Blog Question: Is there a way to keep track of fave blogs without subscribing?

Can you create a new bookmark folder called “Blogs” and store a list of links to each of them there? Pop up the list & click one.

What you need is an RSS reader. Google Reader is really popular, although I myself prefer NetVibes feel. What you do is you create an account (or for Google, if you already have an account, just go to the website), and then you add what are called feeds. You can usually find the feed by clicking on the orange icon (pictured in that wiki link) up in the address bar. Other times it’ll be somewhere in the upper right side of the webpage. For Hyperbole and a Half (a great blog, highly recommend, hilarious short stories), for instance, you can see it on the right side about ½ of the way down when you first open the page. So then you click on that, and it will often add it for you to your preferred RSS reader (which I think might require some preference setting…). Or, you copy the address once you’ve clicked on that RSS icon, and manually add it to your RSS reader. Then the RSS reader will constantly check for new posts, and have it all nicely organized for your perusing.

Here are two very simple options:

(1) You could make yourself a browser homepage with all the links you want on it.

I have my own homepage that I made using Dreamweaver. When I start Firefox, this is the page that opens and not a Firefox main page. I have all my most frequently used links on it: my bank, Amazon.com, fluther, family members’ websites, etc. If I were a blog enthusiast, I could put blog links right there or else on a second page linked from this, and they would be under my control without my having to join anything.

(2) It’s even easier just to create a Word file with links in it. You could add descriptive text about the blogs and store the file right on your desktop. You have the option (a default setting) in Word to follow a link just by clicking it or to use Ctrl+click.

@Aethelflaed said it. RSS feeds were invented for this purpose and would match your needs exactly. I use Google Reader with Reeder.

You can open a private blog just to keep the links or list of blogs you are following and organize them the way you want.

I have separate blogs for all the categories that I use the most. For example: makeup, dogs, cooking, and IT. These blogs are totally private and in each I keep all the videos, articles, and links to sites and blogs I’m following according to category. I don’t post anything in them, I just use them as repositories.

A Google feed is great if you don’t mind giving Google’s databases that much information about your interests and browsing habits to sell to their advertisers. I do mind.

Just a note to say that RSS doesn’t have to be used through Google Reader, so don’t let that stop you from exploring it.

Most browsers support RSS feeds directly, as do most email programs, or you can find a great RSS specific program to use. Which is just to say you probably don’t even need to install anything new, you can work it into your existing process of finding stuff online or checking your email.

Google just happens to provide a great easy to use reader that integrates well with their other tools, all for free.

RSS ! (I only used one ”!” because a thousand would have been really annoying.) I have been consuming the web exclusively via RSS for years. I can hardly remember the quaint old days of browsing to a website to see if there was anything new there.

And yes, Google Reader is simply the best option out there. It syncs perfectly with Reeder (iOS) and the native app on Android as well.