Reading Below the Fold

Posted by danleone on June 9th, 2007 filed in blogging

I haven’t been blogging much lately because either I have nothing to say or I don’t believe what I have to say is interesting, but I HAVE been blog surfing. The result of my journey around the vastness of BlogLand is that I now am convinced that my blog sucks.

That statement of fact and the pity party (of which I am the Martha Stewart at throwing pity parties) that followed is over now. Let’s move on to the point of the post.

When you are surfing, approximately what percent of the blogs that you are reading do you actually spend the time looking beyond the top couple of posts? I tried something different last night and for every single blog I visited, I immediately went to the archives and read posts from the months before. Then, if they intrigued me, I went back to the beginning, more recent posts. I have no idea what this accomplished, but it was fun. I felt like there was some continuity and I really got to know what this blogger’s blog was about. Again, I surfed away from these blogs saying, “Damn, I am jealous!”

Do you spend any time reading below the fold?

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7 Responses to “Reading Below the Fold”

  1. paisley Says:
    June 10th, 2007 at 5:19 am

    absolutely… and i also have found some really awesome stuff actually clicking on the links and trackbacks that are listed in the posts themselves….

    as is with life,, the blog is the culmination of all it has been,,, if what they are saying today is worthwhile,, it was more than likely built on a strong foundation….

    thanks for bringing this up…

  2. Laurie Says:
    June 10th, 2007 at 6:27 pm

    I’m with paisley. I do read the front page normally and if it grabs me I’ll dip backwards. I also enjoy reading the blogs that other favourites list in their links.

  3. sophie Says:
    June 10th, 2007 at 9:15 pm

    I tend to read the first few only, but you bring up an interesting point. It could be an awesome blog in a bit of a dry spell–I have plenty of dry spells and I do not claim awesomeness.

    When I first started reading blogs, there were a couple that I read every single archive that existed. I don’t have nearly enough free time to do that now.

  4. Doris Says:
    June 11th, 2007 at 9:13 am

    There are some of us weirdos who read posts other than the first one! But the initial feel of the blog has to inspire and then it is hit and miss. I’ve found some great blogs that way (in the past though, as I have only just reconnected to BlogExplosion today – very interesting surf!)

  5. jodi Says:
    June 12th, 2007 at 3:50 am

    I often will go beyond the fold, when they have piqued my interest, or an incredible design…

  6. Aldon Hynes Says:
    June 16th, 2007 at 6:41 am

    I surf a lot of blogs using both BlogExplosion and MyBlogLog. I typically scan the top article. If it catches my interest, I read below the fold, reading the ‘read more’ section of the entry, the comments and older entries. I’ve found a lot of interesting blogs that I come back to that way.

    On the other hand, if you don’t catch my attention with your lead paragraph, there is a good chance I’ll simply skim the site and move on.

    That isn’t all that bad, because with sites like BlogExplosion and MyBlogLog I’m likely to come back again in a few days, and if you have a better entry, I’ll read below the fold then.

    I’ve found a lot of really good blogs this way.

  7. Dan Says:
    June 17th, 2007 at 3:20 am

    If I’m a first time reader I tend to just stick to the first page, but if I become a regular then I tend to dip into the archives now and again if I’m at a loose end. which granted isn’t that frequently.

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