I think I'm going to give this feed change a try. Wish me luck.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Feedburner Dilemma
I don't know what to do. As many bloggers & blog followers are aware, many Blogger blogs' feeds have not been showing up on Blotanical. Stuart is trying everything to fix the problem, but there is not fix from Feedburner in sight. As an option, us Blogger bloggers can change our Feedburner feed address/url, so that it will appear on Blotanical again. The problem is that the change will directly affect other feed subscribers, as the feed will no longer work. So, do I try to change the feed url, or sit tight and wait for a fix to come from Feedburner?
I think I'm going to give this feed change a try. Wish me luck.
I think I'm going to give this feed change a try. Wish me luck.
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25 comments:
I changed mine about 6 times last night. it did not work at blotanical but did work everywhere else. But I was still at feedburner. I'll looking for another idea.
Your feed is working just fine in Google Reader and I didn't have to change a thing. I think Blotanical has a lot of issues...Feedburner is just one.
Robin Wedewer
Grouch
Well at least you are showing up in Botanical. I have given up there. No matter what I do, I can't figure out how to use feedburner. Just not computer savy enough. And now since my blog is rated 300+ who knows when it will ever show up again. I am still a member of Botanical, but no one on the site can read my blog. So I am doing much better with subscriptions, and google.
Jen
I have you on Google Reader too. I hope you don't disappear on me. Good luck with whatever you are trying to do. I can't help becasue I am not computer savy.
MMD,
I am SO glad you brought this up. I tried the test that Stuart suggested and it didn't work. I have even gone so far as to sign up for a WP account and transferred all my posts and comments to it. But...it is a huge undertaking and I like MOST of Blogger's services and the ease of use. My brain has difficulty wrapping itself around learning a new language. Several bloggers have moved. I don't see a fix anytime soon. Gail
I read you on my google reader too, I think that if people enjoy your blog they will read you which ever way they can while there are problems with blotanical.
Muddy boots dreams/ Jen - I have just peeped at your blog because of the comment you left on this one! Had to look - as the blog has such a cool name.
regards
Karen
Hi MMD, well some of us just made the leap over to wordpress and left a note on blogger with the new url. I see that there are still over 100 people going to my blogger address a day. Hopefully they will follow over to that url. It certainly changed the readers I could get from Blotanical though. I am not at all computer savvy, just chipped away at it until I understood how to do things. I am very happy NOW with wordpress, but still have the blogger blog open, just haven't posted there in case I want to post there too. But on Blotanical you can only have one or the other as your feed. I didn't change my feed at first and my first post only showed up on the current posts list. I had one pick and it was me. LOL If you want to discuss it, send me an email and I can tell you the saga.
Frances
Hi MMD - I have the same issue too :(
I think it's interesting that other feed aggregators don't appear to have a problem with Feedburner...
I'm in the process of putting all my Blotanical faves into Google Reader and using that instead. I'll continue to use the Blotanical messaging though - it's very good for off topic conversations and finding new blogs.
Interesting to see you've made the change and people can still find you in Google Reader. Must check back in Blotanical to see if you're in there yet.
I don't want to move to WP as I don't think all the Blogger features I use are available in WP - must discuss that with Frances.
I just don't "get" any of the stuff about feeds, feedburners, etc. And I guess I'm not concerned for myself. As for you, I'm understanding there's a problem. It sounds as though it's a problem with Blotanical. Hopefully they get that fixed. Otherwise, I just have you on my Bookmarks Toolbar. That works very well for me. :-)
I wasn't successful with Stuart's test either, but I changed my feed back to the original both on my blogger page and at blotanical. Not sure if it's working yet though. I hope I didn't mess anyone up with switching my feed, I wasn't aware of having any subscribers so I'll just cross my fingers that it works.
I'm not sure about Blogger, but I think with most blogging software you can run more than one feed.
Can you keep the old and run the new as well?
On my WordPress blogs I put a 301 redirect from my old Blogger feed to the new one.
I'm not sure how you do that on Blogger, but I expect if you dig around someone has worked out the details.
I don't use Blotanical. I use Bloglines and its now telling me there is a problem with your feed.
Hi MMD - I came from Bloglines just now - didn't see any warning about your blog feed so maybe it's fixed?
Annie
This is probably a dumb question but here goes. What is the big deal about Blotanical? I signed up quite a while back, but didn't see any real benefit to it other than maybe having my post available to more people. Maybe I jsut didn't know how to use it correctly. I understand so little about all of this-even less about feedburners and urls. I am just happy to have found so many of you through blogger. In fact, I am just plain happy with blogger.
Hope you get it all straightened out, though and that I will still be able to find and read you.
I feel about the same way Beckie does. I browsed Blotanical, and didn't find the attraction. I wish I had time for in depth study of the site, but I don't.
Anna - if you figure something out, let me know.
Robin - thanks for letting me know that everything is cool on Google Reader. Are you a grouch because of Blotanical, or is that crazy Cardinal back?
MBD - last time I checked, my feed still wasn't working on Blotanical. I'm ready to start ignoring the whole thing. I've become very fond of Google Reader.
Lisa - hopefully I'll get a new post up today or tomorrow and then we'll see if it's still working on Google Reader.
Gail - I just don't get why Blotanical has such problems with Feedburner & Blogger blogs. It's so irritating.
Artist's Garden - Google Reader is my new best friend, but I also like the Blogger reading list. I'm still in the process of getting everything I want to read onto there.
Frances - I admire your courage in changing over to Wordpress. I have too much time invested into my Blogger thing. (Yes, I love my Art Nouveau purple Tulips.) I think your saga would make a great magazine article.
VP - I'm also going to have to put all my favorites on Google Reader & the Blogger thing. I'm really liking that new feature. If only I could figure out how to do a "mark as read" on it.
Shady - I hadn't thought about putting blogs on my Bookmarks because there are so many that I follow & I already have a ton of stuff Bookmarked (Weatherunderground, Tiny URL, Clematis website...)
Cinj - I'm one of your subscribers, so I'll have to check if your feed still works on that & the new Blogger reader thingy.
Hi, Herself - there seems to be things that Wordpress can do that Blogger can't. Blogger is good for techno-rubes such as myself, who need to have things done for them. I'll have to do some serious research about feeds.
Hi, Bill & Annie - I'm so confused! I hope it got fixed.
Beckie -Blotanical is great in the winter when it's too cold to go outside & you want to find blogs where flowers are in bloom. It's also good for finding bloggers in certain areas, such as the Florida bloggers I needed to consult about my parents' Florida condo garden. I used to rely on Blotanical to read new posts, but since the last time there was a feed problem, I've become a devotee of Google Reader.
Roses & Lilacs - I found a lot of great blogs through Blotanical, mostly UK ones, as I met a lot of American bloggers at Spring Fling & got to know who they know. As I commented to Beckie, Blotanical is great for those snow-bound winter days.
I came to the 'give up about feeds' point with Blotanical this morning.
I've fiddled with feeds this way and that and have got no-where.
Now I'm feeling bad about the non-Blotanicalists who had me on their readers /feeders and who have been messed around as a result.
I already had masses of blogs on my Google Reader before the Blotanic troubles (which is fortunate) but I'd found many of them through Blotanical in the first place and for that I am grateful to it.
Visiting there at present is like wandering round the Marie Celeste - with all sorts of corridors blocked off but I go back for messages.
It's not my exclusive route to good blogs - but it is one of them and I hope it does get sorted soon!
Lucy Corrander
LOOSE AND LEAFY
Oh. I came here to say I hope it's ok that I mentioned you on today's post for LOOSE AND LEAFY (24th September). If it isn't, let me know and I'll change it.
(I got distracted by thoughts of Blotanical!)
Lucy
Oh, the distractions of tech stuff when all we want to do is write. As you know, my blog was down for over a week, and now I'm trying to find a host. It's always something isn't it?~~Dee
Hi MMD, I'm sure you follow a lot of blogs! :-) However, this title bar bookmark thing is a bit different from the regular bookmark (or favorites) setup. They go across the top and down the side (when you run out of room). It's a "feed," I think, because when you click on the name of the blog, a window appears with all the latest posts! Really great!
(I do have a question: What's a Google Reader?)
I set it up by clicking on the little orange "feed" sign next to the address in that bar. Then it asks you a couple of questions and you say "yes," and there you go! (I know... I'm simple!)
That is why I changed over to wordpress MMD. There was just too much drama what with the feedburner and then a couple of months ago when sitemeter was causing problems. I'm happy at my new home. I don't know what to tell you to do though. I would give the feedburner thing a try and if it works great.
Hi MMD, it's very frustrating, isn't it! I doubt I'll switch to word press - just don't have the time or desire to learn how to use it. It does seem to have some nice features, but I'm used to blogger. Techie I'm definitely not!
I hope Stuart and the feedburner folks get this sorted out. In the meantime good luck with trying the feed change.
Lucy - quite a poetic image for the frustrations at Blotanical. It seems my switching to the Blogger default feed didn't solve the problem. Now I wish I hadn't messed with it.
Dee - you could keep notes of this stuff for a speech entitled "Adventures in Blogging." Last night at the library while waiting to pick up the kids I spent my time reading tech books instead of looking at garden books & magazines. Sigh...
Shady - sounds intriguing. Now I just have to figure out if that would work with my system.
Perennialgardener - I'm tossing in the feed towel at this point. I've wasted way too much time & energy on this already.
Garden Girl - I'm with you about not wanting to switch. I'll just hang in there.
I guess the choice, if there is one to be made, is do most people keep up with you via an RSS reader or via Blotanical--and which group are you most interested in.
Most bloggers I know use RSS readers. I scan your headlines via Bloglines and then click over to read articles that catch my eye. I guess I perceive Blotanical as useful for people new to garden blogging who are trying to feel their way into the community. But I know more bloggers than I can keep up with now, so I don't get any benefit out of Blotanical.
Of course, since I use WordPress I don't have to make a choice at all.
MSS - I finally decided to go with the Blogger default feed instead of Feedburner. Because of Spring Fling, I need at least those posts related to SF to show up on Blotanical. Otherwise I was simply going to leave it as is.
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