Five easy ways to support the Glad Blog (for free!)

There's been a bit of hoo-ha in the blogging world about Google Reader's impending annihilation. It's definitely unsettled a lot of bloggers out there! So while we await this frustrating day, and also fret about the future of Google Friend Connect, here are some great things you can do for me.

None of them cost money, and they don't take a lot of time, but they will be truly appreciated. I will repay you with Top Five lists about the UK and the USA, Glad Notes full of cultural quirks, snaps of the Sunday Puppy, and more stories about life as an expat (I just had my first experience of the US tax system and I'm sure you're on tenterhooks to hear that one). 

 1. Keep reading

I know that I have a readership that spans across the pond, and I appreciate every one of you. Whether you popped by once or twice, found me by googling something totally irrelevant, or feel obliged because you know me in real life, then I'm very grateful. Keep it up, and I will too!

2. Tell me you're reading

Us bloggers are narcissistic to the core, and that's ok. We just like to know who's out there! I love every comment, Tweet and email I get. And to make sure I'm on top of replying to blog comments, I've switched to Disqus, which is a much more social system for engaging with the most social of social media (that's blogging).  There's been a hiccup importing all my old comments though, so please feel free to read the archives and re-comment on everything exactly as you did before (I'm kidding, don't worry).

Whether you like something or not, or you just want to say hi, or you have a blog post suggestion or question (I love these) please let me know. Feedback makes the internet go round.

3. Join the Glad Club

Okay, I lied, there is no Glad Club. But you can easily subscribe to this little old blog. Google Friend Connect is (currently) still up and running, so if you have a Blogger blog or Google account, you can join and the blog will show up in your Blogger feeds.

You can also follow via Bloglovin' which is what other bloggers seem to be switching over to. But if you have a different favorite RSS feed, let me know (I need a good Google Reader replacement myself).

4. Grab my buttons (oo-er!)

I don't sell adspace, but I do offer a free blog swap especially for expat/travel blogs. You can grab the code for my buttons from the sidebar. If you want to swap with me, just get in touch and show me where I can find your badge to put on the sidebar too.

5. Share

Finally, if you see something here that you like - share the love! There are share buttons below each blog post, plus if you roll over my photos you'll see a nifty widget that allows you to Pin/Tweet/Email my content. Just make sure the links refer back to my original content.

Incidentally, I'm going to call my next cat Nifty Widget.

And that's it. I'm finally putting this all up in the Support section.

P.S. If you're one of my grans and you read through this all, and you're thoroughly confused (what's a Friend Connect, why is 'reading' being annihilated? Isn't Disqus an Olympic sport?) then this is for you: I love you gran, thanks for reading (and for emailing in a panic when I say I've been in a car crash).