For my April New Year’s resolution, I decided to turn off social news aggregating sites.  So long, Digg, Reddit, and Google Reader.  Goals in mind:

1) In the short run, what would I do with myself with nothing “productive” to do?

2) Which blogs, feeds, and sites are really adding value to me day-to-day?

I hoped that by the end of the month, I’d become a much more efficient and effective internet user.  If such a thing is possible.

So now that May’s here, the results:

1) I knew I’d end up with spare internet time no matter what.  So I allowed myself two blogs that I highly suspected would be productive:  Seth’s Blog, and Inside Music Media.  I churned through a few months of archives on each, and found that Inside Music Media’s posts were a little too long to sift through.  I’ll have to compile some of my favorite posts from each sometime.  I also ended up spending an unusually long amount of time on YouTube and CollegeHumor.  There comes a point, it seems, when I’ve got to turn off even the deepest recesses of my brain.

2) Here’s the new Google Reader landscape:

• Eleven folder: elevenmusicmag.com, elevenmusicmag.com comments, twitter.com/elevenmag.  Duh.
• Friends folder: Zach’s blog, my blog, Kevin’s blog, Logan’s blog, Jesse’s blog.  Friends who like to write about stuff.  I wish they’d all write more often.
• Sports folder: 1001 Rules for my Unborn Son, Bill Simmons, Groupon, Art of Manliness.  More of a random folder than a “Sports” folder.  I don’t read everything that Groupon or Art of Manliness have to say, but occasionally there will be something really great.  Simmons and1001 Rules are consistently inspiring.
• Comics Folder: Achewood, Zero Punctuation, xkcd.  Lost a lotttttt of dead weight here over the past month.  I shouldn’t need to say more about how much I fawn over Achewood.  Zero Punctuation keeps me in tune with my old flame, video games.  And xkcd is just generally understood to be solid.
• Marketing Folder: Seth’s Blog.  Haven’t really found a business blog that’s as consistently useful and easy to absorb as Seth Godin’s.  Duct Tape Marketing and A Smart Bear are close…I’ll leave them in for now.
• Local Folder: A to Z, Cherokee Street blog.  Just to glaze over and try to keep current.
• Music Folder: Gorilla vs. Bear, Inside Music Media, KEXP Blog, Hyperbole, Hype Machine.  This folder’s always the fullest.  It’s nice having a steady inflow of new tunes.

Notable omissions: I used to have entire tabs devoted to Design, and to Men’s clothing.  None of the feeds I’d been following, though, seemed to be providing much value (I love Typography, David Airey’s blog, A Tailored Suit, etc.).  I’ve also tentatively un-followed The Art of Nonconformity and Kitsune Noir – two blogs I thoroughly enjoy, but I feel I’ve been sinking more time in than getting anything out.  Maybe they’ll come back.

It’s also overtly apparent that news aggregator sites really don’t need to be a part of my life.  After a month without Digg and Reddit, I really don’t feel any less internet savvy.  Or informed about the world.  Or like I’m at a loss for stupid internet videos.  We’ll see how long I can last without ’em before caving.

So what do you think?  Anything I’m missing out on?