Why Do I Still Blog?

Evaluation is a part of the process of growth as well as abandonment.  It's a good idea to step back now and then to figure out why you're doing something and if the way you're currently doing it is still relevant.  Today I consider why I still blog.

 Relevant photograph. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

       No, I'm not considering stopping blogging--not yet.  I still have too many Battle of the Bands posts in the blog bank waiting to be played.  For now I'm going to put a hold on the Trump stuff or any other controversial opinion stuff.   I had a dilly scheduled for today that would have likely riled a few more folks, but maybe for now I best keep quiet.  Friday was going to be another topic that probably wouldn't have upset many folks, but maybe a few would have some disagreement.  I'll save that topic for later too if I do it at all.

       For now I just need to take a big breath and take it easy.  Do some chores around the house or watch TV.   Maybe even start reading a new book.  Anything but blogging.  Maybe read some of your blog posts, but not post any of my own.

        Oh yeah, big deal--I'll be back on Monday, or at least on Wednesday when I post for Battle of the Bands with maybe a word in for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.  And since Monday the 30th will be my birthday, maybe I just take the day off from blogging.

       Why do I still blog?   Because I can and because I can just do what I want.  There's not really any screwing up on my blog.  No one's going to fire me, though I guess in theory Blogger could shut down my blog or something, but I don't guess I ever do anything that would warrant that.

        One thing that I can see as I evaluate things is that the ways I approached blogging when I first started nearly eight years ago, as well as the motivations I've had over those years, have changed to a great extent.  How I blog will probably continue to change and same with what I blog.  Some things will stay the same sometimes and change at other times.

         But seriously, why do I still blog?

         Do you ever reevaluate your blogging?  Right now in your blogging life do you see blogging as a habit, a duty, a means of expression, a pleasant past time or what?    What has been inspiring you of late?

Something's Brewing

cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream and cocoa powder (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         Something's brewing and I don't mean the hot chocolate or apple cider and I'm not talking about a belated Christmas pudding.  What's cooking isn't food or drink, but blogging activities coming up in the next month or so.  Now that this year is almost a done deal, let's look ahead to how 2016 will be kicking off.

Battle of the Bands  

         Tossing It Out will continue to participate in the Battle of the Bands postings on the 1st and 15th of each month.  You're always welcomed to join us with your own song Battles, but even if you aren't posting your own contest I hope you'll visit mine and vote on your favorite version.  The first Battle on my blog for 2016 will come up on Friday January 1st.   The song I'll be using will be an oldie.  It isn't new, but I won't tell you what.   Though in a way I've hinted at the song in the previous sentence--the words of the title are there.

Insecure Writer's Support Group

          The Insecure Writer's Support Group has been hosted by Alex J Cavanaugh for a few years now.   Tossing It Out has been a part of this event since it first appeared in the blogosphere.

Backstage Blogathon

          On January 15th I'll be joining in on the Backstage Blogathon where participants pick a film made before 1970 that has something to do with the workings of show biz.  This is a blog share that definitely fits my interests.   In that same post I'll be presenting a Battle of the Bands with a song that I think is appropriate for the film I've selected.  

A to Z Challenge

          Sign-ups for the 2016 April A to Z Challenge will open on Monday January 25th.  For information about the A to Z Challenge visit the A to Z Challenge Blog.  Lot's of things start happening once sign-ups open.  Watch the blog site.

Lost and Found:  The Valentine's Edition

         On February 1st I'll be involved in this blogfest in honor of Valentine's Day.  Posts can be about anything concerning the subject of love discovered or love lost.   More details on this after the 1st of January.   I'll be combining my "Lost and Found" post with a Battle of the Bands song pick based on this same topic of love.


Watch This Space...

         Hope everyone had a great Christmas and are enjoying some holiday time.  Have a safe New Year!  

           Do you have any special plans for the upcoming year?  Do you know what you're doing tomorrow?     Are you a planner or a take things as the come sort of person?

Delivery (Elements of Blogging) #AtoZChallenge

       A blog run by UPS or the Postal Service might have a lot to say on the topic of delivery, but that's not exactly what I'm referring to in this blogging element.  One more function of blogging that we will consider is "Delivery" --messages, the goods, the news--we are all delivering something to our readers.

       When we receive a package or letter in the mail it can be quite exciting once we've determined it's not just more junk from advertisers.   Something that is nicely packaged entices us to look inside to see exactly what it is.   What a delight when it is something that we enjoy, find interesting, or from which we might even be enriched.

         Each new blog post that you produce should deliver something that your readers can use or will enjoy.  As you prepare your post keep in mind how your readers will react when they open up your blog to find that post.   Even the most mundane seemingly nonsensical topic can be presented in such a way to give it a relevance that a reader can respond to and will be affected by in some positive way.

        If you keep delivering quality--or at least fun and entertaining--goods, then your readers will return for more and maybe even share your post with others.    Avoid lazy sloppy posts or piling on excessive marketing or haranguing tirades.  Overly long posts can be tedious--divide those into smaller posts when you have a lot of text or images to share.  If you're a blogging star or if this is what your following expects then maybe you can get away with this, but most of us can't do that.  Readers don't have the time and patience for the most part.

        It's a crowded market in the blogosphere and we'd all like some precious time with readers.   Sometimes the shorter post can deliver the most powerful punch.

         Some other "D" blog themes can be about dreaming, debate, development, or even dogs.  What are some blog subjects that you can think of starting with the letter "D"?    How do you typically handle long blog posts as a reader and in your own blogging?

Perfidy Valence

European bull in thought (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Why Perfidy Valence?

      One afternoon last year I woke up from a power nap with an odd term on my mind--"Perfidy Valence".   I accepted the term with a fleeting moment of clarity as though it was something completely natural to me and made perfect sense.  Then, as I became more fully awake, the phrase continued to stay on my mind while losing any significance to my real world of thinking.   However I felt compelled to write a blog post regarding the phrase and to use "Perfidy Valence" as my blog post title.

      The advice most often given to bloggers in regard to increasing site traffic is to use titles that will draw readers.   Commonly the tactics include using a question that interests many people or presenting an idea that will appear useful to others.  Overly technical or obscure titles typically do not attract readers since there is nothing in the title for them to connect to.

What Attracts You to a Blog Post?

      Perfidy Valence strikes me as a blog title that would attract few visitors.   You who visit this particular blog post will most likely be regular readers who are visiting out of habit, reciprocity, or just to see what I had to say.  Those of you who have dropped in might have have done so without even noticing the title of the post while others may have read the title and thought little of it since--well, because I sometimes come up with weird stuff and this was just another one of those things.  

      Then there will possibly be those who drop by because they were intrigued by the title.  Perhaps the phrase had some sort of actual significance for some.  For others the pairing of these words evoked a sort of puzzlement that attracted them to the post out of curiosity.   If there were any of you who fell into these categories, I hope you don't feel scammed that you were lured here under any sort of false pretenses.  For that matter I hope regular visitors aren't thinking something like, "What an idiot!  There Arlee Bird goes again with some oddball notion."

It's a Legitimate Question

      From my view on this topic of blog titles, it's not so much the words "perfidy valence" that are the real focus here.  Some readers may have expected something about a villain from a movie western or a post about science.   There are many things the title could suggest since the word "valence" has a range of meanings and "perfidy" is a word that is somewhat charged with emotion and negativity.

      In the past I used another term derived from a dream on this blog--Dynamic Flow,  After googling the term I found that others had actually used it, though I had no recollection of ever having heard it before.  I ended up with the post Dynamic Flow: The Dream as well as Dynamic Flow:  A Guest Post By Halina Goldstein.   Later I recycled my dream post as Deja Vu Blogfest: Dynamic Flow.   I can't say that any of this took on viral post proportions, but I did get some interesting reactions on all of these posts.

       However I do think legitimate questions are raised in regard to using obscure blog post titles.  Can a title of this nature increase readership?  Might using this sort of title cause a new visitor to feel ripped off after reading the post?   In this present post I think my topic is a fair one, but could my title be construed to be a deception?    

        Does using certain key words (such as sex, football, best-seller) or other names or phrases which have topical significance (for example Obama, ISIS, Kim Kardashian) in a blog post title constitute a rip-off if the blogger does not actually discuss to any great extent the word or name used?  

         Do you usually make an effort to formulate titles for your blog posts that you think will draw new readers?    Are there any particular titles that you have used that have had a particularly good response or even caused your blog post to go viral to some extent?   Are there any blog post titles that have backfired for you?

         What made you visit today's blog post at Tossing It Out?

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How Much Do Your Blog Posts Weigh?

Even scales icon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

        What kind of dumb unquantifiable question is this?   How much does a blog post weigh?  Who asks a question like that anyway?

          I do--who else?   When I've got a lot of other things to think about I might now and then toss out some outlandish question for readers to think about.    I've got A to Z blog posts to compose, social media to follow, family issues to be concerned about, and other fish to fry (I'm fixing tilapia for dinner tonight--that is Thursday night of the day I'm composing this blog piece).

          But concerning the weightiness of a blog post, I'm not necessarily talking about how many words it contains.  A long post can be a lightweight bunch of fluff.  A content laden post might have a lot to tickle your mind, but does it leave any lasting impressions?   A lot of pictures can make a post look heavy, but what do you take with you after you leave?

          A truly heavy post is the one that weighs you down and entices you to think about it for a while.  I'm not sure how often this happens.   Since most of us are busy with this or that we might not have that much time to ponder ideas from a blog post.  We might even need to watch TV or something.

         What I'm talking about is like the difference between lugging home a bag of gold bars and a big tote sack filled with fluffy cotton candy.  I kind of like cotton candy.  It melts in your mouth--you don't even have to chew it.   And it tastes sweet and good.   You can't eat the gold bars and it takes a lot more effort to carry them.  It can be a back-straining sweat-inducing effort.   Ultimately though the gold bars are an investment that can pay you back.

          Sometimes I enjoy some cotton candy.   Or popcorn.   Or pudding.    Such a pleasure to sit dully in front of the TV watching some mind-numbing show while pigging out on junk food.    Escapism in part I suppose.  Addiction of a sort from another perspective.

        I sometimes strive for blog posts that weigh lot.  Not long mind you, but something to chew on.   I'd like to think I'm occasionally writing blog posts that are more like the equivalent of a granola bar or a garden salad with a lot of fresh vegetables in it.   Something you have to chew on and might be getting some nutritional value from.

         Then again granola bars can be kind of like eating that composite wood stuff or maybe a cork bulletin board.   Maybe I'd rather write a Three Musketeers bar or one of those chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies they have at Easter.

            How heavy do you like your blog posts to be?   Would you rather read a cotton candy post or raw carrots and cauliflower?    Do you like a blog post that makes you think a bit and inspires you to leave a deeper comment than you typically leave?

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Blogging with Importunity

English: The Importunate Neighbour. At the National Gallery of Victoria (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

          I am Blogman so I sit in church and turn sermons into blog posts.   In a recent sermon at the church I attend, our pastor gave a sermon about praying with importunity. This sermon which was based on Luke 11:5-10 described how the most effective way to get prayers answered was to pester God about what we want.  We should pray without ceasing even if we are repeating ourselves.  Like kids nagging their parents, we need to be persistent in our pleas.   I'd heard the verses and sentiments before but I'd never heard the concept put quite in the way the pastor had put it.  

          Then as I thought about this idea I realized that I blog with importunity.  I frequently go back to the same topics.  I'll take an idea and break it down.   If one post about a topic isn't enough I might make a series out of it.  I suppose some readers get bored with my rehashing of topics, but sometimes I'm just trying to get my point across,  However, most of the time I blog about certain topics because they fascinate me.  Marketing, promotion, "blog science", and the psychology and mechanics of social media.  They are topics I am trying to figure out and am hoping some answers will come from readers or just come to me as a result of thinking about it so much.

        So whenever you think I'm being pertinacious, dogged, or persistent to the max, please bear with me.  I hope you will find something interesting in what I'm saying or discover a relevance in my topics applicable to your own purposes.  Honestly, I'm not trying to be annoying.  I'm just blogging with importunity.

Sorry but I just love that expression and had to use it in a blog post.

         Do you ever feel like you blog with importunity?   Are there any topics that people might think you are fixated on?   Do you believe that an author basically has one story to tell and they just repeat it in different ways?

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Something's afoot and you can find out more by checking the blog sites listed below:




That’s right! Time to roast a new victim. This year’s hosts are Mark “Madman” Koopmans, Alex “Clone me a” Cavanaugh, Morg “the Borg” Shamy, Stephen “Wormhole” Tremp, and David “Don’t Mess with the” King.   Today's the day when the lucky (????) roast honoree is announced.   Who on Earth will it be?   Is the person even from Earth?

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What are the best blog topics to guarantee comments?

Image via Wikipedia

           Short answer:   Darned if I know!  Thank you.   End of post.

            No, wait!  I'll try to answer unscientifically based on my experience which has little to do with paying attention to much of anything and making notes about any of it.

            What prompts my line of thinking in this post was the response I got from my post of last Monday, It's Not All About You:  Self-Centered Blogging.   Over the course of last week this post received a fairly decent 98 comments.  Most of these comments had content of substance and many were quite lengthy--almost blog posts in themselves.  This was a more impressive than normal response.   Why was this?

            To be quite honest, last Monday's post was something I quickly threw together the night before just to have something up the next day.  I considered it to be almost a throwaway effort and didn't really expect much in the way of a response.   It was essentially a topic that has been covered often, including previous posts that I had done.  I was amazed when I turned the computer on the next morning and instead of the usual no more than six comments, I already had eighteen.  And they continued steadily throughout the day.

           I want to thank everyone who did leave a comment on that post, not just for the comment you left, but mainly for the depth of the things you said.

           With the topic of comments I touched something that is common to all of us, but what drew you to read in the first place.   There was nothing in the title of the post that indicated the topic of comments.  And the first paragraph was somewhat ambiguous.   Was it the topic of self-centered blogging?   Was it a curiosity to see if the post really might be about you?  I'm curious since drawing in the reader without a tremendous effort on the part of the blogger is something we'd all like to be able to do.

            So I want to hear from you what it is that draws you to a topic rather than the blogger.  There are certain bloggers out there whom you visit for who they are and what their relationship is to you, but then there are others who might attract you with some particular topic or by a title.

            What is it that lures you in to read a particular blog post?   What are must-read topics for you?   Is it usually the title that grabs you?  The first few lines?   Or are your visits mostly random or based on reciprocated visiting?  

           
Be sure to visit the A to Z Blog tomorrow for the announcement of the video contest winner.

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Happy Birthday To Me!

       Yes, today is my birthday.  I won't tell you which one -- see if you can guess.  I wish it weren't my birthday.  I'd happily stop having the darn things if it meant I didn't get any older.  I'm content where I am now thank you.

        This week I received a very nice phone call from Phoenix singer-songwriter Forrest Smith.  You may recall my post about him back in December -- if not you may want to go back and check it out.  He complimented the interview I did with him and told me it was among the three best stories that had been done on him in his entire career.  That made me feel really good. We writers like to get feedback on what we do and here on the blogs it sometimes seems that it is never enough.  In fact over my vacation during Christmas holidays, I caught up with several friends and family members who had been following my blogs and told me to my face how much they enjoyed them.  Thanks to all of you who provide me with that encouragement as it really helps keep me going.

         I am going to continue my BLOG BOGGLED series on Mondays.  I have been getting a good response and there is still more to say.  I've been noticing other blogs doing the same topic and I will continue to link to those when I find them. 

       I had so much fun with my Costco story on Tuesday and those who read it seemed to enjoy it.  I like writing humor but I don't know that it's my forte.   I'll try to be funny as much as I can--- in fact I may get downright silly if I can.  Don't know about this coming Tuesday.  I'll be reviewing, or at least commenting on something.  I just have to figure out what it will be.

       The Wednesday story about my library seemed to go over pretty well with readers.  This coming Wednesday, if things go as planned, I am going to go into my back yard and see if you can help me answer a question and tell you some other parts of my story.

        Thursday has always been debate day and will continue to be so.  And Fridays are a mystery and perhaps I will continue exploring the mysterious world of dreams.  Oh, and I forgot to mention Sunday--I'll be delving into the Bible as usual.

          What has been the most uplifting thing you've heard about your blog?  Do your friends and family keep up with your writings and how much support do you get from them?  Do you ever think about just giving it up?  Or have you just started and we ain't heard nothin' yet?