No one in the TeleRead community has spoken up in the wake of our post saying we’d swap “Morning Links” for “TeleRead Links.”
Does this mean we made our case—thus, no objections? Or that link-oriented posts just do not matter as much as our news and commentary exploring topics in depth?
My own theory is that TeleRead regulars are a sophisticated bunch and get news headlines anyway through Google News and elsewhere.
What they do care about most, I suspect, is detailed and authoritative analysis of the important and the interesting. That’s exactly what the TeleRead crew—all of them passionate e-bookers for years—can provide.
But who needs theory? Just tell us, directly, what you’re thinking. Should we keep up the link act or focus more on other posts? Meanwhile I’ll skip links today and tomorrow and—if no one really cares—forever.
The traffic angle: As noted earlier, other kinds of posts draw many more readers.
Please don’t drop them. It is great to have a curated set of news on the subject.
I second that, Rodolfo. The links are important. I have discovered no end of good sites following links from TeleRead.
I like the link posts. They don’t have to be in the morning, or even every day. I have no problem with doing the post in the evening or even skipping now and then.
I like the link posts because someone usually takes the time to say something brief about why the link’s might be worth my time. But I’d also be fine if they went away; if one of the links is really important, someone on Teleread’s probably going to do a full post about it later.
The link posts are mostly why I still read this blog.
Not all articles require a full followup by TR writers, so the special links fill a niche, invho. I do click on them fairly regularly, and have expanded my knowledge of all kinds of things. If the links only showed up every few days, or even once a week, that would be fine by me. I’ll admit I seldom comment on them, mainly because I wasn’t sure you really wanted comments on them. With all that being said, if you opted to drop them, I’d still visit TR daily. I enjoy the things I read here, even when it’s not total cup of tea.
I started to comment on the loss of the morning links. They’re one of the first things I check every morning. A lot of blogs of various types do that kind of thing but so far you’ve been doing it best. I had to lose them. I can’t say that’s my favorite part of your blog but it’s certainly very high on my list.
I held back because it is your site and you gave some reasons of hardship that seemed pretty important. I decided to just be quiet about it. But the fact is that I hope you’ll keep doing it.
If you do in fact move the links to the afternoon or evening I doubt I’ll see them, or at least not every day. This is a good part of my morning routine. The rest of my day is far less routine.
Barry
I hope that you do not. I like reading them.
Barry hs a good point.
There are several sites which do a link post in the afternoon that I usually miss because they’re in the afternoon. The only ones I catch consistently are the ones in the morning.
I’d also like you to keep them — they are quick and easy way to get up to speed on what’s going on in the industry. I don’t want to have to go searching a bunch of different sites.
I’m in Pacific time, so your “morning” is my “I’m still asleep.” I don’t usually see the links until afternoon my time anyway, so if they’re not posted until your afternoon…well that’s still early in my day. And if I don’t see them until the next day, rarely is anything that time sensitive.
So, yeah, I vote keep posting them, I find them interesting, but time of day and/or daily-ness of them doesn’t matter as much.
Please don’t drop the links. I often find things that I’ve missed elsewhere.
Keep the links, there’s no way I can find all that info on my own without spending lots of time.
I prefer the links being kept.
One of the features I really like on Joel Friedlander’s blog is his “Carnival of the Indies” with links to many interesting (and some not-so-interesting) articles.
http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2015/06/self-publishing-carnival-of-the-indies-issue-57/
So yes, keep the links, but add even more.
Many thanks, everyone. We’ll won’t do the links as often and won’t worry about when they appear, but yes, we will keep them—now that members of the TeleRead community have spoken out in favor of our doing so. Keep the feedback coming! And think good thoughts for my wife’s health, Priority #1 right now. David
I like the links in the morning, something to check before I leave for work at 8:00 AM pacific time. Moving them to the afternoon was less than optimal for me, but I didn’t think it was worth a comment to keep them that way.
Keep the links. I’m lazy and not inclined to do the google searches myself.
Big thanks for your further feedback, Greg. We still can’t promise a regular time for the links, but, yes, we’ll try to aim for the mornings.
Please keep the links. I have an automated Google search set up, but it almost never catches the links you do. Thanks to Teleread for doing such a great job!
Prayers for her. Good strength.
I like the links. Hope you keep them up — whatever time of day.
I’ll also add my good thoughts for your wife’s health, and your own.
Thanks so much, Graff and dlomax. To be precise, the disease is pancreatic cancer, which has killed several of Carly’s relatives (this on top of other health issues such as fibromyalgia).
Here’s a little more background on my Priority #1 and also on a related matter, the challenges facing the TeleRead site.
Carly relies on e-books as a tension-reliever and an escape. She must read in a certain way for maximum comfort, and she does better with larger fonts. As always, e-books have been a huge life-enricher for Carly. She is one reason I am so passionate in responding to Luddite attacks on them and in working toward a national digital library endowment. Imagine all the Carlys out there.
Because it hurts for Carly to get around, and because she is weak, I must often get up to bring her meals (although we’re hoping that a walker with a tray will help). Also, she has trouble doing other things, as well as problems sleeping.
With all this going on in my life, something has to give. And that’s one reason why we’ve cut back on links.
Another reason is that like so many other sites, TeleRead is still searching for the right business model(s), and in the interest of sustainability we’ve cut back expenditures on writers. I’ve had to take up much of the slack. I don’t want the quality of the site to suffer.
I’m in talks with potential strategic partners to help us address the business issues and related technical ones. With more money, Juli can work more hours. Some for others. Result? More visitors. And more revenue to pay professional writers.
Meanwhile we’re still drawing thousands of visitors a day. Life goes on.
For now, it’s so, so good to hear that people indeed care about the site and the links. A potential partner was highly impressed by the social aspects of TeleRead, not just the caliber of its content. So keep the comments of all kinds coming (including those disagreeing with posts).
I want TeleRead to continue as a community, not just another news & views outlet.
Many prayers for Carly, and for you as her caretaker. Sadly, I can totally relate to your situation and pray for strength and comfort for you both.
@MrsMac: Thanks. We’re having a consulting Monday with the Georgetown surgeon to discuss the findings and options for Carly. So, so unfair that someone so sweet and undeserving would face these challenges.