Introducing Reading List's Political Directory

Until now the Berkshire Blogosphere just hasn't had a one-stop shop where you can find the whole range and variety of political blogs and feeds from parties, representatives, activists, commentators and observers.

Now you can find them all in the same place - at Reading List's Political Directory.

Politics is how society decides what we want to do, how we go about doing it and - most significantly - how we pay for it. Therefore it's vitally important to have access to the full range of options and opinions, and I hope this directory will go some way to help.

But this also means we need your help - if you publish a site dedicated to the issues of today or you know of one which we've missed out please get in touch so we can keep it up-to-date.

Restructuring the List

Evolution of the Berkshire blogosphere continues apace, and to keep up with changes it has become necessary to change the template and redefine the system of blogroll used for listings over at the main RL page.

Eventually this will mean a reduction in the quantity of blogs listed there, but this will soon be compensated by the inclusion of topic-based directories to allow for greater specialisation of focus and improved overall quality.

Even as I write it is already apparent a self-organising classification system is emerging as authors seek out and discover their niches, so I'm optimistic that by reflecting this Reading List will hasten the development process of local debate and potentially instigate improvements further down the road.

Moving Newsweek, introducing Blogweek

Some readers noticed the regular 'Newsweek' feature didn't appear in it's usual Monday slot on Reading List.

But this wasn't a simple oversight, as several behind the scenes discussions suggested it has been veering off-course as it focussed more on the Berkshire trend, rather than the local Reading scene - and this made it more suitable for the Berkshire Blog Review page.

However, this does still allow for a more tightly-centred Reading Newsweek post on the main Reading List page.

More interestingly it also opens up the way for a complementary Berkshire 'Blogweek' post to advertise some of the best opinion, commentary and uses of a blog around the county, which will also be forthcoming in appearance.

RL Network Rankings

Rankings for February 2011:

#1434 - Reading List News Page (+951)
#4764 - Reading List BBR (-244)
#6034 - Reading List Editor's Page (-311)

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Previous RL Network Rankings

RL Network rankings

While I've quit trying to collate the chart for several hundred Berkshire blogs at a time (time, interest, relevance, comparability etc) there's nothing to stop an internal record providing some feedback.

At least it'll keep things ticking over here...

Jan 2011
#2385 - Reading List News Page
#4343 - Reading List BBR
#5711 - Reading List Editor's Page

Thanks, Augustus Carp

In response to a pseudonymous contact I've spent the past couple of evenings organising the blogroll which comprises my local Reading List.

I've decided that the best way to split them up is along into three main groups along the following lines:

Main feeds, offering a wider perspective

• News feeds (for news sources)
• Magazine feeds (for blogs with a clear voice and format within a narrow interest range)
• Humourous feeds (for the funny side of life)

Political feeds, offering subjective viewpoints

• Elected representatives and professional commentators
• Local politics with a partisan bent
• General social comment

and general bloggers, for an eclectic alternative variety.

• Top blogs
• 'Better' blogs
• Ones to watch

These and other blogs will remain listed on my main directory lists, which I'll get around to including in due course.

Many sites don't fit neatly into one or other category, so at least for the purpose of presenting a clear range and balance these changes will help. Hopefully, too, any writers who see where their blog fits into the spectrum of the Berkshire blogosphere will find this a useful form of feedback providing some hints for them to refine their own style and focus, and that this will sharpen up the overall tenor of expression.

There's something distinctly unfair about determining the rightful prominance to give local writers, and this created a bit of a conundrum which gave me a few headaches. But despite these awkward choices it's necessary nonetheless and hopefully worthwhile.


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For those of you of a bookish nature Augustus Carp was a satire about a self-important nobody, and the in undertaking this task the reflexive irony of my interlocutor's intervention gradually dawned on me...

Thanks, Augustus Carp!

Reading List relaunches

Thanks to all the supporters and well-wishers who've got in touch to ask whether Reading List would be consigned into the nether yonder of the internet.

I'm happy to announce that after some (much-discussed) changes the blog will resume postings (albeit in an initially scaled-down form).

As a purely voluntary effort, Oranjepan was struggling to find enough hours in the day to properly maintain and monitor the 5,000+ source sites and feeds which comprise the collected 'list', let alone produce a satisfactory digest and manage a full private life at the same time!

Reading List depends on you, so if you have any comments on articles, feedback on style and possible topics, or suggestions for sources to add to the list please get in contact.