Dave Burke : Freelance .NET Web Developer specializing in Online Communities

I deleted my MSDN Blogs feed and I feel fine

I don't want to appear like I'm dissing MSDN blogs or the Microsoft employees who care enough about their work to blog at blogs.msdn.com, but I deleted my MSDN Blog feed a couple weeks ago and it was one of the best things I did for myself lately.

Going though your feeds should be a pleasant experience, looking for new gems from friends and resources in-the-know.  It shouldn't be a task.  If it is, then you should take steps to change it, which is what I did by deleting my MSDN Blogs feed.  I mean, seriously, I fire up my reader and there are 183 MSDN posts to scan through.  Reading though MSDN blog titles is not an easy task either. Like Gus Portokalos said of Toula's future in-laws, MSDN blog titles are "No jam, no honey, just dry toast!"  On a good day out of the 183 titles I'd find maybe 4 or 5 posts that were personally relevant to me and of those I'd keep 2. 

There are individual MSDN bloggers in my OPML who I never miss, guys like Thom Robbins.  So I still have a good number of individual feeds that I can continue to enjoy. But life is too short and the MSDN blogs feed is out of control.  That noise is gone and life is good again.

Pastor Burke says,

"Fear not, ye heavy-laden .NET developers who seek subscription freedom from MSDN Blogs.  Release your burden and cleave to your aggregator in joy once again." 

(That absolution is for United Methodists only.  I can't help you other heathens out there.)

 

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Posted on 11/7/2005 5:38:00 AM by Dave Burke
Categories: .NET
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Comments (8) -

11/7/2005 7:11:56 AM Permalink

oh - you are brave - check this out (funny timing!) blog.ziffdavis.com/.../38846.aspx

Julie |

11/7/2005 7:45:04 AM Permalink

I unsubscribed to MSDN about a month ago.  Same reasons.  But I do subscribe to at least a dozen individual blogs in that feed.

Rob Cannon |

11/7/2005 5:01:56 PM Permalink

I got rid of my MSDN feed a few months back as well when I switched to Newsgator integrated with Outlook.  I have kept Frank Arrigo's blog (Australian .Net Evangilism team) and Rob Caron from the Team System group.  I reckon Rob's blog is must read for anyone interested in Team System Foundation Server and he regularly updates with good link love so he's indispensible.

Its not just MSDN I've unsubbed from, recently Slashdot has been dropped because the quality has diminished beyond belief.  You used to get a couple nuggets a day, now you're lucky to see one a week.  And lastly, Engadget lost me when they included Google Ads in the feed - I figure they should tease me with their feed to go to their site and then earn their crust, forcing it down my throat in a the RSS Feed is just not on so I dropped them.

Sean Kaye |

11/7/2005 5:51:26 PM Permalink

Thanks for your ditto's, guys.  It's nice to know that it's not just me thinking that MSDN Blogs is 95% noise.  They should consider breaking it up in product groups or something.  I need to add a few msdn bloggers to my feeds yet.  Don't know if I'll get up to 12 though, Rob.  Sean, I'm with you on Engadget.  I unsub'd about the same google ad timeframe.  Never been a slashdotter though.  Still doing CodeBetter.com and weblogs.asp.net and enjoy them.  JL, as usual, you beat me to the punch again!

daveburke |

11/7/2005 7:11:55 PM Permalink

95% noise, huh?

I got that beat.

mabster |

11/7/2005 7:14:09 PM Permalink

Mabster Man, What's your MSDN blog noise appraisal, you nut?

daveburke |

11/7/2005 7:44:54 PM Permalink

I was only saying that Mabsterama has a WAY worse signal-to-noise ratio than that! Smile

But yeah, I have never actually subscribed to the amalgamated blogs.msdn.com feed. There are plenty of individual ones that I subscribe to, and I still visit the actual site daily just to skim over it, to see if there are others who might want to join the honour-roll that is my subscription list.

All in all, though, 95% noise is probably accurate. Not because it's non-technical garbage or anything. More because it's stuff that doesn't apply to me (yet). If I look at the site right now, I see blog posts about ebooks, a user group nowhere near me, BizTalk, and even one entry in Chinese, none of which appeal to me at all.

ps. Give my blog some love you guys! I'm doing my best to post more technical content on there for y'all! Smile

mabster |

11/7/2005 7:54:14 PM Permalink

Nah, Mab!  Your signal's strong, dude.  It's not just about technical content, but about personality and life experience.  Feel the love from Vermont, Mabster Man.  

Yeah, that Jaws scene was priceless.  

I had a little drink about an hour ago and it went right to my head...

daveburke |


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