photo credit: tania leshkina

Kidding. That title was entirely for the shock factor, and it was a goodie, wasn’t it?

But truthfully, although feed readers may not make us gain ten pounds, they will make us lazy. Really, really lazy. Which isn’t a problem if you know how to combat the issue…

I’d like to start out by saying I am a MASSIVE fan of the RSS feed. [If you don't know what I'm talking about and think RSS is the name of a maritime submarine, click here]. It’s quick, easy… painless. The perfect product. What I don’t love about the RSS, however, is what it’s done to my community [or lack thereof].

Here’s what happens: You find a blog, love the blog, and tack it onto the numerous feeds in your Google Reader, categorizing it by industry and making cute little notes [or is that just me?]. You then check said feed daily, bulk up on all of your day’s recommended dosage of Inspiration, and forget it until tomorrow.

Here’s the problem: As a blogger, I recognize the need for community. And one of the easiest ways to gauge your community is through readers/commenters. So how do your readers who follow your feed tell you what they like/dislike if they’re not commenting b/c they rarely visit your site in actual formation?

They don’t. Herein lies the problem.

So, I’ve made it my own personal quest to start commenting on all of the feeds I read. My rule is, if I “star” it in Google Reader, I visit the site and take the time to comment. It’s only fair, and can really brighten the blogger’s day, no matter how big they are or how many comments they’ve already received. Take a minute to introduce yourself as a feed reader, say you haven’t been around much b/c you’ve been following them via Google Reader, but note that they’re doing really awesome things. That’s it!

You’ll brighten their day, establish community, and I’m not even going to mention the advertising factor here [most blogs sell ads through site traffic, NOT RSS readers]. You’ll be doing them a big favor, and yourself. It’s always fun to make a few new friends!

Plus, you might lose a few pounds.
[Kidding again!]