I’m experimenting with a new RSS feed that should enable you to follow comments on this blog via your news reader of choice. The feed appears to be rolling along, and I welcome feedback and advice. (And please tell me if you experience any problems with it!)
My eventual goal is to facilitate more conversation via blog comments. Right now you have to wait for me to approve each comment, and tracking conversations is hard. Through threaded commenting (due soon), RSS, and eventually site membership (a bit farther off), non-spammers should be able to talk back and forth more quickly & freely.
Incidentally, if you have a recommendation for a good way to track outbound clicks, please let me know. Right now I have no idea how many people click the various random links I provide, and I’d like to get a better sense of what content is popular. Google Analytics doesn’t seem to offer a solution, and I haven’t yet moved my main RSS feed to FeedBurner, so I’m not sure whether it can help.
Hi John,
I read your blog trough my Rss Reader (Google Reader). About a year ago Google bought Feedburner, so i guess they are working on somekind of combination.
I had the same problem with my own blog. I use feedburner to track the clicks.
Best,
Jankees
From the Twitter side of things, maybe using bit.ly or cli.gs could help? They both have tracking abilities for their shortened links, no reason why they shouldn’t work for non-Twitter applications.
Hi,
You can use jQuery and Google’s recent ‘_trackEvent’ tracking method to help track outbound links with Google Analytics. Here’s a good blog post about it: http://blog.rebeccamurphey.com/2008/12/04/update-tracking-outbound-clicks-with-google-analytics-and-jquery/
I keep meaning to do it myself!
I cannot do much to assist with the broader statistical analysis but I will indulge in a little individual feedback.
I have found your mix of links and material top drawer. I appreciate that I can come to your blog and find PS technical information, general design and visual arts material, and sometimes just downright off-beat and weird stuff.
For me, the mix of posts is great. Your blog is my “one-stop” shopping spot for the PS/Graphics side of my life. Further, your links often lead to links that contain wonderful information and material.
Around our house, when I mention a great link to my wife, she’ll start to ask where I found it. Then, she’ll wave me away, saying, “Never mind. Started with another Nack link, right?”
Rarely is she wrong.
So, when you finally get those outbound clicks chased down, I hope your other readers will be found to share my enthusiasm.
Keep up the good work.
[Heh–thanks, Nat! And my apologies to your wife for distracting you. 😉 –J.]