There are SO many truly wonderful blogs in what I call "our corner of the blogosphere". And, if you're reading this post, you are a member of this corner :-) I'm not going to name any blogs here because I'll overlook someone terrific and I don't want to do that, but we have many writers who write really passionately (even angrily) on politics, some who write a little less passionately and more 'bemusedly' about politics (is that a word?!), some who write about personal situations in their lives like family, jobs, etc., some who write on hobbies, some who talk faith, sciences, and some who write 'all of the above'....they're all very good. Honestly, there isn't a bad one in the bunch. You know that. But, maybe you don't, so.........
....check them out! Click on my commenters and the avatars of commenters at the other sites you visit and you'll be so glad you did. There seem to be some wonderful new commenters (and some of them blog, too) and I thank them for coming by and I encourage them to not only read geeeZ on a daily basis (a little plug doesn't hurt, right?!) but to visit the other blogs you see on comment threads. You will not be disappointed by any of them. I give you my personal promise on that.
To you new bloggers who'd like more visitors..just a tiny bit of advice: when you gets comments, COMMENT BACK. You will start a conversation going that will gratify you and encourage commenters to come back. The biggest drawback to any of the terrific blogs I visit is when the blogger doesn't respond to commenters. And I believe they have less traffic for that reason. DO respond! That's the most fun part of blogging!
Another really important thing (especially this election year) is that we DO NOT keep our information to our own little blogging corner. When you see wonderful articles that have been reprinted on our blogs, or original articles written by us bloggers, or compelling videos, don't just comment and leave, send the blog address to friends/ family so they can learn what you did .... WE know we're in trouble because of Obama, right? Others have to know what we know. And they ARE NOT GETTING IT FROM THE MEDIA. The media's a shill now and so it's up to US to get information out there. However, be careful what you send (and what you print, for that matter). I know Snopes is a shill, too, but do a fact check first from whatever fact check you find reliable and honest. (good luck on that, by the way). And, publishing or sending on stories from Free Republic or WND doesn't always fly. That's as nutty as relying on moveon.org or Dem Underground or MSNBC for evenhanded, fact-filled information. Sure, FP and WND have absolutely good information sometimes, but please check it out first. Do the homework, don't let people write you off as an unreliable source. Leftwingers will disrupt, insult, and name call. Most of them, anyhow. New bloggers need only to address them if they want to or go on Comment Moderation. Most of us watch and read right and leftwing news....We all already KNOW what they seem to think they're informing us with, and why they are. If they're sane, informative, have links and don't insult, engage. If they don't, delete or just ignore.
This year is maybe our MOST IMPORTANT BLOGGING YEAR EVER. Please make the most of it. Welcome the new bloggers by visiting their sites, send good information to those you know who don't read blogs, respond to your commenters so you get readers coming back and learning more and you'll enjoy that, too!
Fight on, everyone..........reveal, expose, illuminate, joke, cry...whatever it takes. And don't write off the faith blogs or the science blogs or the personal interest blogs just because they're not about politics .... take a while every day and visit them for a delicious break!
Thanks for reading this far........I just felt compelled to do this. Also, let me thank my wonderful commenters and fellow bloggers for your loyalty to GeeeZ while I'm at it. None of us could do any of this without all of us, right? We have a country to save.
xxx Z
66 comments:
You're right about commenting back after someone comments. I know when blogger first changed to the new format, there was an option where you could respond directly beneath the comment, but I can't find it anymore. Wish I had switched over to that.
Keep up the great posts Z. Even when I don't have enough time to comment, I still read.
You are absolutely correct about responding to comments. I wish that I could do so with more consistency.
Did you notice in Blogger's new interface that we can now see how often a post is viewed? We don't now have to hover over our site meters for that stat. We get lots of readers who don't comment.
Speaking of blogging, does anybody here know what THIS means? Excerpt:
WASHINGTON (AP) — For computer users, a few mouse clicks could mean the difference between staying online and losing Internet connections this summer.
Unknown to most of them, their problem began when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of infected computers around the world. In a highly unusual response, the FBI set up a safety net months ago using government computers to prevent Internet disruptions for those infected users. But that system is to be shut down.
The FBI is encouraging users to visit a website run by its security partner, http://www.dcwg.org , that will inform them whether they're infected and explain how to fix the problem. After July 9, infected users won't be able to connect to the Internet....
"The FBI is encouraging users to visit a website run by its security partner, http://www.dcwg.org.."
I suggest you do it. Especially for those that don't know squat about IP's, DNS or redirecting network stuff.
Z - Yes - it is a word - I looked it up and it says - confused or lost in thought.
This is a great post - with which I agree 100% - & IT NEEEDED TO BE SAID - about blogging.
Your blog is well read so it is a good place for this post.
Thanks - Z - for spreading the word about BLOGGING ! ! !
And, if you're reading this post, you are a member of this corner :-)
----
I don't think so.
Wow, Ducky... Way to be a jerk!
Blogging 101... A lot of it is trial and error, but it is wonderful when we get a 'network' going!
And, publishing or sending on stories from Free Republic or WND doesn't always fly.
Amen to that! If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
AOW: Your computer could be hijacked and used as a spambot or for some other nefarious purpose. The government now has the technology to shut down your access if you are an infector. Releasing and renewing your IP address will temporarily gain you access again, but they want to get to the root cause and clean these infected machines.
For all my fellow Right Blogistanis, I have a highly technical question:
Does anyone know why Blooger's scheduler is broken? And more importantly, is there a fix?
I have to manually post, and I know I am posting way too late for my East Coast early morning readers.
I didn't know that book existed either. It would have been great to have 6 years ago when I started. I had to depend on the kindness of friends to help me get started.
Debbie
Right Truth
http://www.righttruth.typepad.com
what a great post, Z! thanks for your blogging insight :)
GOt to run to work but will respond later :-)
SF...I do my scheduler every night for that midnight, maybe it's something with yours? It worked last night for me.
AOW...after living with 3 1/2 years of Obama and how they're slamming anything from the Right, I'm not sure I want the FBI doing anything with my blog!
I'll have to check into that, though.
Is anybody else's computer moving REALLY slowly lately, by the way?
See you all around six EST.
Thanks for the tips Z. And just to show I'm paying attention here's a second source for AOW's story. ;-)
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401227,00.asp
And one to the site to check your machine for infection.
http://www.dns-ok.us/
If the center background is green you're ok.
Snopes is not the only fact checking site. One that is a bit more balanced is http://www.truthorfiction.com/.
I love having commenters on my blog, as does almost everybody.
Great advice, Z, especially about answering comments. The only criticism I have for your blog is that it is on Blogger.
As I have told you and AOW, Blogger is not adequate. For some reason, Google has not kept up. Of course, I am prejudiced for WordPress a I use the software platform as a content management system in creating websites for small businesses and individuals.
You can set up a free account on WordPress.com in a few minutes. Choose your free theme, or buy one, and a couple of clicks later you are ready to go. A few more clicks will effortlessly move all your Blogger articles and comments to WordPress.com. It is just that easy.
Here that, Silverfiddle? I know the WordPress.com scheduler works. I use it all the time. Plus, there is somebody to work with you in the associated forums if you have a problem.
OK. End of sermon.
Great advise, Z. It can't be repeated often enough.
Silverfiddle,
Does anyone know why Blooger's scheduler is broken? And more importantly, is there a fix?
After clicking "Done" on the scheduler on the right side, go to the top of the interface and click "Publish."
Viburnum,
Thank you for that information -- that link about the green background.
AOW: Thank you for that information -- that link about the green background."
You're quite welcome. Check out safe?
Z:
Couldn't agree more on comments, however I couldn't disagree more on re-posting the work of others on one's own blog.
Most of us in 'your corner' can access news and facts in any number of ways, mainly via searches and trusted internet sites, and can find this original posted stuff all by ourselves.
To re-post something someone else wrote is a waste of my time on your site, since I am interested only in what ZEE has to say when I drop by. I am not interested in what others write when I am here.
Of course, that's just me.
Great advice Z,although I don't spend enough blogging but I love coming here ,you keep it interesting and smart,exchanging of ideas not insults and bashing like I see on many left wing blogs.
Ducky's here said...
And, if you're reading this post, you are a member of this corner :-)
----
I don't think so."
Don't look now, Ducky, but you're at conservative blogs more than most conservatives are.
THanks, everyone....I worried that it might sound like I was lecturing but I really do feel strongly about SUCH good blogs not getting enough comments and I want to help those bloggers keep from getting frustrated and stopping their writing. COMMENTS must be responded to if possible!
Virburnum, I'm almost afraid to do so. But, I might try that security thing.
Bob....I sub'd today and one of the kids asked why I use Blogger. I guess it's because I"m used to it. Honestly, I could NEVER figure out how to do a change even with your precise instructions.
I always tell people that for someone who runs a fairly successful little blog, I'm woefully stupid about the tech aspects and couldn't have put this together without my dear friend Elmer's Brother!
We'll see.........I'll check into it. I'm just so USED to BLogger, but HATE GOOGLE's politics and hate sort of supporting them this way, so......
Fredd....do you mean you don't like it when I publish stories from newspapers/the internet, etc., or when I publish friends' articles here and give them a sort of bi-line?
I'd like your input on that... thanks
Viburnum, man, was THAT easy to do!
I thought it would lead to instructions most of which I wouldn't understand!
Yippeee...i'm GREEN !
Of course, the conspiracy theory part of me thinks this is a great way for the Feds to register blogs and keep track :-) (HA!)
"part of me thinks this is a great way for the Feds to register blogs and keep track :-) (HA!)"
No "HA"...Better figure that if the feds can monitor cell calls, satellite phones and conversations, cops can download info from your Iphone / Android...it's a safe bet they know what IP's are being used and by whom.
Z, your observations are true to a T.
Only one caveat. There is a blogger I know, and he is in a pitched custody battle. Can you imagine that his wife monitors how much time he spends writing/commenting and reports it to the court? That would be one reason not to comment back after lovely people are kind enough to comment on one's blog. Otherwise, I say blog, blog, blog!
Not all comments are polite or constructive, but leaving comments does offer an opportunity to consider other points of view. Whether an individual chooses to comment should not define the blog or its author any more than letters to an editor defines a newspaper.
" Whether an individual chooses to comment should not define the blog or its author any more than letters to an editor defines a newspaper"
Sam.....Thanks...I'm relieved.
Yes, it is VERY important to always respond to someone's comments. They need to know that they have been acknowledged good or bad comments.
That's what blogging is all about. I have made some wonderful friends through blogging and I love it.
I love the dialogue and it is wonderful to get opposing opinions.
If I had the time, I would CLEARLY respond to each and every commenter.
But I'm not retired and I have a full time job that takes up 14+ hours of each day, in law enforcement.
When I RETIRE, perhaps I can devote more time to the blog. As it is, I still somehow find an ability to post every day.
For that reason, I do NOT support blogs on my blogroll that do NOT post, at minimum, every day.
Which is why YOU are still on my blogroll.
If I can still post daily in my 60s, I figure that those who are sufficiently serious can STILL post on their blogs.
If you don't have ACTIVITY, you don't rate, as far as I'm concerned.
If that's judgmental I couldn't care less. Get over it.
That all said, BLOGGER is about to CHANGE and I've tasted its new look and it SUCKS.
Instead of being clearly delineated by different fields of color and regimented -- in my opinion -- it is MORE CONFUSING than ever.
Menus are BURIED and the format is MUDDLED.
I'm thinking I won't be with Blogger for much longer, if this kind of CRAP continues.
Anyone else have thoughts about the "new Blogger" format??
BZ
Zepp, it is OK to have standards. It usually takes about 4 months of inactivity to rate being deleted from my blogroll. :-D
Z: "Of course, the conspiracy theory part of me thinks this is a great way for the Feds to register blogs and keep track."
Imp is right. It's way too late for those considerations, and has been for a long time
"
If I can still post daily in my 60s, I figure that those who are sufficiently serious can STILL post on their blogs..."
Science has now admitted that crossword's and active blogging...wards off Alzheimer's.
As for me....being pissed off and involved, might do the same.
Sam, no, commenters don't validate a blogger's effectiveness or entertaining-ness. I don't think I said that.
It can be wonderful writing and nobody's reading.
BUT, not USUALLY. A good blog WILL get people coming back ... and then they often get no commenters because the blogger doesn't respond. that's my point; what a shame for everyone concerned; the blogger and the commenters. A good blog should get traffic so people learn, have good sharing of ideas, etc.
Imp...you're "relieved"? Did you think I meant a blogger can only be a good writer if commenters comment!? Not at all. Not my point.
You know, Imp?...I do the NY Times Sunday Crossword pretty regularly and pretty fully...sometimes I don't have a great SUnday, but I usually almost finish them.
I get emails saying "if you can do these tests quickly," you won't have to worry about memory problems. And I do them bing, bang, bong.
Then I can't for the life of me remember what i had for lunch!! So I'm not sure games and crosswords are a good clue :-)
" Did you think I meant a blogger can only be a good writer if commenters comment!? Not at all. Not my point."
Ummmm...hell no. But.... a GREAT blogger knows their audience. And a GREAT Blogger...stays connected to that audience. And in doing so.....keeps their followers connected, informed and dedicated.
Kind of like...Ohhhhh....this place?
I love this place...so does all those who piss and moan....those who agree....those who disagree....makes this blog extremely....viable...important....and mainstream.
That's a very nice message that is on point.
I will say that having all of 4 or 5 folks tops who leave comments , that it's easy to comment back.
But enough about me. Z, seriously, you have an ability to write a short missive that gets people talking. You get a point across with minimum verbiage. And a following large enough to result in a hunnerd comments or more with each post.
That's talent. Thanks for being out here. I hope you've inspired at least one individual to "think again". I'll bet you have.
Imp and Kid..your comments mean so much to me, thanks.
I love blogging purely because of people like you guys.
As Leticia said above, it's the people we meet thru blogging which really enrich the whole process.
actually, I'm going to save your comments..thanks.
Z:
Per your request for input on 're-posting:'
Some time ago, I wrote a piece excoriating what I called 'Re-post Cretins,' and went into depth as to why I deplore such material on personal blogs.
In answer to your question as to whether I meant only newspaper clips or guest-blogs: I don't like either. I just want to read your stuff on your blog, and nobody else's. I already know where to find other people's stuff. It's not hard.
(http://freddsez.blogspot.com/2010/12/re-posting-cretins.html) is the post I did on this subject.
thanks, Fredd.
A lot of my stuff is linking to articles and giving my own slant on them. Like the one today with Trayvon v Tyrone.
Sorry you don't like my guest bloggers here... they don't blog and they're good writers, so I like to feature them every few months.
I'll read your piece when I get home. THanks for linking it.
I suppose everyone has their own idiosynchronies about what they do like and what they don't. I was glad Net had a guest post on here because I respect and value his opinion and without his own blog we cannot always get his take on what he thinks except for when he comments.
I don't have the wherewithal to post everyday, I still have blogs on my reading list that haven't posted in months. I'm hoping they "return" soon.
I love blogging, although returning comments is a big bugaboo with me. I don't always have time, but I will try harder to do so because it is good advice. Thanks, Z!
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