Sorting Folk: Matching Names with Places
I used to be able to remember the name of every person I had ever met. Then I worked in retail and things got a bit confusing. But, I was still pretty good at recalling details, such as: relationships (didn't she used to go out with...); jobs (oh, I know her from...); residences (I always see you in front of the house on...)—all trivial information, but, fun to me—it's how my brain works. I get a sense of satisfaction at making connections, secretly hoping that everyone I know will know each other—it's my version of the Kevin Bacon thing.
In the pre-computer years I kept Manila folders on the guys that I thought were cute, mostly surfers. I know, it sounds stalker-ish, but it wasn't, really, it wasn't. ;) I inherited this trait from my father. He once kept a folder on a dead-beat renter who had stiffed him of a couple months rent. One day the FBI knocked on our door asking my father if he knew of this man. My dad whipped out his folder, impressing the FBI representative—they joked about offering him a job.
Isn't there a job where you follow around a politician and whisper in his/her ear telling them what they need to know about the people they are meeting? I'd be good at that job. I mean, I would have been good at that job. Now my brain is mush, some people call it mama-brain. A friend told me that your IQ temporarily lowers while you are pregnant and for sometime afterwards. Is this true? In my case, probably.
Enter the modern computer age. Now it's very easy to keep folders on everyone you know. But, what do you do when you "know" several hundred cyber friends? Listen people, my blogroll* is pushing 250 crafty blogs that I keep up with! I've enjoyed over a thousand email comments and correspondences with my bloggy friends. But, when I'm skimming through my Bloglines it all starts to blur, to become one voice. I hate losing track. I want to remember everything about everyone, remember.
So, it's been taking me several days and I'm not finished yet, but I'm doing some sorting. I'm taking all my blog comments and putting them into folders, electronically, thank goodness. The folders are titled with the name of the person's blog and their first name. This way when Siow Chin leaves a comment I can remember that she came from Little Purl of the Orient. Even though I subscribe to her blog and enjoy reading it, it took me awhile to connect Siow Chin to her blog because her Blogger profile didn't link back to her blog. Now I have a "Purl of the Orient/Siow Chin" folder for her. This makes me happy.
I bet all you Typepad-ers are going to tell me how Typepad does this for you automatically, in which case I may be tempted to switch over. But, for tonight I have you all neatly tucked away in your little electronic folders. Good night sweet cyber friends.
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P.S. I do read blogs outside of Bloglines, too—in fact, everyday. But, to keep track of the madness which is 234 blogs, I use the aggregator, then I click on the blogs that I want to read up close and personal.
*Warning: Bloglines and other feed aggregators can be very addictive. If you have a touch of OCD it can be dangerous.
In the pre-computer years I kept Manila folders on the guys that I thought were cute, mostly surfers. I know, it sounds stalker-ish, but it wasn't, really, it wasn't. ;) I inherited this trait from my father. He once kept a folder on a dead-beat renter who had stiffed him of a couple months rent. One day the FBI knocked on our door asking my father if he knew of this man. My dad whipped out his folder, impressing the FBI representative—they joked about offering him a job.
Isn't there a job where you follow around a politician and whisper in his/her ear telling them what they need to know about the people they are meeting? I'd be good at that job. I mean, I would have been good at that job. Now my brain is mush, some people call it mama-brain. A friend told me that your IQ temporarily lowers while you are pregnant and for sometime afterwards. Is this true? In my case, probably.
Enter the modern computer age. Now it's very easy to keep folders on everyone you know. But, what do you do when you "know" several hundred cyber friends? Listen people, my blogroll* is pushing 250 crafty blogs that I keep up with! I've enjoyed over a thousand email comments and correspondences with my bloggy friends. But, when I'm skimming through my Bloglines it all starts to blur, to become one voice. I hate losing track. I want to remember everything about everyone, remember.
So, it's been taking me several days and I'm not finished yet, but I'm doing some sorting. I'm taking all my blog comments and putting them into folders, electronically, thank goodness. The folders are titled with the name of the person's blog and their first name. This way when Siow Chin leaves a comment I can remember that she came from Little Purl of the Orient. Even though I subscribe to her blog and enjoy reading it, it took me awhile to connect Siow Chin to her blog because her Blogger profile didn't link back to her blog. Now I have a "Purl of the Orient/Siow Chin" folder for her. This makes me happy.
I bet all you Typepad-ers are going to tell me how Typepad does this for you automatically, in which case I may be tempted to switch over. But, for tonight I have you all neatly tucked away in your little electronic folders. Good night sweet cyber friends.
---------
P.S. I do read blogs outside of Bloglines, too—in fact, everyday. But, to keep track of the madness which is 234 blogs, I use the aggregator, then I click on the blogs that I want to read up close and personal.
*Warning: Bloglines and other feed aggregators can be very addictive. If you have a touch of OCD it can be dangerous.
Labels: blogging
16 Comments:
Thanks for the OCD warning, because my blog habit is already getting a little out of control. Loved the FBI story. Love your blog. (even if I didn't make the top 245!)
Pamkittymorning: you are in my blogroll. You must not be compulsively checking to see who is subscribed to you in Bloglines. ;)
I was just thinking '234 is so many' and realised I have just a few more than that - your right it's very addictive.
YOu are so funny!!!
I now have over 300 blogs on my Bloglines. I remember first discovering it & thinking if I ever got to 100 I'd be in trouble! LOL :)
This, I can relate to. My bloglines is getting very blogheavy, and I think some sorting is in my blog future! There's just way too many inspiring blogs out there, but it is so addictive! Love yours - it's just so simple, clean & beautiful!
Bloglines is awesome. Not only do I have my crafty feeds, I also get Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, CNN, and snarky celebrity gossip. Now, when I have a free second or two, I just have to check one place.
My favorite part is being able to save posts for later, if I don't have time to comment right then. I also love "clip this." I've saved all sorts of blog tutorials in my clippings.
The best part is seeing how many people have subscribed to the blog. Green Kitchen, you are at 198. I am the lone subscriber to the Word of the Day. CNN has 35,763 subscribers. My blog has 40 subscribers between my two feeds (craft_blog and craft%5Fblog - darn underscore!).
Check me out! I've got a folder.
I'm digging your OCD system. As my blogroll grows (not to mention the number of people I "know" only through avatars, knitting projects and snarky comments) I'm gonna need some sort of system.
(And as I did not comment before, the colors on your log cabin are just lovely)
I forgot to clarify that the sorting I'm doing is in my email folder. I could do the same sort of sorting in my Bloglines blogroll, too--maybe that's up next.
Futuregirl: I think I might start clipping, too. And, I need to use the "save as new" feature more often because my browser crashes so much. Many times I click to open someones blog, have a few ready to leave comments on, and then the damn thing crashes. It's rare that I go back and try to find where I was. So sad.
ok, if i wasn't certain that i was reading about you i might have thought i was reading about me... but with a few exceptions.
one - i don't have children, so can't use them as an excuse for me losing my ability to remember everything; wine maybe, but not the kids...
two - i use the blog lines too, but consider it sacreligious not to go to the bloggers site to read the post.
three - my dad was the one the fbi was looking for... haha, just kidding.
i try to keep my list pared down or i might not get ANY work done, so i dont have nearly as many folks as you, and i didn't know about 'clip this' so that will come in very handy. i do obsessivly check bloglines, and the number of subcribers to my feed, and always scream a yip of joy when 'i get another one'.
"There is a common expression in Xhosa (Zulu)...umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu which means 'a person is a person through other persons.'"
Ha ha ha, I just said the exact same thing to Mrs. Dawbis a minute ago. It is so addicting and becomes quite a chore to keep up with (if you are in to that kind of thing [which I am *smile*])!
Thanks for sharing! Have a wonderful day! Hugs!
I've got just over 200 in my blogroll....YAY! That means I can find another 50-100 and not feel like I am freaky blog addicted.
Let the blog trawling begin! (ahem...or continue, as the case may be)
I just came across your blog for the first time today and felt an instant connection to you through this particular post. I may have a touch of OCD, so I find your use of folders so satisfying. And I, too, use Blogger and sometimes daydream about the wonders of Typepad. Your FBI story is terrific - my mother will be so pleased to know that the years of trivial information that she's been storing on all of her friends and neighbors may be put to good use some day. I look forward to future visits here!
I just spent an hour scrolling through your bloglines feeds. How interesting, I found some really beautiful stuff in there. Thanks for sharing.
Wa-ow. Emphasis on the "ow." I am SO IMPRESSED that you are able to manage this. I will never, ever in a million years be able to do anything similar. I have the least organized in-box on earth. When I have to find something I scroll through everything and it takes forever, and then half the time I can't find it.
You are my idol in this.
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