I was going to call this post \”shout outs,\” but I didn\’t want to infringe upon others\’ copyrighted material. Â This is basically the same thing for me – it\’s a post to highlight some great stuff going on elsewhere and to thank people for their kindness, graciousness, and for simply not slapping me.
A String of Great, Nifty, Awesome, and Oblong Adjectives
First, let me give a nod to a few nuggets on the web that I have found. Â The first is a blogger named Fizzy (will have to explain the name to me sometime) who has a blog called A Cartoon Guide to Becoming a Doctor. Â It is chock full \’o great cartoons that are very close to what I remember during my torture by humiliation…uh…I mean training. Â For example:
Ah, the memories. Â Great stuff Fizzy!
Sticking with the adjective theme, the second is a blog about a kitten named Flimsy. Â Flimsy is quite enjoyable to young and old alike; my whole family was laughing aloud (LA, as we cool folks on the Internet write it).
I am showing this as an example. Â Go over to Flimsy\’s website and support this fine artist! Maybe she could do a llama-man.
One more adjective-orented person…or is actually a lobster, Zippy is back! Â Hopefully you all remember Zippy, the lobster who is trying to raise money to save kids from brain tumors. Â One of the finest writers out there in the medical blogging universe is Intueri, a doc in NYC. Â Well, she\’s been running a very nice series of posts featuring our dear lobster friend.
Here\’s ol\’ Zipster in Times Square. Â He has secretly communicated to me that he\’s very excited to get to see Grand Central Crustacean. Â Go over and support Zippy\’s cause! Â Give generously. Â Perhaps he can visit you.
Unsolicited Inclusions
That would be a good band name: And now, back from their world tour in which they grossed more than Kenny Rogers and Slim Whitman Combined, it\’s the Unsolicited Inclusions!!!!
I always forget to send submissions to grand rounds, the blog carnival for the medical community.  Yet somehow I have been nicely included in several grand rounds, including one by Grunt Doc and Dr. V\’s 33 Charts.  My most recent unsolicited inclusion is on David Harlow\’s Blawg Review, a review of law related blog posts!  At first I was afraid I had done something against the law, like included something in an unsolicited manner, but then I realized I was a recipient of the unsolicited inclusion. Imagine my relief.
A Question to the Smart Folks out There
Besides the obvious question: what the heck are you doing wasting your time reading this drivel??? I have a serious question to ask – especially to those who are reading this via RSS reader (freeloaders). Â What is your opinion about doing complete posts in the RSS feed. Â I have heard conflicting opinions. Â I have always sent out my entire posts and have not worried about making money or having people barter with chickens to support me in doing this blog. Â I just figure if enough people get hooked on my (llama) subliminal messages, I\’ll be able to cash it in eventually and crush (llama) Oprah with my awesome power.
Seriously, I have heard it\’s better to send partial feeds to get lots of readers at your blog, but others say it just annoys people to get partial feeds. Â Both are probably true, but I\’d be interested to hear what smart people think.
A Plug
Don\’t forget (llama) to buy some Drug of Choice Coffee for Dad for this upcoming Father\’s day. Â What better gift can you give than consciousness?
there are blogs that if I only read in my feeder. (Blog lines) if they are only partial they have to be very interesting to get me to open. Some, I always open up to the page if they are only partial … this one, if fed into my bloglines, would be amoung them, however, for some reasons blog lines says they don't recognize this blog. PFFT so I have to depend on email or twitter to know you've posted.
I think … some people are going to not read if you're only partial and some will always read regardless … I know, so helpful I deserve a Golden Llama right? ;o)
I hate clicking on the links when I'm using my RSS reader. Generally speaking for those on my blogroll that only do partial, unless I'm REALLY interested in what they have to say, I don't click on them.
I don't mind a partial blog post via RSS, but I rarely get around to clicking on the ones that don't give me anything but a headline. It's hard enough to keep up with my favorite blogs anyway!!
One thing to keep in mind about those RSS feeds is that when it's a really good post — which is all of yours, right? 😉 — I'm sure I'm not the only one who “shares” it on Facebook (with a link to the blog) and/or twitter. So RSS feeds are probably driving some amount of new traffic to you anyway. (Btw, I love that you post links to your blog posts on Facebook, which, for instance, got me to to come here to see it even though it would show up in my RSS reader later.
Partial feeds really annoy me and mostly get ignored unless I already know and love the blog and even then, they are often skipped for days or weeks. Full posts do get read and often I click through to read or post comments at the blog site. Plus I use the sharing feature of my rss reader to send posts to Facebook, Twitter, email, or Evernote!
I prefer the whole posts in my reader. I like to read down through all my favorite bloggers. If they have links in the posts, I can still go to them and read what they wanted to share. I can also enjoy the photos they post.
When it's a partial post, I'm likely to skip over them, and maybe I'll get back to it at a later time. Switching back and forth from the blog's actual page and then switching again to another, is not as convenient when I'm pressed for time.
I still get to enjoy their site when I pop over to comment, and I appreciate the work they put into it.
First, I haven't copyrighted “shout outs” and I love your post. Second, I'm one of those who prefer whole posts in my reader. It's a time issue. I will go to the original to leave a comment, but it's must quicker to read the posts in my reader.
I don't know about anyone else, but I can't post comments in my feed reader (I use google reader which I like a lot) so I have to come over here to post them. I like complete posts in my reader for one and only one reason – they are frequently easier to read than on the original blog/website. Yours is good, but many aren't – for instance, people use grey font colour against white, or red against blue or white against black and being an oldie with not too brill sight, I can't read the damn things! Also, I have the choice of full or a one-liner so I can skim through the posts in people's blogs that contain multiple photos of their baby being sick or their in-laws playing golf.
I use the reader as a shortcut, as a way to know what's happening on all the blogs and sites I'm into, but I don't use it to avoid those blogs or sites. I come to yours every time you post (providing it's not about the state of the US health system because, frankly, I'm not American and it bores me to tears. Maybe consider your non-American readers, hey? Or include them? – There, just a little whinge of my own… oh, and I'm not a medic either, but I like doctor blogs. Past comments of mine explain why, I recall).
I love your blog. I'll read it however you post – full posts, half posts, one liners, or even abbreviated words. You're a fun guy to read, whether it's about llamas or serious health issues. So… it's up to you, doc!
I guess I probably won't change anything, but I do wonder sometimes. My posts are getting wider distribution as of late (THCB, MedPage, ACP), and there does eventually come a point that you wonder how long you are going to do it and not get paid. I am just in the pondering stage of this, not planning much of anything. My commodity is my brain and writing skill, not the actual writing. To keep a blog going you must be able to create compelling content. The interest disappears almost immediately once you stop putting stuff out regularly. I am just carrying the philosophy that wherever it will go, it will go.
Thanks for you input. It's not a real big issue at this point.
Full blog posts in the RSS feed are slightly more convenient, but I follow a lot of blogs that only have the first few lines & don't object to going to the blog to read the whole thing, or to check out the comments, so whatever works for you. If you get paid for blog hits but not RSS feeds, put just the intro in the feed & I'll click through to your site.
I think for newbie bloggers like me, it may make more sense to release the entire feed to get more readers. But for established bloggers like yourself, it probably doesn't matter either way — your readers will read your posts regardless if it's partial or full. However, reading it through a site feed just doesn't give you the “full” experience — you can't “feel” or “hear” (in my case the possibly annoying music imposed on my readers) the blog. I use google reader, but i still like to visit the actual website most often, b/c it doesn't give me the same “feeling” to read it on a reader.
While I can't speak for smart people, I will say that I find it far more convenient to read the full post in the RSS reader.
I hate having a partial RSS feed, and will avoid blogs that only post partials. Especially for those of us who spend a lot of time reading feeds at work or on our phones, having the full RSS feed available can be what enables us to read at all.
That said, having ads in RSS feeds don't bother me. I don't know who does your ads, but I do know that AdSense, at least, offers RSS ads, and I assume that most other major advertising programs do, as well. It might be worth looking into if you're concerned about monetization.
I agree with many who have posted here, I only follow blogs if my RSS reader gets a full feed. The people who do post shortened feeds that I don't remove, I generally read maybe 1/5 entries. I think that most people who know how to use RSS also know how to use ad-blocking software, so even coming to the site wouldn't necessarily get the ads seen. I would look into sponsorship if you're looking for the money, but that is just conjecture, I certainly don't get paid either. Good posts though, glad to find you.