RSS Real Sucky System

I agree fully. It is annoying to have 500 content spamming sites reproducing your content. It is also hard to work a full a day researching, writing, and publishing just to have to go to bed knowing that you did not make enough money to feed yourself. I agree about the rss feeds, but I realized that, in the end, I would rather have readers than money. Perhaps this is foolishness. Feeds are easier for readers, and this is a world where the easiest path is the one that is taken. Travel websites are a dime a hundred dozen, and I know that if I make things slightly more difficult for readers then a good chunk of the will just not read as much. But I still need to feed myself. VJ is getting 2,000 visits a day including feeds, but I still typically make under five dollars. This is not really enough to feed and shelter myself, and pay for internet. In my current circumstances, I am thinking about money more than ever. I have to come up with something soon or pack it in. -Wade Vagabondjourney.com Travelogue

Do what everyone else does Andy, only post a teaser and not the full content. You post so much stuff and so regularly that I suspect people pick and choose what they want to read when they're using rss so using a teaser will just give them a greater sample of what your talking about, not the whole thing, they'll then click through to your website.

Does your blogging software allow you to create partial feeds (Headline and the first sentence or two)?I think that is the better solution than killing the RSS altogether. That way, people can't scrap your RSS and steal your content, but those of us who prefer RSS will get a preview of your post and can then click over to read it all.I simply can't keep up with the blogs I like without RSS, and don't want emails cluttering my mailbox, so I'll never see your updates if you dump it. That's your call, of course, but I'd miss the blog.

I'd have to disagree - but it's *how* you use the internet, RSS, etc.It looks like you aren't getting good advice on how to monetize your knowledge and experience. Reverting to bookmarking your website and an email newsletter will not be a good idea.You should think along the lines of "freemium" (some content free, other paid) or using RSS to actually get people to *click* to come to your site. On the freemium - I can say that it is hard to search your archives and get valid information out. Let's say I'm going to thailand and want to see what your experiences were - it's very hard to find. You have this massive database of knowledge - you could leverage that to make money too.

I'd really not recommend removing the RSS feed. You could just publish excerpts so people have to come to your blog to read the whole post. This way people can still be reminded that there's new content on the site.

Hi Andy,Here's a couple of ideas to lesson the RSS pain.I don't know about your blog software, but in Wordpress there's a way to make an "excerpt" of your post. That excerpt is all that is sent via RSS. So you make an interest catching excerpt and the reader has to click to your site for... "the rest of the story".Also, Google has a way for publishers to include adsesnce ads in the RSS feed. I just know there's a way, I don't have the details.Happy travels.

RSS Feeds suck. I would rather have the E-Mail. Actually, just an e-mail with a link to new or edited posts would be even better.Bob L

Andy. may I suggest you only put about a paragraph tha shows up on the RSS feed and put the rest "under the fold". I will gladly click on the site to read the rest but via the RSS feed I will know you have posted something new.Also, there are many people putting ads in their RSS feeds now. Check out ChrisBrogan.com for example. Kottle.com recently had a post looking for ad sponsors for its RSS feed ($1200 for a month long banner ad I believe).

To correct my previous comment - it is Kottke.org.

Dear Andy,I live by RSS, for me any site that does NOT have an rss feed is a waste of time, and I do not bother reading them.HOWEVER I do understand your point of view just as much, and personally the "halfway" solution I have seen works well for my needs, and I think might serve your needs aswel?All I need in an RSS entry, really, is A title and a little bit of content to give me a general idea of what the article will be about.So for example with this article, if the rss feed had included the title and everything above the usual "location box":---------------------------------Mojo, EthiopiaOne to Two Hours South of Addis, AbabaEast AfricaSaturday, March 7, 2009Travel Blog ---------------------------------but omitting everything AFTER it, I would have to visit your site to read the rest of this article and in doing so would see the ads...My need for RSS is so I do not have to check 100 sites every x interval, but I am notified in a unified way of updates. You want people to visit your actual site and generate revenue. I truly hope you can settle on a median here, so we can both be happy with the situation.Obviously though this is your site, your creation, your decision. The above is an expression of my personal opinion, I hope it is of use to you.

This is AndyBlogger allows excerpts or snippets.We will very soon go to Wordpress so we can hack the database.Wade, I want readers, this is why RSS feeds such, they are the same as a Bookmark. Peopled do not read bookmarks and they do not read RSS feeds.To make money, I need to FORCE readers to go to a page. I do not wish to force readers to go to page.I am in Ethiopia, I download all my mail and read offline. I cannot read RSS feeds, I cannot go to links. I would like to have systems that I can read anywhere and not be anal USA 24/7 highspeed, this is not travel, this is armchair reading.Thanks, I have made one decision, I am going to FORCE all RSS feed people do go to the blog to read. I am not making any money off them and I am not trying to be famous.

"Yes, I am angry; I am tired of the world devising selfish ways to take money from nice people." Oh PLEASE. I was sympathizing with you right up until this point. Give up the drama! The world isn't "devising selfish ways to take money from nice people." As a matter of fact, "the world" has created a way to GIVE you money - a way that didn't exist ten or fifteen years ago. Answer me this: If you were not making money from your website - however much you may feel you're getting shorted by RSS feeds - how would you be maintaining your CHOSEN and PREFERRED lifestyle? You make money from ads. Ten, fifteen, twenty years ago, this would not have been an option. You'd have had to have a "real" job, a trust fund, or a lot of connections in the world of free-lance journalism (and I have to say, with your shaky grasp of the English language, you'd probably pay as much for editing services as you'd earn per article). What's happened instead is that technology has CREATED a way for you (and others) to earn some money while still doing what you enjoy - and then technology advanced a bit further (RSS feeds), and now you're not earning quite as much, so you're having a temper tantrum. Keep in mind that no one is forcing you to live as a travel-blogger; in fact, the internet and the money you make from ads is ALLOWING you to do that... for now. If you're lucky, it'll last. If you're not so lucky, you'll have to do something else, like 90% of the rest of the world.I have to say I like Wade's outlook a lot better: "I would rather have readers than money." Wade gives the impression that he is doing something that he enjoys, and - bonus! - he gets to make a little money from it. Maybe not enough money, but some. Your post, by contrast, projects a sense of entitlement and foot-stomping.

I came to terms a long time ago with the RSS thing. Regular readers know what your adverts look like and where they're at on the page. As a result, they're the biggest group to suffer 'ad blindness'.Unles you're getting paid on advert exposures, RSS subscribers taken back to the page probably aren't going to make you any more money.

I agree that RSS take people away from your / a website. But I don't think getting updates via email makes much of a difference. Personally I prefer RSS as I can view posts offline when in low bandwidth places. Take my time, enjoy. I agree with part of a previous poster. Most subscribers RSS or email are regular readers, not the type to be clicking on your ads anyway. They are the people that like to follow your adventures and listen to what you have to stay. Most ad revenue comes from new people clicking on your site. At least in my opinion. It's your choice Andy, and I wish you the best with whatever decision you make. One point though, if you leave a url in excerpts at least then people can click to read the rest of you article. At the moment they cannot. Only via the header in some readers. All the best, hope Africa is going well for youDave