Just a quick note encouraging you all to follow my blog with Bloglovin' before Google Reader goes dark on July 1. (You needn't re-follow all your blogs individually, either—you can import subscriptions from other readers).
I know Bloglovin' has some bugs and is missing a few features—the ability to save posts to read later, for example--but I prefer it to the other options for one huge reason: it lets you read actual blog pages in their own design, the way they're meant to look... and it gives bloggers pageviews.
Why do pageviews matter? Many bloggers rely on people actually viewing their sites (instead of just the text and photos from a single post) to earn money from ads, sponsors, Etsy shops and links. When you read a post through something like Google Reader, that didn't count as a pageview. So every time you view an actual blog, or read it through Bloglovin', you are helping to support your favorite bloggers!
I don't make MUCH money from ads on this blog, but I have noticed since folks started switching over to Bloglovin' my pageviews have doubled (30,000/month average now). And instead of $10/month from Google Adsense, I'm seeing $30 or more. (That may not sound like much, but I live on a REALLY tight budget, and that's guilt-free money to spend on sewing and knitting supplies to blog about!)
So again—please follow me on Bloglovin'!
Have you all made the switch? Or are you going with a more Reader-esque option?
P.S. I believe this also marks the death of Google Friend Connect, which was linked to Google Reader and is being superseded by Google Plus? RIP, Friend Connect! I guess I'll remove it from my sidebar at some point...
P.P.S. If you are a blogger, even if you don't make the switch to reading blogs on Bloglovin', you should still claim your blog over there to have more control when people subscribe to you that way!
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