My Blogroll Is Now My Feed Reader

On a particularly hot summer weekend last month, I implemented a new feature for this website: a blogroll that lists recent entries from my favourite blogs. Check it out here: roll.html.

It has been nearly two weeks since I set up this blogroll, and it has already changed how I keep up with my feeds. I no longer bother with feed readers or aggregators. I could never quite make a habit of using them regularly anyway. Thanks to this simple addition to my website, I find myself visiting my blogroll often. It has earned a permanent place in my bookmarks. When I have some spare time, I click on the bookmark, visit my blogroll, and when I find new posts appear there, I click through them and read the full blog posts.

Credit for this nifty and surprisingly effective idea goes to Alex Kladov. It was Alex's website, matklad.github.io, that inspired me to implement my own blogroll. It showed me that a blogroll can be more than just a static list of links. It can be a regularly updated page that highlights new posts from the blogs I follow.

I suspect the fact that my blogroll is generated by my own handcrafted Common Lisp program plays a part in why I enjoy using it. There is a certain joy in using something you have built yourself. At last, I feel I can stay on top of my feeds! If you maintain a personal website and struggle to keep up with your feeds, I recommend this approach. Writing the blogroll generator was a fun weekend project and it has greatly improved how I spend my spare time online!