of the car. It was the sign that gave us pause. It was simply a flat, translucent panel with an amateurish, one-color logo slapped on — the kind of sign you would see on a check-cashing operation in a seedy strip mall. The sign was of low quality and in bad taste — imagery not well associated with a fine-dining establishment. With plenty of other good choices we simply didn’t want to take the risk of spoiling our dinner date.

For all I know, the food would have been amazing and the chef an undiscovered gem, but the restaurant never got the chance to prove it because we naturally assumed the experience would be as unprofessional as the sign. As a result, we passed.

Perhaps after a few more quiet weekends the proprietor will realize that marketing is everything and will do something about the sign. Perhaps not. But I’m determined to apply the lesson to my own business and think about marketing in a much broader context. Are you?

–Steve McKee, Business Week, Smart Answers : All Together Now “Marketing Is Everything,” February 10, 2006

Checking Out Curb Appeal

After I read Steve McKee’s story, I started wondering. How many readers are choosing to drive by our blogs–the same way Steve and his wife chose to drive by that restaurant–because they lack curb appeal? We do make assumptions based solely on how a blog looks. Try this test to see how blog curb appeal works for you.

memory, dragons,

fortune.

2. Do the search on Google Blog Search, Technorati, or another blog search engine. Keep your search results window handy in case you need to return to it.

3. Randomly choose 3-5 blogs from the search results.

4. Without reading a word, rank the blogs in the order you predict they might rank based on linkage from other blogs.

5. Then do a link search for each blog on Technorati Advanced Search or another blog search engine to get their actual link stats. ( On Technorati–>[Search>Options>Links to This URL] On Others–>[link: domain.com] )

6. Rank the blogs again based on your findings from the links search.

7. Compare your prediction to reality. Did your prediction come close?

Curb appeal changes how we value things. To say it another way. Perception changes reality.

Granted curb appeal isn’t everything. Curb appeal gets folks in the door. Content keeps them. Even without curb appeal, if you can folks to read quality content, they’ll come back again. Still that doesn’t change the fact that curb appeal makes a HUGE difference in whether a stranger stops to read word one.

Curb Appeal in the Technorati 100

In the Technorati Top 100 Blogs, 10 are My Space Blogs. Who says a template blog can’t have curb appeal? Here are three My Space Blogs from the Technorati Top 100 and their link stats as of today.

Technorati 19 has 16,141 links from 4864 sites.

Technorati 81 has 6673 links from 2214 sites.

Technorati 96 has 5792 links from 2290 sites.

Obviously readers find these blogs have enough curb appeal. Like beauty, curb appeal is in the eye of the beholder. Our blogs need to match what our readers expect to see from a blog like ours. A Disney Blog shouldn’t look like Brooks Brothers or a hiphop blog for that matter. We all have sense what our readers will find confusing or won’t find attractive. Don’t we?

Steve McKee’s story stuck with me because my decision tree always starts with eliminating the negatives. That way I have fewer choices to work from. I might be missing something spectacular, but I don’t have the time to kiss all of the frogs I’ll meet just to find that spectacular something.

So many blogs and so little time. Don’t let me drive right by yours, just because I didn’t see the quality on your sign out front. I’m going out to check my sign one more time right now. How’s your sign looking these days?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Sunday Night Bloggy Question 8

February 12, 2006 by Liz

For those who come looking for a short, thoughtful read, a blogging life discussion, or a way to gradually ease back into the week, tonight I offer a Blogging Question.

Here you go. . . .

People keep asking me What does a blog network offer a blogger?

I suppose that I should expect to get this question more than most people might. I always have trouble explaining my answer, because my answer is unique to who I am.

Today it hit me. The question isn’t right. The question should be:

What does a being part of a blog network offer READERS?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Marketing Strategy ala Mickey Mouse

February 12, 2006 by Liz

With the Disney, Pixar, Murdoch deal in the news, I’ve been reading a lot about Michael Eisner again. Today Newsweek’s Nick Tabakoff has an interview with Michael Eisner, the Mouseketeer who gets credit for taking Mickey from a household name to worldwide prominence.

As Nick Tabakoff at Newsweek says,

How did he transform Disney? Simply, by making decisions.

I have a personal connection with Mickey Mouse. He and I grew up with the same initials. So I paid attention when Eisner took over. Of course, it wasn’t just making decisions that made a difference, it was the decisions that the Head-Mouseketeer made.

So How Did Eisner Do It?

Eisner defined the brand. Eisner let us know what Mickey stood for. A Disney movie, theme park, restaurant has values. They’re not written down for us, but we all know what they are. Movies that don’t meet the Disney brand are made for Miramax. Chefs at the 5-star Napa Rose Restaurant in the Anaheim resort have no facial hair. Everything Disney is clean, polite, wholesome, and good.
Eisner understands the value of quality. Nothing Disney was done half way. Disney products and content were high value for customers at every level, in every size, shape, and form. In other words, he made sure customers wanted to buy what he had.
Eisner differentiated his product to the point of exclusivity. They are the only Disney. Bugs Bunny wasn’t, isn’t, and never will be Mickey Mouse. Disney jealously guards all of its intellectual property to see that it stays that way. Use of a Disney song or image without permission is done at your peril. We might frown or joke about it, but it works to protect the Disney brand.
Eisner made more things for current customers by extending what he had.

Disney had made a handful of films when Eisner got there. Eisner used those seeds to grow a garden that included hits such as The Lion King, Toy Story, and Monsters Inc. He made more products his current customers would want to buy. They kept coming back.

Eisner branched out from where he was to make the same kind of things for new customers. Under Miramax we got Good Will Hunting and Shakespeare in Love. He didn’t go into whole new markets–a high risk venture–but changed what he had to meet new customers’ needs.
Eisner then extended further into Disney Cruises when the market was ready. Grown-ups get a vacation while the kids are kept entertained. Enough said there.
Eisner opened Disney Stores. Now he gave customers more opportunities to buy the things he knew they wanted.

The circle is complete–more things that customers want to buy, and more customers who have more opportunities to buy them–time to go around the circle again.

What Can I Take from the Mouse?

Eisner didn’t make random decisions. He followed solid business strategy. Anyone can use these strategic principles for success in any enterprise from a service business to a blog.

Know your brand and what it stands for.
Test your ideas against that brand.
Offer new products or ideas for the customers/readers you already have. THEN add related items that will bring new customers/readers into the fold.
Give every customer more opportunities to interact with your products whenever you can.
Let the market tell you when it’s ready. Don’t give your customers things they don’t want or don’t expect.
Never skimp on quality. Never go against your brand.

I’m sure you’ve heard it all before. Eisner is just one who actually did it. There’s no question Michael Eisner has his detractors. Likewise, there’s no question he made the Mouse a success. Either way, he’s not a rocket scientist. He’s just a guy who followed solid business strategy, which makes him one in a million, I’d guess.

–ME “Liz” Strauss