Comments on: Feedburner is the Canary in the Mine Shaft http://www.bloggingteacher.com/feedburner-is-the-canary-in-the-mine-shaft Practical Blogging Tips You Can Use Today Thu, 08 Sep 2011 06:08:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Karen Swim http://www.bloggingteacher.com/feedburner-is-the-canary-in-the-mine-shaft#comment-3897 Karen Swim Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:00:56 +0000 http://www.bloggingteacher.com/?p=1868#comment-3897 I removed the Feedburner subscriber count from my site a while ago and was beginning to get irritated by the fluctuations. However, reading drove home something I knew on some level but had not yet connected all the dots. The conversations around posts no longer happen on the blog but in Buzz, Twitter, FB and other platforms. So, it makes sense that these same platforms would drive reading patterns. Thanks for the reality check! I removed the Feedburner subscriber count from my site a while ago and was beginning to get irritated by the fluctuations. However, reading drove home something I knew on some level but had not yet connected all the dots. The conversations around posts no longer happen on the blog but in Buzz, Twitter, FB and other platforms. So, it makes sense that these same platforms would drive reading patterns. Thanks for the reality check!

]]> By: Paul Cunningham http://www.bloggingteacher.com/feedburner-is-the-canary-in-the-mine-shaft#comment-3891 Paul Cunningham Wed, 04 Aug 2010 02:30:52 +0000 http://www.bloggingteacher.com/?p=1868#comment-3891 Dan is always great. Thats some interesting testing he has done there. Dan is always great. Thats some interesting testing he has done there.

]]> By: Ileane @ Basic Blog Tips http://www.bloggingteacher.com/feedburner-is-the-canary-in-the-mine-shaft#comment-3882 Ileane @ Basic Blog Tips Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:26:51 +0000 http://www.bloggingteacher.com/?p=1868#comment-3882 Paul, check out this post from Dan Zarrella which talks about testing Social Proof using the Retweet button counts and Feedburner subscriber counts. Some of the test results were surprising to him http://danzarrella.com/new-experiments-question-the-power-of-social-proof-on-the-web.html# Ironically it appears Dan is using a similar list building plugin to the one you have installed. I love the way he crunches numbers and tests social behavior. Paul, check out this post from Dan Zarrella which talks about testing Social Proof using the Retweet button counts and Feedburner subscriber counts. Some of the test results were surprising to him http://danzarrella.com/new-experiments-question-the-power-of-social-proof-on-the-web.html#
Ironically it appears Dan is using a similar list building plugin to the one you have installed.
I love the way he crunches numbers and tests social behavior.

]]> By: Paul Cunningham http://www.bloggingteacher.com/feedburner-is-the-canary-in-the-mine-shaft#comment-3871 Paul Cunningham Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:24:20 +0000 http://www.bloggingteacher.com/?p=1868#comment-3871 Sloppily implemented popups bug me too. I'm testing my own though, trying to get the value from them without bugging the audience. So far no complaints. We'll see. As for subcriber numbers and widgets, there is a blog (name escapes me) that I stumbled across the other day. I couldn't tell you how many subscribers it had because I didn't look, but every post I checked had 150+ comments on it. Now THAT is social proof. Sloppily implemented popups bug me too. I’m testing my own though, trying to get the value from them without bugging the audience. So far no complaints. We’ll see.

As for subcriber numbers and widgets, there is a blog (name escapes me) that I stumbled across the other day. I couldn’t tell you how many subscribers it had because I didn’t look, but every post I checked had 150+ comments on it. Now THAT is social proof.

]]> By: 31DBBB – Day 4 – Analyze a Top Blog In Your Niche | just-ask-kim.com http://www.bloggingteacher.com/feedburner-is-the-canary-in-the-mine-shaft#comment-3863 31DBBB – Day 4 – Analyze a Top Blog In Your Niche | just-ask-kim.com Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:19:41 +0000 http://www.bloggingteacher.com/?p=1868#comment-3863 [...] As the number of people that check their RSS readers daily for new updates falls, I think we will begin to see bloggers that are interested in revenue generation start to pay more attention to list building. More about this in this post, in this post from Paul, titled “Feedburner is the canary in the mineshaft“. [...] [...] As the number of people that check their RSS readers daily for new updates falls, I think we will begin to see bloggers that are interested in revenue generation start to pay more attention to list building. More about this in this post, in this post from Paul, titled “Feedburner is the canary in the mineshaft“. [...]

]]> By: Ileane @ Basic Blog Tips http://www.bloggingteacher.com/feedburner-is-the-canary-in-the-mine-shaft#comment-3858 Ileane @ Basic Blog Tips Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:44:41 +0000 http://www.bloggingteacher.com/?p=1868#comment-3858 Hey Paul, I agree with Jodi, you find some great images. I'm not really sure about the value of displaying a subscriber count widget of any kind, whether it be Feedburner, Twitter or some other sharing service. Even McDonald's stopped counting how many hamburgers they sold years ago. But to each his own. I'm testing Feedblitz only because I find those Aweber pop-ups very annoying. I'm sure they are effective - just awfully annoying. Primarily because I don't subscribe to any of it. Sometimes I wish I could turn my own blog comment subscriptions off! I check the dashboard twenty times a day anyhow LOL!! Seriously though, my primary use for Feedburner is my CommentLuv account. It works great to pull in my related posts for some LinkLuv from blogs that have the plugin installed. Hey Paul, I agree with Jodi, you find some great images. I’m not really sure about the value of displaying a subscriber count widget of any kind, whether it be Feedburner, Twitter or some other sharing service. Even McDonald’s stopped counting how many hamburgers they sold years ago. But to each his own.
I’m testing Feedblitz only because I find those Aweber pop-ups very annoying. I’m sure they are effective – just awfully annoying. Primarily because I don’t subscribe to any of it. Sometimes I wish I could turn my own blog comment subscriptions off! I check the dashboard twenty times a day anyhow LOL!!

Seriously though, my primary use for Feedburner is my CommentLuv account. It works great to pull in my related posts for some LinkLuv from blogs that have the plugin installed.

]]> By: Kristi http://www.bloggingteacher.com/feedburner-is-the-canary-in-the-mine-shaft#comment-3857 Kristi Sat, 31 Jul 2010 21:41:13 +0000 http://www.bloggingteacher.com/?p=1868#comment-3857 I occasionally check my Feedburner stats - it's been a few weeks actually, and I noticed that last week, in one day, I dipped exactly 1000 subscribers, then went back to normal. I figure if my posts are still getting shared socially and receiving comments, in combination with the traffic activity in Analytics, that everything is going as it should, and the subscriber count is really secondary. I occasionally check my Feedburner stats – it’s been a few weeks actually, and I noticed that last week, in one day, I dipped exactly 1000 subscribers, then went back to normal. I figure if my posts are still getting shared socially and receiving comments, in combination with the traffic activity in Analytics, that everything is going as it should, and the subscriber count is really secondary.

]]> By: Paul Cunningham http://www.bloggingteacher.com/feedburner-is-the-canary-in-the-mine-shaft#comment-3856 Paul Cunningham Sat, 31 Jul 2010 21:21:56 +0000 http://www.bloggingteacher.com/?p=1868#comment-3856 True, especially if the blogger has used a lot of contests to boost their subscriber count. What is the real value in those subscribers? Very little, in most cases. True, especially if the blogger has used a lot of contests to boost their subscriber count. What is the real value in those subscribers? Very little, in most cases.

]]> By: Mars Dorian http://www.bloggingteacher.com/feedburner-is-the-canary-in-the-mine-shaft#comment-3854 Mars Dorian Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:41:57 +0000 http://www.bloggingteacher.com/?p=1868#comment-3854 Hey Paul, Feedburner is a Dinosaur, waiting for the final meteor. I can't understand why so many people still use it as an indicator for popularity. Look, he got 3,000+ subscribers, awesome. How many subscribers do you got ? Oh, i get 240 every month ! Major reasons why I think it's useless: Fluctuation, like you said, is the major issue. A big fat zero on many blogs just doesn't look good, even if you know better. Numbers mean nothing. I know blogs who have thousands of subscribers, but their traffic is less than half of mine. Most people who subscribe never read that feed...ever again. It's really a one-night stand only. With the power of social media becoming stronger every day, Feedburner (or RSS in general) will slowly vanish into oblivion...for good. Hey Paul,

Feedburner is a Dinosaur, waiting for the final meteor.

I can’t understand why so many people still use it as an indicator for popularity.
Look, he got 3,000+ subscribers, awesome. How many subscribers do you got ? Oh, i get 240 every month !

Major reasons why I think it’s useless:

Fluctuation, like you said, is the major issue. A big fat zero on many blogs just doesn’t look good, even if you know better.

Numbers mean nothing. I know blogs who have thousands of subscribers, but their traffic is less than half of mine. Most people who subscribe never read that feed…ever again.
It’s really a one-night stand only.

With the power of social media becoming stronger every day, Feedburner (or RSS in general) will slowly vanish into oblivion…for good.

]]> By: Paul Cunningham http://www.bloggingteacher.com/feedburner-is-the-canary-in-the-mine-shaft#comment-3850 Paul Cunningham Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:49:57 +0000 http://www.bloggingteacher.com/?p=1868#comment-3850 Some days I think they are more interested in the data than delivering a reliable, accurate service to users. Some days I think they are more interested in the data than delivering a reliable, accurate service to users.

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