These are bookmark tassles Back in December I wrote a post about Taking Back Your Internet Bookmarks.
In that post I talked about the sites I visit regularly, or bookmark using Ctrl-D with Google Chrome, which is the browser I prefer.
Lately I’ve run into a problem, much like I did back then, where I have too many sites crowding my bookmark bar. You can see the sites I’ve got on the side there, and I like to keep that bar within one screen length. And to do that I’ve got to get rid of 19 bookmarks from that list.
So which will go and which will stay? Let’s take a look, and maybe you’ll get some ideas on how to manage your bookmarks bar as well.
In that post I talked about the sites I visit regularly, or bookmark using Ctrl-D with Google Chrome, which is the browser I prefer.
Lately I’ve run into a problem, much like I did back then, where I have too many sites crowding my bookmark bar. You can see the sites I’ve got on the side there, and I like to keep that bar within one screen length. And to do that I’ve got to get rid of 19 bookmarks from that list.
So which will go and which will stay? Let’s take a look, and maybe you’ll get some ideas on how to manage your bookmarks bar as well.
My Bookmarks
I try to keep my bookmarks bar segmented into three areas:
Sites that get added to my bookmark bar automatically go to the bottom. Sometimes I immediately go in and move it where it needs to go in that general group dynamic, sometimes I just let them sit. And that has a tendency to clutter the bottom of your internet bookmarks bar with a lot of debris.
Really, do you need all those sites? I’m willing to bet your bookmark bar might have twice as many sites as mine, and perhaps no general layout or planning involved.
That’s a bummer, but not impossible to fix.
All you need to do is get rid of those useless sites.
- Amazon/Self-Publishing;
- Montana/Writing Blogs;
- SEO/Content Marketing Tools.
Sites that get added to my bookmark bar automatically go to the bottom. Sometimes I immediately go in and move it where it needs to go in that general group dynamic, sometimes I just let them sit. And that has a tendency to clutter the bottom of your internet bookmarks bar with a lot of debris.
Really, do you need all those sites? I’m willing to bet your bookmark bar might have twice as many sites as mine, and perhaps no general layout or planning involved.
That’s a bummer, but not impossible to fix.
All you need to do is get rid of those useless sites.
My ‘Useless’ Sites
Alright, right away I’ll be stepping on some feathers here. After all, no one wants to see their site get axed. But unfortunately that’s what happens, and you just happen to be invited to this public execution.
Here are the sites I’m culling from the list, and why:
Here are the sites I’m culling from the list, and why:
- Jane Friedman: I just don’t really care for the articles on this site, and they don’t go up frequently enough for me. I added this site several months ago, but have never really been impressed by it.
- Live, Write, Thrive: This site is another with some good advice for new writers, but their insistence upon a once-a-week posting schedule kind of does them in for me. Now, I go to Anne R. Allen’s blog, which has content added just once a week, but I feel it provides more value than this site, which relies solely on guest posts.
- The Book Deal: Alan Rinzler has some great editorial advice, and I primarily added this site because he once edited Hunter S. Thompson. Unfortunately new articles just go up once a month, and honestly, there’s not anything mind-boggling there.
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch: This site just went through a redesign at the same time it dropped its popular blog for writers. I’ve visited a few times each week since then, but there’s hardly anything new.
- 3D Joes: This is a site that will give you images of all the original G.I. Joe action figures from the 1980s. That’s great when you’re writing short novellas each month about those characters, but I can’t help but think a simple search on Google once a month will suffice in finding them.
- Kobo: Honestly, I’m not even sure why this is still here. I never look at it, but I have all my eBook retailers on the bookmark bar. I will start removing them one by one, and Kobo’s day has come.
- Time/Date: This site is handy when I’m working for someone in, say, Australia or India or somewhere. I can see when they’re going to wake up usually, and this lets me know when I need to get things done. I do this maybe every two months, yet another example of something Google can handle.
- Campaign Tracker: This is a link I’d use to get to my campaign finance website when I was running my political campaign. Since I lost I can now remove it, something I’ve been waiting to do until my next report’s due, which is in a few days I think. So then it’s gone!
- Great Falls Tribune: I never look at this regional newspaper for a couple reasons. First, advertising has taken it over, and stories are difficult to find. Next, you can only read 10 articles a month without paying. I already pay for my local paper, so this site’s yesterday’s news.
- Search Engine Land: I added this site a couple months ago because I kept seeing them add content on Google+. But I never really got interested in what they were putting out, so never really visited. Now they’ve lost me, and that happens to sites all the time, losing potential customers or users.
- Quozio: This is a fun little site that lets you make quotes and share them. I found out last week that it was easier to just do that crap myself, and you can see some of the cool photo quotes I’ve been making if you add me on Google+. So this poor site got about a week on the bar, and now it’s outta there!
Sites That Are Damn Close to Going
These sites are just not that valuable to me anymore, and I’m thinking of cutting them. They were spared this time, but that should be a clear sign they need to improve, in my opinion, in order to have the honor of staying on my bookmark bar. Yes, it is an honor.
- Konrath: Joe Konrath’s site has some great advice for new writers, but lately I feel it’s just one angry rant against traditional publishing after another. I know how to be angry already, so this site is sliding ever closer to removal from the bookmark bar.
- Hugh Howey: This is a site that I don’t visit much anymore, not since Hugh started scaling back on his blog posting. What’s more, usually when there’s something really good on this site it’ll be reported on The Passive Voice, so I might remove this one on the next go-round.
- LinkedIn: Each month I think of getting rid of this damn thing, for I never use it. Of all the social media tools, this gets my attention the least. But I hang on to it, don’t ask me why, and I have a feeling it’ll be there until the next reckoning.
Adding Old Sites
Some people run into a problem when they’re organizing they’re bookmarks bar – they add more sites. I’m going to do that today, and let me tell you why.
There were two sites that I cut back in December, Copyblogger and Boost Blog Traffic. Lately I’ve gone to those sites a bit more, and I think I’ll add them back because of that, and also because I’m tired of typing their name into Google (I typically misspell the name to give the SEO folks a tough time, and to remind them of what can happen when they cross me).
Now, those two sites will be added back, but as you can see, with the cuts I’ve made I’ve still got a decent bookmark bar.
Alas, the work is never done, and this is just one step in a continual and often agonizing process. I’m glad you were here with me today to lend support, and I hope you’re not scared away for good by what you’ve witnessed here today.
There were two sites that I cut back in December, Copyblogger and Boost Blog Traffic. Lately I’ve gone to those sites a bit more, and I think I’ll add them back because of that, and also because I’m tired of typing their name into Google (I typically misspell the name to give the SEO folks a tough time, and to remind them of what can happen when they cross me).
Now, those two sites will be added back, but as you can see, with the cuts I’ve made I’ve still got a decent bookmark bar.
Alas, the work is never done, and this is just one step in a continual and often agonizing process. I’m glad you were here with me today to lend support, and I hope you’re not scared away for good by what you’ve witnessed here today.
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