Comments on: Three Cheers for Faking Feed Count

By: Where Everyone Knows Your Name » Reader Appreciation Project

Where Everyone Knows Your Name » Reader Appreciation Project — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:08:42 +0000

[...] think Andrew Rickmann hit the nail on the head with his recent comment here at the Project: It could be that there is a sense that they should know what is being said. A [...]

By: inspirationbit

inspirationbit — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 00:49:32 +0000

I’ve been displaying my RSS chicklet from the very beginning – back then I didn’t know any better, I was a complete newbie, got the Feedburner account, saw that I could display RSS numbers like I’ve seen on other blogs and I thought it’s cool. Even though at first I had only 1 subscriber – myself, then it changed to 10, 20, the numbers grew… When I had them around 50 I asked my readers whether or not to show my RSS feed, what their thoughts are, and just like the readers said here – the numbers don’t really matter, but since I had that chicklet there from the beginning I decided to just leave it there. Especially when some of my readers liked the idea to follow the growth of my blog.

As a reader, I’m like Andrew – whenever I see a huge number of RSS subscribers I rarely comment on that blog, knowing that my comment will be just one of many, but I like commenting on blogs with the smaller but tighter community of readers, and to tell you the truth, I find that I’m reading articles on those blogs more thoroughly than the ones from blogs like Pro and Copy Bloggers.

Nothing beats discovering a blog (new or old) with small audience and watch it grow.

By: Ronald Huereca

Ronald Huereca — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 01:52:45 +0000

Thanks for the comments all. The comments almost want me to take down the feed chicklet, but I personally kinda like it there. As some have mentioned in other posts, the feed count is mostly for the blogger, so I’ll definitely reconsider my motives for having it displayed.

@Andrew,
I’m glad you think of this place as a place to hang out and be heard instead of being overshadowed on more popular blogs. Come to think of it, my favorite restaurants are where people know my name and say to me, “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in three weeks.”

@Simonne,
Yes, perhaps it was coincidence our feed count has stabilized past 100 after showing the chicklet.

@Jayne,
I’m glad you like our approach to comments an articles. Feedback like yours is valuable and you’re always welcome to e-mail me or other project members on post ideas and suggestions.

By: Fake it to make it | O’Flaherty

Fake it to make it | O’Flaherty — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:51:53 +0000

[...] been a number of posts going around in the past few weeks about the supposed benefits of faking the number of subscribers you have to your blog in order to increase popularity. Faking your [...]

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:46:01 +0000

I have similar doubts to Simonne. I think there is a goldilocks zone where it helps, but outside that I think it is irrelevent.

Take a site like Problogger for example, that has a huge readership which almost guarantees that as a commenter you will just be one voice amongst many. If you are a blogger it means anything your pass on, on your own blog, is far more likely to be considered a me too, than an authoratative response.

Now take this blog. It shows 126 right now.When I comment I get a response, I recognise other commenters and feel happy to join in. I can feel part of this community.

So you have to ask what is it about numbers that people do find attractive?

It could be that there is a sense that they should know what is being said. A “did you see Friends last night?” moment around the watercooler, but I quite like the idea of finding a blog that isn’t that well known. It’s like finding a CD that your friends haven’t heard before and introducing it to them.

By: Simonne

Simonne — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:11:48 +0000

I’ve read in many places that a big feed count attracts people to subscribe, but I don’t believe that. I think it is the big buzz created by the large number of readers which attracts even more of them, not just a displayed number. Actually I’ve deleted that from my blog, because I don’t think it is relevant to my readers. And guess what: the subscribers number increases at the same rate as before, when I had it displayed.

By: jayne d'Arcy

jayne d'Arcy — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 06:34:09 +0000

Large numbers on feed count actually turn me away. What I liked about your site was that you have relevant articles to my interests. You also reply on a regular basis to comments. That impresses me more than a feed count.