If you are here from blogexplosion--scroll down.
Sorry Kat, but I still don't have any pictures. I'm too busy cleaning up her shit to feel all warm and gushy to take a picture. Too bad, because she has already grown a bit.
Oh, what am I talking about? Read the title.
I once posted that having a puppy was in no way comparable to having a new baby. Is it too late to take it back? In a lot of ways, it's worse. At least with a baby you can strap a diaper on and do the sniff test. She has to be taken out every hour in this pouring New England rain, and even that is no guarantee. Sometimes she just holds out to come back in a lay a lunker in her favorite spot--a little patch of rug with her smell molecularly fused into the fibers.
There is a fourteen day return policy...
*** For all surfers from blogexplosion. ***
What kind of blog entry would inspire you to leave a comment? What are you looking for? You probably don't want to hear some geezer complain about cleaning up dog shit. But I am assuming you are here to draw traffic to your own blog. So far this is what I've noticed: out of 90 expended blogexplosion credits, I've gotten only zero comments. I realize what that looks like, but I'm not boring--er, at least I think not. If I had to guess, my blog requires more than just a cursory glance to be interesting to someone, and even then would only appeal to an older audience. I'm going to experiment with different kinds of posts, so your opinion would be helpful. What if I posted a picture of bare breasts, so that there would be a little tit for tat?
*** For everyone ***
For that matter, what makes great blogs great? Crisp evocative writing for sure. Eye-catching theme. Witty repartee. Maybe something interactive, that involves the readers more. Focused subject matter, such as politics, entertainment, one that bashes an officemate, or follows the antics of a promiscuous woman. What is your absolute favorite blog and why?
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My life. I can't complain, but some times I still do.
About Me
- Scott
- Forty something, married, two kids, barely published, dreaming, and writing -- every day.
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16 comments:
You're a funny guy, Scott. And you are experiencing the reason why I have cats. ;-)
I liked your very clever use of "tit for tat."
I guess I don't count as a comment since I'm not from blogexplosion? ;-)
Kat - I know you are kidding, but I realized my mistake and updated the post just a tad. I want to know from everyone what makes a blog sexy. Trevor pointed me once to Latigo Flint's blog, who has a distinctive voice and manner.
Can you tell us more about BE? How do they 'make' people visit certain blogs? Who do they choose? Do they send burly men to the desk of members and threaten violence? I am reminded of Quitters, Inc. "Surf or the wife gets it!"
As for favourite blogs, mine usually have lots of content and little flash. Nothing better than good writing to make me want to spend hours in archives.
There's so much stress in my life that I enjoy humor. I also like blogs that focus on the craft of writing. I'm still trying to figure out what to put on mine - some days I feel so boring.
Kathleen - I'm with you there.
I'm with you, Kathleen and Eve!
What makes a good blog is not having the same thing everyday. A good mixture of funny, thought-provoking, and interactive. I like funny stories about life. I like when sometimes the bloggers ask for interaction (like you did today!). I sincerely think you don't need flashy pictures, or sex appeal. Like a person it's the substance that counts. Do you know anything more about the demographics of blog explosion? You can also go to the bloggy awards website and enter to have your blog evaluated. That's kinda scary though.
Flash - They have an interface that patches you through to other blogexplosion members that also have blogs. For each time you visit a blog, you get one credit. For each credit, you get one visitor. A timer expires and you can move on to collect your point. Trouble is, I suspect most blogexplosion surfers are just letting the timer expire without so much as a glance, probably doing this all day while doing other things. That's what inspired me to display a generous helping of breasts, as an experiment. But I would probably offend some of my readers.
Eve - Yeah, I know what you mean. Some days it doesn't click and I'm not sure if I should write anything at all. You have lots of readers though, so you must be doing something right.
Nat - Now that would be interesting. Maybe I'll try that for the fun of it. Criticism can hurt, but it can also heal.
I like blogs that keep it interesting and mix it up every day. And if a blogger cusses every other word, that's almost always a killer for me. I don't go back.
I like your "bare breasts" idea. That will definitely keep me coming back. And I guess the political evocative incisive witty repartee stuff too.
On second thought, no, let's just keep it to the bare breasts.
Oh, look, Blogger's comments are working now. I left you a nice, long comment about what I like in a blog, but it ate my comment and I hate to try to re-create my brilliance.
I was teasing you, you know. ;-) I knew what you meant.
Examples of what I like in a blog? First three people I read in the morning: Trinamick (she cracks me up and teaches me to appreciate my boring worklife), Mr. Schprock (he's hilarous, creative, a good writer, and just strikes me as an all around good guy), you (I never know what I'm going to find here. Be it a short story, stories about your Dad, the latest tidbit about Jackson or just a kvetch about PITA co-workers).
And it's funny, since I swear like a truck driver, but, like Trina, if someone swears every other syllable I have a tendency not to go back. I don't mind the occasional swear word or even one every paragraph, but too much and I think there's a lot of anger going on there. Hmmm, maybe I should re-evaluate myself.
If you do decide on the breast thing, I won't be offended. I have two of them myself!(Not for public consumption, mind.) Just remember to be as generous to the women. Stolen images from firefighter calendars might do it.
The best blogs for me are short and sweet. I really love Days of Deerledge. Sheri mixes it up really well. Someone else wrote they like humor. I'm the same way. I'm here to unwind. Then there's the people that actually read my blog ... I feel a bond with them like, hey, they invested 5 minutes of their time on my life and heck yeah, I'm going to invest it right back!
forget about the template, just be sure it's readable. especially if you're not a web designer. write every day, don't write about your breakfast or your walk to work unless it was really (really!) interesting. write about stuff and ideas, write about the internet, write about other blogs. and write smart. and look here and here
Yeah, they're a loyal bunch, but sometimes I think I'm boring them.
Blogger has been so annoying.
My favorite blogs are the ones that make me laugh. I don't have a lot of time to spend browsing blogs so short blog posts are swell and much appreciated.
I like people who can write.
Is that asking too much??
This is a discussion my sister and I had the other day. We were talking about the "top blogs" at myspace.com ... What the heck is so special about them? I mean - ones about sex - obvious - but just normal people talking about normal things? Why are they more popular than the other normal people talking about normal things?
It's baffling!
I'm reading a book right now called "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. It talks about how things come to be epidemics or fads. How small things effect the outcome in a big way.
The chapter I'm on right now discusses "Connectors" -people who naturally attract others. Very interesting.
What I look for in a blog, cleanliness. No matter how interesting the read, I can't manage it if people don't space their paragraphs and keep spelling/puncuation mistakes to a minimum.
Other than that, it's hard to say. People come to my blog and leave me a comment, and usually, as a courtesy, I come back and leave them a comment. Sometimes I like their blog and look forward to reading it. Sometimes I go there grudgingly just to be polite.
One blog I read that I like a lot is Aisha's. (http://aishaiqbal.blogspot.com/).
The reasons? It's clean.
She is a good writer (techinically and creatively).
She has a good sense of humor (although her blog is not usually "ha-ha" funny. She just has a good attitude towards life.)
I feel a connection with her.
I learn things from her that I wouldn't otherwise know. (For example, she is Pakistani-American, but she's in Brazil right now and she is a very good travel writer. Reading her entries is like a mini vacation.)
I love culture. She cares about her readers and is sincere - almost always responding in comments.
...So, I think there are a few things that make a "good blog", good. But the rest is kind of up in the air, don't you think?
(Furstrating, isn't it? ;)
Trina - I know what you mean. I don't mind a little profanity if used in moderation instead of punctuation.
Mr. Schprock - It's tempting...
Kat - Thanks for including me in such a nice bunch. Trina is a good example of unique voice shining through, and such expressions! Mr. Schprock is nothing short of amazing.
Flood - I give up on the breast idea. It was just a thought. I'll stick with being me.
Beth - Yeah, I knew that you liked the shorter posts. You even influenced Mr. Schprock to shorten his posts, but I have noticed them creeping back up in length. We are who we are after all.
Eve - You are always coming up with some bit of flare, no matter how uninspired you feel. You don't create loyalty by being boring.
Sadie - No you are not, and I agree. I appreciate short posts too, especially as my list of bloggers grows.
Tee - Thanks for such a thoughtful reply. Maybe I get frustrated sometimes, but I have to remember why I'm doing this. It's not to generate traffic, it's to become a better writer. Having too many blog buddies takes away from that, as satisfying as it is to share in the community.
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