Comments on: On Blogging: Why I Hate My Email Inbox

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 15:44:42 +0000

Pete –

I’m not sure if it will help with you’re particular situation, but I’ve switched to using Google’s Inbox (app or page) instead of Gmail for filtering/categorizing my emails. The big time-saver is that I can scan subjects in a group, and mark each email in the group as ‘done’ in one click. ‘Done’ doesn’t really delete the emails, but hides them from view.

For example, I don’t really read 90% of the emails in my trail running group, but instead just scan for ones of interest. Once read, I one-click the whole lot and they disappear from view.

Good luck!

Dave

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 15:20:01 +0000

In reply to Aaron Goldzimer.

Aaron,

I race/run/hike/scramble/trudge all over the front range of Colorado and can attest that you can do better than Merrell. The biggest problem with the Vapor Gloves (as you allude to) is that the rubber is not sticky enough, and that leads to bruised feet as you slide into rocky protrusions.

I would strongly recommend the Altra Superior or Inov-8 TrailRoc (245). Both have nice sticky rubber, low (or zero) drop, and a bit more cushion then you will get in the Merrell. These do have more cushion than the Vapor Gloves, but are still pretty low to the ground with a rock plate and good flexibility.

You will also see sticky rubber on various Salomon or La Sportiva shoes, but probably in a more beefy (non-minimal) show. I can’t really attest to either however as they don’t make shoes in my (gigantic) size.

Dave

By: Peter Larson

Peter Larson — Sun, 14 Aug 2016 14:09:48 +0000

In reply to Elena Erwin. Yep, it's a constant battle, and it takes away from being able to get to the emails I want to answer.

By: Peter Larson

Peter Larson — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 23:15:37 +0000

In reply to Steve Alleyne. Thanks Steve!

By: Aaron Goldzimer

Aaron Goldzimer — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 18:06:56 +0000

Hi, Pete. I sent you this question a couple times in an email – and now I know why you didn’t respond! lol

What do you think would be the best minimal, zero-drop shoe for hiking/rock-scrambling/trail-running?

Seems like most of the top choices I’ve seen on your blog have drops, and my Merrell Vapor Gloves (which I love!) don’t always have quite enough traction (they sometimes slip on rocks) or cushion (hurt my foot once by stepping on a rock protrusion).

Best,
Aaron

By: Steve Alleyne

Steve Alleyne — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 14:10:57 +0000

Stick to responding to comments. Delete everything in your inbox older than a week. If you haven’t gotten to it by the end of the week then you never will.
Other than that, keep doing, the great value you bring is being focused elsewhere. For now.

By: Elena Erwin

Elena Erwin — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 00:02:31 +0000

I know the feeling. My inbox is loaded with spam and unwanted solicitations because of the few sites I run. Unfortunate problem but I don’t see it changing anytime soon. A lot of automated bots just crawl the web all day spamming whatever email address the can parse out of a page.

By: James

James — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 15:06:59 +0000

If you actually do want to bother answering a bunch of questions from random people, you could put something on the blog asking legit emailers to use a specific phrase in the subject line. Filter your email to eliminate anything that doesn’t have that phrase.

Alternately, like Austin says, don’t worry about the runblogger inbox — you could even put a notice on the blog that you probably can’t respond to individual emails, and that way you don’t have to feel bad about it!

By: Austin Bonds

Austin Bonds — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 01:56:35 +0000

Hey Peter – as someone who has followed your blog regularly for a few years now, I’ve discovered that some of your best advice appears to come from replies that you make to readers in the comments section of a particular article on a shoe or another piece of gear. The shoe acts as a type of springboard for further discussion on a topic of interest between a reader and you.

Your Facebook page is another place to facilitate conversations, though I chuckle at the fact that you just had a post there about the advertising inquiry that seemed to hit your inbox after this article.

It sounds like 85-90% of the emails that arrive can be largely disregarded, which still makes it difficult to sort through even 10% of the 1,155 messages in the screenshot you mentioned. Maybe you can take a passing glance at your inbox from time to time, but I encourage you to enjoy your time teaching focus on Runblogger at your discretion. Have a restful summer with your family.