I am essentially a computer dunce. I'm learning, but still I get so confused by different computer things that it sometimes leaves me in a daze. As I told my wife the other day, when I get rich I'm going to hire somebody to just take care of my computers and my web pages and all that stuff that gets me so confused. But through reading other blogs, receiving helpful comments, and just studying what's in front of me I'm starting to slowly catch on.
Take the widgets for example--before blogging I had no idea what a "widget" was. Then I started studying the layout page and looking at all the widgets. I experimented and added some and started dressing up my page. Things were coming together. But there are so many more little doo-dads I've yet to explore.
Just recently I started noticing the Tossing It Out blog listed on the blog lists of other blog pages. I started wondering how they did that and so I explored those widgets. Now I've gotten it figured out and I have one of those nifty Blog Lists on my page. After finding the list set-up I went through all of the blogs I was following to see which ones had my blog on their list so I could reciprocally add theirs to my list. If my blog is listed on your list and I don't have yours on mine, let me know so I can fix that.
Networking is what I'm really trying to make a special effort to achieve. But also the encouragement of other bloggers that are new. There have been several blogs where I have become the first or among the first to follow. I try to encourage these new bloggers so they don't give up right away. Of course with each blog I join I hope to gain a follower. That's why I, and I suspect many of you, add blogs to the ones that you follow.
Now tell me if I'm wrong in this next point. When I was setting up my blog list, I went through every blog that I was following. If they had been on my list for some time and had never reciprocated by adding my blog to their list, and they weren't a particularly informational blog, and they never commented on mine, I slashed them off my list. After all, there are so many blogs a person can follow before that is all they do.
Then, of course, there are some of the biggies, agents for example, who are probably not going to add me, but their blog is not only a source of solid information, it is also a source of other bloggers I check up on and occasionally comment on.
In November I had said I was trying to reach 100 followers by the end of the month. When I saw that was not happening I extended the goal to the end of December, which I have a good chance of achieving. Trying to build up a list of followers is a job that takes time and effort. It is my reasoning that the more followers a blog has, the more potential readers your blog posts have. Gaining readers is my goal.
How important is to you to add to your list of followers? Are you merely writing for your own amusement, or that of a limited circle of readers, or do you truly write with the intent of saying something to others? Is my blog on your blog list? Should your blog be on my blog list? Are blog lists just a bunch of hooey?
Monday, December 21, 2009
9 comments:
Go ahead and say something. Don't be afraid to speak your mind.
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Lee
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I m a house maker...after marriage i left my job and now after having a kid there was no time for self ... mind had got rusted ...but thru my frnd and a fellow blogger i was introduced to blogging..and i liked the idea of writing out my ideas and my opinions ... and i note down the topics which flash in mind, in my mobile which is near to me while sleeping.
ReplyDeletegetting responses, comments followers etc act as boost and motivators to write more...I created my blog to run my mind but after creating my blog two weeks before, i have an urge of getting the comments bad or gud...but i feel happy when some one reads them...thnx for being my blog's follower ...my dreams visit my another blog too http://rohinirojindar.blogspot.com/ and give me ur comments on it tooo...thnx for motivating the bloggers like mine
When I first started blogging it was so important to me to have someone out there comment. I really appreciated those who did. I try to comment on all the blogs I follow, but I follow over 100. I actually really love reading other people's blogs. I don't care anymore if people add me as a follower or not. If I like a blog I follow. If someone follows me I follow them right back. All the best getting to your goal, but honestly it is the content of your blog that is more important than the stats and your blog is lovely. so if you don't get to 100 don't worry, it will happen eventually. :)
ReplyDeleteI keep hearing how important it is to comment on other people's blogs, so I try to do that when I can. I know it's part of the networking thing. I think that you have the right idea about keeping your blog list that way. I have yet to make one...lazy I guess!
ReplyDeleterLEE-b ~
ReplyDeleteI already addressed a couple of these questions in the comment I left under "Blog Boggled (Part 1)", so I won't repeat myself here.
But I will add that ideally, I think I would prefer to have maybe 17 to 20 Followers of each of my two Blogs. As it stands now, I believe my political Blog has 4 Followers and my non-political Blog has 6 (or something near those numbers), so I have a long way to go before acquiring the 17 to 20 Followers I consider ideal.
Also, I do not want the sort of Followers who follow my Blogs solely because I follow theirs. Nor do I want a Follower who necessarily expects me to follow their Blogs solely because they follow mine.
I want to believe that a person who regularly reads one or both of my Blogs does so ONLY because they enjoy what I write. I'm not interested in "playing nice" and doing that whole "reciprocating" thing (i.e., I'll follow your Blogs because you follow mine; I'll comment on your Blogs because you comment on mine, et cetera). I have never had much interest in or patience for game-playing or nicey-niceness. As I stated in my "Blog Boggled (Part 1)" comment, my nature is such that I only value what is genuine.
Because of this, I probably will never come even close to reaching 17 to 20 Followers. But that's OK too, because at least I can feel confident that those who follow my Blogs do so because they genuinely appreciate what I'm writing.
You asked "do you truly write with the intent of saying something to others?" In truth, I write to hopefully get people thinking about God. A lot of my Blog Bits may not seem to have that goal in mind, but that's just a superficial appearance. Scratch below the surface and one can discover that in actuality, I put a little God in EVERYTHING I write. I have a hidden agenda.
~ "Lonesome Dogg" McMe
Dropping by very quickly to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI try to use my bloglist to comment on all/most of the blogs I follow. There are some days of course when I just can't get to it, but I try. I don't worry much about the numbers - but I do get excited when I see a new follower :)
ReplyDeleteI think followers are important, just as comments are important. Sure, we might blog for ourselves, sort of a challenge, a look within...or some sort of therapy in what we write. But without someone reading, and admitting that they read you, you work in a void. I don't think any of us want to put that much effort for some sort of reward.
ReplyDeleteI look at my followers and those who take the time to comment as my "reward". Something I wrote has inspired them to that action. It lets me know someone actually reads what I wrote and not just takes the free beading patterns I offer.
I don't have a lot of time to read other blogs, so I am VERY selective in those I follow. Not that I wouldnt like to read more, time wise, it is just impossible!
Sig
You're doing a great job, Lee, returning comments and being supportive of my blog, among many. I need to get back to being as supportive, too! The funny thing is, the more I write and spread myself around for writing projects, the less time I then have for things like commenting and blogging--but we NEED to do that to keep our networks alive and kicking.LOL. Oh well--the nature of the beast , I guess. I appreciate your comments!
ReplyDeleteThank all of you for your fine comments. I agree that it is difficult to follow all the blogs on a list when there are a lot of them. I try to skim thru them and when I see something that I feel that add to in a worthwhile manner I do so. I try not to comment just to be commenting because like my blog posts I try to give the comments some kind of actual content.
ReplyDeleteI do understand the value of the network and the community. I don't strive for a large list of followers for the sole purpose of appearance, but it's a numbers game for exposure--the more lists my blog appears on, the more potential I have of reaching other readers who might look out of curiosity and find something they can relate to and become another interested follower.
I see the exposure like any form of advertising. You want to get known, recognized, and remembered. You may not be of interest to everybody, but they don't know until they find you.
Like Sig said, I don't think many of us are writing solely to amuse ourselves. And like the rest of you indicated, it gets time-consuming commenting on other blogs, but sometimes I feel like my comments are rewarding writing for me and hopefully to others, and if nothing else further writing exercise. To me, commenting should not just be a gesture of niceness, but it should have intent and meaning.
Lee