The Junk Drawer

Ready class? This is a tutorial on ways to keep updated at The Junk Drawer. I cover a problem I discovered with Blogger redirection (Section I) and also explain how to subscribe to my blog via email or RSS feed (Section II).

SECTION I: What’s the problem?

Because Google is apparently still mad at me for moving to WordPress, users who click my old Blogger address, http://kathyfrederick.blogspot.com, aren’t automatically redirecting to the new one. If you haven’t noticed this problem, skip to Section II.

The redirection problem has two effects, depending on the browser you use:

1. Internet Explorer users get a useless error message, “Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage.” If someone still has my old Blogspot address bookmarked in IE, and they don’t take another step to search for me, I’ve lost them for good and that bums me out.

2. Firefox users at least get a helpful message that informs them I’ve moved and asks if they want to be redirected. They can click Yes, but it’s a stupid extra step.

If you use Firefox and still have my old Blogspot address bookmarked:

Delete that bookmark and create a new one pointing to http://www.junkdrawerblog.com. That way, you don’t need to click through the redirection page to get here.

SECTION II - Two ways to get subscribed

1. Subscribe via email:

At the top of the right sidebar, above my big fat head, you’ll find a link Subscribe via email. Click it and follow the instructions. Whenever I post to my blog, you’ll get it in your inbox.

2. Subscribe via RSS feed (Real Simple Syndication):

There are a number of ways to read a blog’s feed (list of posts). You can use a feed reader like Bloglines, Yahoo, or Google Reader. Or you can bookmark a feed in the same way you’d bookmark a favorite web page.

Begin by clicking the Subscribe in a reader link above my big, fat head.

You’ll see this page:

If you already see your preferred feed reader in the button list, click it and follow the instructions. Here, too, you have the option to subscribe via email (Get The Junk Drawer delivered by email link).

If you’d rather create a bookmark (Firefox) or Favorite (IE) for the feed itself, click the View Feed XML link.

Internet Explorer:

Click the Subscribe to this feed link at the top left. You’ll see a prompt to add The Junk Drawer in your Feeds folder. Click Subscribe. To access it, click the yellow star icon in the upper left corner of your IE window, then click the Feeds button. You will see The Junk Drawer listed there. Click it to read my latest posts.

Firefox users:

You’ll get a prompt to Add Live Bookmark. You can take the default, Create in Bookmarks Toolbar Folder, and it’ll stick my feed up in your toolbar as a button.

You can also do as I do and create an RSS folder where you can store many blog feeds. This keeps my toolbar uncluttered. All the blog feeds I follow are contained neatly in a single folder.

To create a feed folder:

Click the down arrow to the right of Bookmarks Toolbar Folder.

Then click the New Folder button. Name your folder (RSS, for example) and click OK. You’ll see a button up in your Toolbar, with The Junk Drawer’s feed in it. Do the same for all your favorite blogs!

This concludes today’s lesson. I tried to make this as simple as possible, but if you have any questions or problems, pop me an email at kathyblog07 [at] gmail [dot] com. I’ll be glad to help!