tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17317395363114949112011-11-27T15:49:39.353-08:00Editor's PageOranjepannoreply@blogger.comBlogger251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-72607939802227824202011-11-01T11:10:00.000-07:002011-11-01T11:10:00.729-07:00

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

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-13713097149088725982011-07-14T10:00:00.000-07:002011-07-17T02:51:59.986-07:00

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

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-77667451793792696302011-03-24T03:19:00.000-07:002011-03-24T03:19:23.464-07:00

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

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-49685658127040401192011-03-13T23:26:00.000-07:002011-03-13T23:26:57.109-07:00

Rankings for February 2011: #1434 - Reading List News Page (+951) #4764 - Reading List BBR (-244) #6034 - Reading List Editor's Page (-311) - Previous RL Network Rankings

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-54021496245063087792011-02-07T15:02:00.000-08:002011-02-07T15:02:33.121-08:00

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

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-8840742991139143162011-02-02T11:52:00.000-08:002011-02-02T11:52:16.325-08:00

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

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-3517299439334640542011-01-30T00:01:00.000-08:002011-01-30T13:09:34.857-08:00

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

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-36840429253187163512010-06-22T03:58:00.000-07:002010-06-22T05:04:01.399-07:00

It would be easy to roll out a lengthy diatribe on this, talking about how it's your taxes, your life and your future which is at stake. Or I could mention how millions of people have fought and died for the privilege which many people still don't have.But I think humour says it better than I could, for which I'm indebted to Cookham's Dave Walker who also writes for the Church Times blog.Succinct

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-46817637699436804522010-05-18T12:00:00.000-07:002010-05-31T11:06:31.820-07:00

So much for being in beta, here's The Beta Band:Most of the readers arrive at Reading List's network of sites for a variety of different reasons - some come for the aggregated stories created by the, ahem, masterminds behind the organisation, others come to peruse the state of local commentary, while further groups may be attracted by the sourced information or other reasons.So it sometimes

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-48607667254355064842010-03-30T04:58:00.000-07:002010-03-30T07:17:35.120-07:00

Jeff Jarvis sets out his 9 articles to be included in a putative online Bill of Rights.They are:We have the right to connect.We have the right to speak.We have the right to speak in our languages.We have the right to assemble.We have the right to act.We have the right to control our data.We have the right to our own identity.What is public is a public good.The internet shall be built and operated

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-26188515485393468152010-02-16T02:34:00.000-08:002010-02-16T03:00:16.863-08:00

And so I continue to trawl through the local blogosphere using the variety of techniques and tools I've picked up on my travels.But today it's worth shouting about this milestone that I've reached - I have today discovered my 5,000th identifiably Berkshire blog!Although some are more active than others and there are some which defy description I have to admit I'm quite proud of this statistic.Now

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-5186631914086873432010-02-16T01:55:00.000-08:002010-02-16T02:39:45.388-08:00

Online advertising is defying the economic downturn as it rose 10.2% during the final quarter of last year.A closer look at the figures shows Google to be leading the field and pulling away as it recorded 'another blowout month'.Blogging appears to be one of the prime means by which the company is pushing turnover, as the proliferating online independent media gives the behemoth from Mountain

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-39278712000028338842010-01-23T23:52:00.000-08:002010-01-24T00:10:11.966-08:00

Feedback of any form is valuable - and highly appreciated by the team here in the network treetops!So if you have anything you wish to get off your chest please do... better out than in, I always say!All comments, criticisms, questions and suggestions are read and responded to where appropriate - there are a variety of ways you can get in contact:You can comment on any blog postYou can reach me

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-77308304597755703982010-01-10T02:29:00.000-08:002010-01-10T04:48:54.842-08:00

The Reading List Top Of The Berkshire Blogs has gone from strength to strength since I started compiling the chart in May 2009.It started out with 16 blog titles listed by wikio and grew to 152 by the years end. In the meantime 35 blogs had also dropped off the list as they became inactive by December.As I gradually started discovering more active titles it became more difficult to find space on

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-24465630216557556342009-12-10T14:49:00.000-08:002010-01-10T04:53:07.058-08:00

Well, it's that time of year again and everyone's at it in between snifters of the sherry and second helpings of pudding - yes, the end of the year is a time for reflection on the 12 months that went before.So, count this as an hors d'heuvre ahead of the main course when we get to pull some crackers and before we slouch off under the mistletoe for a spot of canoodling!I'll be doing a round-up of

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-21006997483667253222009-11-14T07:28:00.000-08:002010-01-10T04:57:19.304-08:00

I've been asked a couple of questions about the 'Top of the Berkshire Blogs' chart I compile. Hopefully this will provide some answers.Blog rankings matter for the simple reason that they help bring you more visitors.This works in two ways.Firstly, links from other sites may drive traffic as readers click through and make a direct connection.And secondly, search engines measure the weight and

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-24716127431944175102009-11-12T08:59:00.000-08:002009-11-12T09:32:15.467-08:00

...is that it can really do your head in!Well, not always, of course.For my own part I've set myself a pretty mammoth task of writing a sort of local current affairs news journal for my Reading List, and it can often get a bit intense. So it's good to escape over here to organise a few thoughts with some discussion.My methodology is to use the collection of local blogs I've found and use them as

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-51582146339591000662009-10-25T16:39:00.000-07:002010-01-10T05:00:20.804-08:00

This post is in response to Tim Trent, who posed a question in a comment thread.Tim said that he felt the JS-Kit ECHO comment app does not enhance the user experience and asked why I then decided to install it.There are several points which I need to raise in explaining an adequate answer. Firstly, installing it was not entirely necessary and the reception he (and separately Elizabeth Thomas)

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-81376799792964005412009-09-29T10:27:00.000-07:002009-10-01T17:48:48.259-07:00

The potential for hyperlocal newsblogs to attract a highly defined audience creates plenty of opportunities for targetted marketing.Jeff Jarvis writes in the Guardian that this may offer a good economic model for the future of journalism, but Phil Szomszor is cautious about how this translates across the Atlantic while media consumption habits are limited by technology, although he also thinks

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-44069609156997871452009-09-25T12:02:00.000-07:002009-09-25T12:32:31.049-07:00

Any readers of this blog may have noticed the slowdown in output on the main page recently. So it's worth giving you loyal few an insight into what's been going on.Firstly I'll get my excuses in early by explaining that I've been a bit under the (surprisingly sunny) weather - not that that means I've been preferring to top up my tan rather than to neglect my keyboard!Not in the slightest. No,

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-61959368390679938022009-09-22T06:14:00.000-07:002009-09-28T09:16:49.210-07:00

I think it's worth mentioning this post.Andrew Rawnsley has resigned from his position overseeing PoliticsHome.Lord Ashcroft (yes, that one - the deputy chairman of the Conservative party and billionaire from Belize who is personally funding their marginal constituency campaign, while failing to declare his tax status and expose the legality of this) has bought a 57.5% stake in a new holding

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-17723794667993551692009-09-20T03:13:00.000-07:002009-09-20T04:38:07.128-07:00

As I started to think about how these questions referred back to what I was doing it with Reading List it started to become apparent to me that lumping all the different types of postings I wanted to write onto one single blog was not the way to go.With the way my RSS feed was starting to be picked up and syndicated by various other blogs, the result was that I was beginning to recieve criticism

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-47255783159642446972009-09-20T02:45:00.000-07:002009-09-20T03:13:02.060-07:00

First off I'll link to my earlier considered commentaries.The Ususal SuspectsIsn't It Amazing...Good For Readers, Good For Reading!House Rules For CommentingHow Free Is Your Media?Some New AdditionsCommentary or Reportage?

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-25250839765408867882009-09-19T09:30:00.000-07:002009-09-19T09:35:00.804-07:00

As Reading List continues to grow it's become necessary to create a space where I can write a bit about what's going on behind the scenes, and this is it!You'll soon start to see what I'm talking about!

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1731739536311494911.post-48379435755099800982009-09-19T09:21:00.001-07:002009-09-19T09:22:26.629-07:00

Oranjepannoreply@blogger.com0