It looks like I have been terminated from my position of writing the Extreme John blog… sad sad sad. O.K, as if you would really be that lucky. Today will be a quick post about a few of the things we changed around here over the last couple of weeks, these changes won’t really effect any of you that read my blog or subscribe to my rss feed.
Below you will find a list of a items that have been removed from my blog over the last week and a short reason behind why I decided to make these changes and remove the following WordPress plugins and blogging tools.
The main reason for removing the WordPress plugin and other blogging tools below is simple, and really has nothing to do with how I feel about each individual plugin or directory. Each of the tools below offer value to every blogger at every stage, and at some point you might see me writing about adding them again, it’s how it goes but for right now I really don’t see the interaction in regards to some of these tools and my daily readers. Sure, bloggers and other social media gurus might click, vote up and drop but in reality my average reader isn’t clicking any of that stuff.
Blog Engage – UPDATE
Initially when I wrote this post my announcement was that I had pulled Blog Engage from my blog, I’m still on the fence with Blog Engage mainly because I do get some good referrals and certainly made some good connections through BE as well, but I want to reduce some of the things on my blog and focus on what my everyday readers are utilizing on each visit.
EntreCard
I hinted at pulling the plug on EntreCard a while back, everyone is probably expecting me to scream and yell about the bounce rate and how that’s the ultimate cause of me pulling the plug on Entre Card. Regardless of how shitty EntreCard might make your bounce rate it has nothing to do with the reason I got rid of it, I’m trimming down the things that I really feel serve no purpose here.
Again the general reader isn’t clicking on the Entrecard “Drop” and I really haven’t seen a benefit from displaying it on my side bar here, I probably could have worked harder at EntreCard and had I done so I probably would have seen better results. Either way, it’s done. I admit that I sucked at Entre Card in my “5 Reasons I Suck at EntreCard” post, if you want to take advantage of it maybe you can learn from a few of the things I sucked at.
Twittley WordPress Plugin
I have written about the Twittley WordPress plugin from day one, I’ve displayed it here on my blog as well as a few of our other blogs. The reality is that no one clicked the Twittley link anymore, I like decorations but it just wasn’t meant to be. Nothing against Twittley, the lack of use just meant that it was time to part ways.
There you have it, those are a few of the changes we made around here. If you peak at the side bar we also changed up some of the graphics and layout of the sidebar as well, I seem to be leaning more towards a very minimal design lately. Who knows maybe a complete re-design is in the near future.
Anyway it’s time for me to get out of here, you know the drill… You can subscribe to my rss feed, follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Fan Page if you would like to stay notified or even connect with me, I actually interact with the people that choose to connect with me online.
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{ 63 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s not a bad idea to remove plugins that you feel aren’t working as well as they should be. Or even if they are, sometimes it is still necessary. I removed Tweetmeme from my homepage and archives – although it certainly helps in driving retweets of articles, it was slowing my homepage load time down a lot with each individual instance of it. One load on a single post page isn’t so bad, and most people who are tweeting the article are (hopefully) reading it first anyway. But after a bit, you’ll know whether they made a big enough difference to reconsider them or not.
Kikolani@Blogging´s last blog ..Social Networking, Bookmarking, and Sharing
@Kikolani@Blogging, I think you bring up a good point in regards to the Tweetmeme button, a lot of Wordpress bloggers don’t realize that many of the plugins that are available aren’t written “great” by any means, this often leads to plugins loading specific calls more than once which really can increase a page load time when it’s happening on 1000 different posts, etc.
Oh snap I was preparing myself for the Ah I decided to stop using the DO FOLLOW plugin because I’m a rockstar now excuse LOL
Then I realized your not about the bait and switch and other TRICKS that sites do once they think they have arrived etc 
Anyway yeah some of those plugins are useless.
I’m actually anxious to go check that New Episode post so let me bounce over there
John Sullivan´s last blog ..Classified Make Money Online Forums List
@John Sullivan, nah man I’m not like that. You seem to be gun shy like some of the weasel bloggers out there cracked that snake skin of yours and have you thinking others might be like that. If I stopped doing the Do Follow thing it would have nothing to do with me thinking im a super hero, haha.
Thanks for stopping by bro always appreciated.
@Extreme John, I think dofollow is a good idea. Of course you get the occasional spammers, but for the most part you build a relationship with people and everyone benefits. How many people do you think would leave if you did decide to get rid of dofollow?
I used Twittley a few times, but it took you to another page and didn’t always load properly for me. I tend to go for simple. I always forget about Blogengage. I’m a bad reader/follower/ uh, whatever I am.
Now to get back to my very titillating post on kissing coming to a blog near you very soon.
Anne´s last blog ..More Snowy Shots From Ye Olde Homestead [A Photo Journal]
@Anne, hmmmm a post on kissing sounds a lot more exciting than this stuff thats for sure.
I would have to agree though Anne, I hate being required to have 900 logins or connection approvals for my accounts hate it.
sometime some changes are really good and what u have done is right.
Kevin S @Free Vector Graphics´s last blog ..500 Business Cards Giveaway from UPrinting.com
@Kevin S @Free Vector Graphics, thank you Kevin.
John, pruning is almost always a good idea.
Sometimes, I leave stuff alone because it’s too hard to get rid of. WP plugins fortunately are easy that way.
Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Pre-Writing Is Your Friend – With Benefits (Part 1)
@Dave Doolin, a quick remove and your done. Next.. haha.
All sound like sound decisions to me. I’m learning more and more that you just need the basics and need to work hard and all the fancy blog gadgets in the world won’t being much to your place….
Forest´s last blog ..How To Avoid Going To The Supermarket
@Forest, it also comes down to the work ethic everything else follows.
I see your point about getting rid of plug-ins that bloat up the blog. I wouldn’t lose the BE badge though – I get quite a bit of traffic from BE and I like giving some back. I just really hope Brian fixes his server issue, as it still seems a bit slow now.
Anne @ b6s.net´s last blog ..Google PageRank Soon Gone?
@Anne @ b6s.net, I know Brian is working hard and I think he has the server stuff fixed, that’s all part of growth and hopefully everyone has the same problem he did. Sounds crazy but it’s true.
As for keeping the button we will see, it comes down to usage at the end of the day in addition to another important factor I have been watching lately as well. I’ll know for sure what I will do with Blog Engage over the next couple of weeks.
I have been considering the EntreCard widget myself, it’s just a time consuming option that I have no time for, on the plus side, pruning a site certainly helps it’s loading time
Karen @ Blazing Minds´s last blog ..DVD Review: Resident Evil Degeneration
@Karen @ Blazing Minds, sooner or later we can only make time for the things that we must do right? Entrecard is not a must do by any means.
@Extreme John, It will certainly be going on mine when the last amount of ads have finished running
Karen @ Blazing Minds´s last blog ..Project 365 – Photo A Day #40: Todays Weather
@Karen, Off I mean Off!!!!
Karen @ Blazing Minds´s last blog ..Project 365 – Photo A Day #40: Todays Weather
It is always a good idea to delete plugins that don’t work for you anymore. Greg Ellison
Greg Ellison´s last blog ..You could win free pants
Deleting some plugins is certainly a right move particularly if your normal readers do not click on them. They serve their purpose only if someone benefits from them and if this is not the case then it will only slow your page load time and serve only as more decorations:) I have to do this myself but still on the verge on doing a complete overhaul. I might be moving to WordPress soon with my main blog, just as I did the others.
DiTesco´s last blog ..Google AdSense Helps Haiti
@DiTesco, I haven’t seen you in forever bro you must be a busy dude. Nice to see you back and I am excited about the possible switch to Wordpress and overhaul.
Other than Tweetmeme, I don’t think I would like other re-tweet wordpress plugin. As you see many re-tweet plugin when you click re-tweet, it brings you to the twitter page and you have to click update, that’s what I don’t like. I prefer tweetmeme because you just have to click the button and done.
It’s good to remove plugin that you think that is not working for you, less plugin = low load time = better experience for readers.
Cheers,
Lee
@Lee Ka Hoong@How To Blog, I would have to agree Lee… I can’t stand having to login to different things or when I get redirected to another page (Twitter) and need to submit the update manually.
I been using Entrecard for about 2 weeks and have used it hard core and have got a huge amount of traffic. BUT the traffic sucks.
Main reason was yes the bounce rate that went from a 55% to 81%.. which for me a blog that wants rankings this is very bad thing.
Yes I have dropped my Alexa alot, and yes I have signed up a few subs.. but all that isn’t important if it takes away from ym overall rank and future quality traffic…so it’s getting dropped too..lol
John Paul@Make Money With A Blog´s last blog ..My First Product Launch Results and Reality
@John Paul@Make Money With A Blog, yeah if your looking for an increase in rankings getting that bounce rate under control might help, something that Entrecard certainly doesn’t help with.
I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment, thank you.
@Extreme John,
Yea took me 2 tries to get approved for eCard.. then you realize it’s one step above spam traffic..lol What a damn waste.
Your Welcome man..
John Paul@Make Money With A Blog´s last blog ..My First Product Launch Results and Reality
@John Paul@Make Money With A Blog, haha yes it is one step above spam traffic. That’s classic.
I’ve still got Entrecard on one of my blogs but I don’t waste time visiting blogs just to click a little orange box. I can find better uses for my time!
If I see the widget while I’m visiting my favourite blogs I click, if not it doesn’t really matter. It sends me a few visitors in return.
John´s last blog ..My Entrecard Inbox After Removing the Widget!
You did careful consideration and wise sculpting, I myself am on the verge of trimming entrecard, as I only get about 150-200 visits per month which is less than 1% of my monthly traffic from Entrecard. I still get good proactive participation from BlogEngage and many of my articles are voted into the double digits, so I find it very useful. Twittley for me is also a bother, I really do like the service, but people are always tweetmem’ing my post instead of twittley, even though I like twittley more and make it to the home page more often.
Dragon Blogger´s last blog ..Tips For Using SocialSpark
@Dragon Blogger, there’s a lot to be said about how every tool might be different for every kind of blogger, the results will always vary.
Are you still using BE?
Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Here We Go! Theme Construction Part 1 – Your Participation Is Wanted-Needed!
@Dennis Edell, yes Dennis it’s right next to the post title…….
If it’s not doing you any good then why have it? And the only way to find out is to have it. The main point is content, your readers, making your blog stand out and making it kick ass!
You already do that. lol
Eric´s last blog ..Real Or Robot
@Eric, thank you I appreciate that.
This has pretty much nothing to do with what you removed but for some reason the font on the home page is WAAAY teeny. I can’t read it anymore, well I can read the post titles which is enough for me but now that I can’t read the blurbs I want to.
Dwippy@DoFollow Blog List´s last blog ..PR 4 Blogs A-H
@Dwippy, Of course as soon as I said it it went back to normal. Must’ve been a browser glitch. Nothing to see here folks, move along.
Dwippy@DoFollow Blog List´s last blog ..PR 3 R – Z
@Dwippy@DoFollow Blog List, haha. Isn’t that like taking the car to the mechanic to explain that “weird” issue and he tells you it’s fine. haha
Plugins do need to be pulled from time to time. I’ve been playing around with some plugins behind the scenes on my site and managed to get rid of a few by adding the code in manually, post author bio as an example.
I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on BE and your decision for/against the button John, be that here, an email or a future post.
All the best,
Karl
Karl Foxley´s last blog ..Google Page Rank Score Too Low? Keep Your Links Thank You
@Karl Foxley, I will have to check that post to see if that why you blew me off when I offered you a FREE pr4 DO FOLLOW pimping ass anchor Text link on my blogs I like page
LOL
Must investigate the LOGIC
although I OFTEN tell people NOT to add me to their blogroll ;)
Get at me if it was some miscommunique ;)
John Sullivan´s last blog ..What I would do if I ran Google
@John Sullivan, Hey John, I must have missed that, I think I got back to you on Twitter but never heard back from you…
Drop me a line any time, it’s easier for me not to not miss a message if it is through my site (that’s not my evil plan to get you to visit
) than a Twitter DM.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Karl Foxley´s last blog ..Google Page Rank Score Too Low? Keep Your Links Thank You
@Karl Foxley, I never check my Twitter DM’s it’s too much extra work and 99% of the time it’s some kind of spam crap.
I purged a bunch of plugins as well recently. I got rid of my wibiya toolbar. I am still with Entrecard and Twittley but I hae come close to kicking them to the curb as well.
Tycoon Blogger@twitter follower tools´s last blog ..Dramatically improve your blog in one night
@Tycoon Blogger@twitter follower tools, so happy to hear that you removed that Wibya toolbar, I hate that thing.
Hey I am really slow to catch onto things. I was just thinking Blog Engage must be a good thing and I should sign up because you use it.
Ned Carey´s last blog ..2010 Baltimore City Tax Sale Announced
@Ned Carey, BE is a good thing and you should sign up because I see it? Lost me there Ned.
@Extreme John,
>you should sign up because I see it?
No because you “USE” it. If a really popular and on top of it blogger like you uses it, I figured it must be worthwhile.
I am sometimes slow to catch onto things and start to use them just as others have decided it is old hat. I am often way behind the curve. That was my point but I guess I didn’t make it very well.
Ned Carey´s last blog ..Another Guilty Plea in Tax Sale Rigging
@Ned Carey, ahhh gotcha now, sorry Ned I am easily confused.
PS: I have been getting a lot of errors while loading you blog lately. So I think removing plugins that are not important to you is a good idea. In fact today I got a message from Firefox saying “content loading error” Hitting “retry” loaded it but it consistently took two tries.
PPS Maybe you need the edit comment plugin
Ned Carey´s last blog ..2010 Baltimore City Tax Sale Announced
@Ned Carey, hmmm that’s very interesting Ned thank you. I will be passing this on to the host to check some server logs and see whats going on here.
Entrecard is really worthless. I have it on one of my blogs and never get any traffic from it. It is just something else I have to do weekly, approving ads and running new ads.
Steve @ Turbo Tax´s last blog ..The Process of Minimizing Tax Returns
@Steve @ Turbo Tax, I agree Steve. It was something I really never got in to, it was there but I wasn’t.
I removed the BE button too, not because it was not sending me traffic, but because he was having issues with his server. Also having it posted 5-6 times on my home page really slowed my load time.
I have been trying to streamline my loadtimes and plugins sometimes slow the loadtime. Besides loadtimes will have an affect on your rankings on Google with their new algo coming out.
Keith@ Hot Blog Tips´s last blog ..A-List Bloggers
@Keith@ Hot Blog Tips, you know you can manually display that button anywhere with the java code right? That’s why I don’t have it on my main page as well plus I hate all that extra crap on my home page.
Removing plugins that are no value is never a bad thing. It can only help to speed things up and reduce the clutter.
Matt@Atlanta Georgia Real Estate´s last blog ..Details on New Tax Credit Extension
I was like “what the…?” when I read first sentence of the post, LOL.
Getting rid of plugins you don’t really need is a good idea, especially because some increase loading time no matter how fast your server is, cause they are dependant on their own site.
Marko´s last blog ..Roundup for January – Testing Instant Weekly Roundup Plugin
@Marko, you were the only one that noticed it, or at least commented on it. Haha.
Yeah, another one who was like “what the…” when I read the first line too! Interesting post on plugins
I tried entrecard on a gardening blog back when it first began. I had a lot of credits and could buy my way into any site I wanted.
But I just could not see the point after a while. I really didn’t care about bounce rate; I just wanted to make money, and there was definitely not even a dime to be found in Entrecard traffic.
On to your house cleaning, I think that is a good thing. Sometimes you gotta do what feels right and hope it works out.
Al
Allyn´s last blog ..Profiling James The InfoPreneur
I’m also considering removing the Entre Card too but I think I’ll give it another month then maybe decide whether it should stay or not.
ZXT´s last blog ..Why a Good Web Host is Important
While Entrecard may bring crap traffic could it help in other ways? For example, might it help Alexa ratings or other stats. Traffic is synergistic. More traffic brings better stats and ratings which puts your name higher on lists and makes you more visible Higher visibility leads to more traffic.
Ned Carey´s last blog ..The Last Shoe Is About to Drop
I guess you have already grown out the stage where EntreCard is of use… in the starting days of a blog. I used to waste my time daily to drop several hundred cards for some of my blogs. Since 10 days i stopped nearly completely dropping cards, sure that the amount of traffic sucks afterward but still several members stop by regularly which is a good sign (being on their EC-Bar favorite list).
If Google really implements the use of fast loading websites/blogs in their search algorithm, i should clean my sidebar and reduce some ads to a minimum, especially the one who never converted into $$
By the way, your blog is always an inspiration for me since i found you on Karen’s Blog some weeks ago.
Martin@Cornyman’s Money-Blog´s last blog ..Sponsored Tweets – Is it the end for it?
@Martin@Cornyman’s Money-Blog, hey Martin thank you for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment I really appreciate it. Karen runs an awesome blog, I will have to thank her for sending you my way
As time goes on I will probably be removing a lot of the “stuff” that is in sidebars and other areas of the blog that really serve no use or don’t generate any interest. There’s really no sense on having it if it’s not of any use to anyone.
Hopefully I can continue to put content up that you find useful or helpful