Hi,
A small departure from the norm (and hopefully a much shorter post!) to let you know of some behind the scenes changes I’ve been doing, and how they’ll affect you….particularly if you have subscribed to follow the blog via email.
Unfortunately, the email subscription service I have been using up until now (“Feedburner”, the default option for a Blogger page) has “recently” (several months ago, I’m lazy and not good at all this tech stuff) permanently closed down its email subscription function. While the existing email list has been maintained and updates continue to be sent for now, it is no longer possible to add new subscriptions, and I believe that the existing functionality will also be eventually removed.
As such, I’ve dallied around, done more coding than I thought I ever would (which is still very little), and found an alternative mailing list host to use, called “MailerLite”….and made a few small upgrades to how the blog looks and works along the way, too, cleaning up the sidebar in particular and making it easier and nicer to navigate the entire blog.
What does this mean for you, faithful reader? Very little to be honest. Using Computer Magic, it is possible and easy for me to export all existing subscribers into the new host. However, I didn’t want to do so immediately, but to give you some time to react to this and confirm that it’s a-OK with you. As such, there are three options available to you:
1 – Subscribe to the new mailing list yourself here! This can also be found in the blog’s sidebar. If you wanna double check to make sure there’s nothing fishy about the new service, this is a good option for you.
2 – Wait until October 20, which is the arbitrary date I have chosen to shut down the existing Feedburner subscriptions. I will then migrate all remaining subscribers to the new mailing service. If you know you wanna continue subscribing to this blog via email, and/or are lazy, this is the option for you, but it also leads us to option 3, which is…..
3 – Cancel your existing subscription by October 20, using the standard link at the bottom of this page (assuming you receive this post via email). If you no longer want to follow this blog (sad face, guilt trip, etc etc) or are uncomfortable with migrating over to MailerLite, this is the option for you. This way, when I migrate the subscriber list, you’ll no longer be on it and won’t be forced into something you haven’t agreed to. Again, if you no longer want to follow this blog via email, this is your best option, though it also leads us into….
Option D – (confusingly yet correctly designated, because it is not mutually exclusive with options 1-3)….follow the blog on the new Facebook page! This option means you may miss the occasional update, as the ways of the algorithm are mysterious and capricious….but if you prefer this to email, or even want to show your support by both subscribing with email and liking the page, then I won’t complain!
Again, I want to reiterate that if you’re happy, no action at all is needed on your end, with any luck, the transition will be smooth and easy. I also don’t mind which option you choose, but, again, wanted to give that choice to everyone individually. I also want to reassure you that, while I plan to be posting rather more regularly in the coming months, I will not use the new email list nor the Facebook page to spam information, offers, or basically anything other than new blog posts….you’re solely here to read whatever nonsense I come up with, and I’m not gonna abuse that trust, given its dubious foundations!
And, as I said just above, I’m looking forward to a more frequent (though still assuredly irregular, given my personality faults) update schedule in the coming months, so stay tuned, unless you have chosen not to stay tuned – in which case, thanks for following thus far regardless.
Thanks and my apologies for a decidedly uninteresting post – I’ll make it up to you over the weekend, I swear, I’m sure I’ll have this finished by then, and I think it’s a pretty good post….
