Blogging · Me myself and I · Thoughts

Between bloggers…

Cyranny

We are writers, creators, we express ourselves openly. We are all different, yet we connect in a very special way. Like Anonymous, we are legion. We are bloggers.

And being bloggers, I guess it is just natural that we enjoy talking about blogging. Painters probably like discussing colors, brushes and influences… We blog, and we have fun talking about it!

I realized it when I published my post The fine art of commenting, a few days back. I was expecting little interest, because it felt as if I was talking about breathing. We all blog on a regular basis, and aside from the newcomers, we all know the ABC about commenting. Right? But it opened an interesting discussion about our experiences, and we shared things we wouldn’t have talked about, if I had not opened the dialogue.

So I thought I’d share some other things I noticed on other blogs, and that might come in handy. Again, I am not a pro. I am not telling anyone what they should do. I’m just giving my opinion. With a little luck, it might help one or two of you, and we might share a great discussion, again!

So here are a few things I noticed, through my two and a half years here, in The Cove.

 

The “About” page

The “About” page is very personal to every blogger. Some like to share a lot, some prefer to keep it really short. Some will open their comment box, and others not. Some will describe themselves and give lots of details about their life, and some prefer to talk about their work, and leave personal facts private. I have no preference, I like that people don’t follow a template. Every “About” page is a surprise. The only thing I’d say, especially to new bloggers is to please, pleaaaaaase, put something in your “About” page if you have one. I find it disappointing when I click and get the “This is an example….” message. If I access your “About” page, it is because you’ve intrigued me. I want to get to know you better… So please, don’t be a tease!

 

How can I call you?

Wether you choose to blog under your real name, or prefer to take a pen name, makes no difference to me. But I really like to have a name or nickname to refer to, when I talk about you… Some bloggers’ avatar display their blog’s name. (Example… MyDangBlog – GREAT blog, by the way) I talked about “The girl from MyDangBog” for a while, and finally asked how I could adress this kind lady, while exchanging comments one day. It really helps to put a name or nickname on someone, instead of just seeing them like “that blogger”. I think mentionning how you’d like to be called in your “About” page is the best way to do it. That way, you won’t get asked all the time 🙂

 

Allowing contact

In my experience, this is pretty much a 50/50 matter. Some blogs have a “Contact” page, allowing readers to send a private message via email, and the others don’t. It is pretty personal, but I think that if you’re into mingling and making connection with others, it is a good idea to offer this option to your “followers”. I never had any problem with people flooding my inbox, or sending inappropriate messages. If that’s what makes you hesitate, maybe you could use an alternate email adress, just for your blog? There are sometimes things a reader might want to tell you, just not in public. Personally, I like when I have the possibility to reach bloggers directly. It gives a me a sense of closeness. But hey! That’s just me!

 

Research widgets

I’m no professional about widgets, even after two years and a half. But one thing I appreciate in a blog, is when it has research options. There are many available… The “research” widget, allowing you to search with key words. The “Archives” widget, letting you scroll month by month. Or the “Categories” widget, a lot like the archive one, only searching posts that share the same tag. This comes handy when you’ve been blogging for a while. When I really like a blogger, I enjoy going back to older posts, but if I have to scroll down endlessly, I lose interest quickly. If you’d like your early posts to have a chance to be read, even after months have passed by, think about it!

 

So… That’s about it for today. Again, just my opinion 🙂

Anything to say about any of these points? I’m up for the discussion!

Happy blogging!

 

 

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103 thoughts on “Between bloggers…”

  1. It’s funny you have started thinking about this so much lately; I have as well. My favorite part of WordPress, by far, is the community. I love all of you so much. I love the connections and stories and watching people grow and develop their work. The comments, the shares, the interactions… It’s all so beautiful.

    It’s also funny you mention organization/widgets. I just made some pretty significant changes to my layout, specifically with community/connections in mind. 🙂

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    1. Great minds think alike, they say! 😉

      I love the community too! It is very special, and it keeps surprising me, how big WP is, yet everywhere I wander, I see people I “know”… I also really like how supportive people are, and I know we all make a difference in people’s lives, one way or another… Very motivating 🙂

      I’ll go check what you’ve done with the widgets… Maybe it’ll give me some ideas too 🙂 xx

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  2. Hey Catherine! I read the last post too but couldnot get time to comment on it due to my busy schedule these days. I completely agree with each and every point if yours in both the posts.
    Having about page is important, but more important is to have a name. It sounds funny and weird at the same time, when I’m calling people by their blog names.
    Personally, I’ve explored widgets a lot. I’ve spent hours on seeing which one would suit my site, where should I be placing it, what should be it’s title, on what page should it be visible. There have been times when I loved the widgets but found that it wasn’t the right time to use them. Time and again I go to the widgets section and check if there’s something that I can add to make my blog better to explore for my readers.
    Initially I never understood why would people want to contact me when I already have my comments section on. But when I interacted with a few bloggers and readers, I realised it’s importance.
    Today I’m up for all kind of engagement with my readers.

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    1. Thanks for stoping by, I know you are quite busy outside the Bloggosphere Saumya 🙂

      I’ll have to go check out your use of widgets… I must admit I am not really good with them, and should perhaps put a little more time exploring the subject. I know we can do pretty cool things with them, but I just get a bit lost when I start editing 😛

      I don’t remember if I put my “contact” page right at the beginning of my blogging, or if I added it along the way… But I think it was after reaching out to another blogger and thinking, “Hey, it’d be pretty cool if someone contacted me like that!” 😉

      Thanks for the good points, always a pleasure to see you in The Cove, Miss 🙂 xx

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      1. I understand about getting lost while editing. Has happened with me too.
        And it has happened with me quite a lot of times that I saw some blogger making great use of a widget which I could also do! 🙂

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    1. I agree, Simon… When I find a blog I didn’t know, the “About” page is the first place I go. Some people underestimate it.

      Thanks for stoping by 🙂 xx

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  4. I love being able to contact bloggers directly! I find it more personable. I have had no problems allowing people to contact me either! Like you said, it allows for closeness between bloggers.xxx

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    1. I agree… I also like having the chance to just drop a note to ask if people are ok, when they’ve been quiet for a while… It goes unnoticed, and I can just keep an eye on my favorite people 🙂 Or share short talks with people who aren’t doing too well… I love that.

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  5. I’m with you on these things. Especially the About page. If there isn’t one, I leave the blog and never return. I know that’s probably mean (I told you I was mean), but there are so many blogs out there and I can’t read/follow them all, so I choose the ones that interest me most written by the people who interest me most. If I can’t determine that… I’m gone.

    I also think the contact page is important. I don’t know about anyone else, but I love to hear from people through email instead of only through comments. In my experience, that is where deeper friendships develop. I get so excited when I see a new message with the subject line “what sandra thinks contact”. I wish more people would email me. I mean, if they have something to say, of course.

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    1. You’re not mean girl… Don’t even try to convince me 😉

      I won’t push aside a blog because it has no about page, but I have followed many mainly because I liked what I had read in the about page first.

      As for the contact page… I think that we both know how it is possible to share much more in private when two bloggers “click” in the Bloggosphere 🙂

      Glad to have you here, Sandra 🙂 xx

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      1. Those private conversations are huge for me because I don’t have any friends offline. Most of the time I feel alone with no one to talk to. Making friends as an adult is kind of impossible. I’m friendly with some of my kids’ friends’ moms, but they’re just acquaintances. There’s really no conversation that isn’t about the kids. So anyway… yeah… I have no friends beyond the ones here.

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  7. I’m not good with the widgets ghing but I guess I should give a name. Elaine said the bag lady isn’t great. It’s appropriate and was a chouce of a humorous tone on my first posts.

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    1. I’m not very good with widgets neither. I did work on putting a couple on my blog to help people search for posts, if they wanted to, because I like to do that on other blogs. But aside from that, I don’t have many 😛

      I like calling you Bag Lady, even if I wasn’t aware of the real meaning of it before today. What would you prefer, Cheryl, or Bag Lady? 🙂

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  9. Inspired by these words of wisdom I took a closer look at my site.
    A couple of pages sat there doing, essentially, nothing so I deleted them.
    I checked the ‘about’ page which also says essentially nothing, but that was the intention, so I left that untouched.
    I am more than happy for contact but I don’t actually know if the contact page works.
    There are no widgets because I don’t even know what the word (is it a word?? Widget?? I mean, really?) means.
    So …. my site says nothing, unsuccessfully encourages contact and is technologically boring.
    Everything seems to be in order.

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    1. I am flattered you even considered changing anything about your blog, after reading this 🙂

      You are one of the people who made me really happy I put a “contact” page on my blog.

      And don’t worry about not getting widgets. I barely get them myself 😛

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  10. Mydangblog is one of my favorites and that blogger and I have become friends. She has written a book which I bought, read, loved and shared with my teen daughter. She wrote about it in her blog a few times. I love the idea of a weekly blog. It is consistent without being overwhelming and she’s one funny gal.The people are the best part of blogging.

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    1. She is a great gal 🙂 You know what? I didn’t even know she had a book to sell. I’ll go check that out!! Thank you so much for pointing it out!!

      Gawd, I love this community, and I am so glad to have found you 🙂 xx

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    1. *Blushing* (I should mention that I already have a bad case of blushing going on, because of Shia… I don’t know if my skin will ever get back to its ghostly white shade again.)

      I am no pro at all… But if you want a few tips about useful widgets, let me know 🙂

      *big hugs* bro 🙂

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      2. That’s a very good point, there… It is true that blushing is not something people do much anymore… Either they’ll take compliments as well deserved, or they’ll refuse them…

        I’m a very blushy kind of girl… And you’ve just made me happy for being that way 🙂 Thank you 🙂

        Liked by 3 people

      4. Oh shoot, there I go again… 😉 You are so awesome also!!

        Hey, I just had an epiphany…. If we’re brother & sister, that means I am Cyranny Pow?? How cool is that??? Or Cyranny Sock Pow? And I didn’t even know it…. Now I’ll love my name too!!

        In a way, I hope blushing doesn’t become a trend again… I enjoy being special 😛

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      5. Cyranny Pow has a certain ring to it. Of course, it kind of sounds like a breakfast cereal, too. But that is cool as well!

        And I don’t think you have to worry about blushing becoming a trend. I think the heyday of blushing has come and gone. So enjoy being special!

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  14. Looks like I’m doing it all right on my blog, according to the points you have cited here. If I had just one wish, it would be more comments. I get lots of traffic (LOTS!), and my fair share of likes, but very few comments. ☹

    For the record, my blog is set to ‘dofollow’ and I allow folks to plug their own stuff freely. Besides every comment is a form of encouragement for me, so please help a blogger out. 😊

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  15. Okay, okay. I have an About Page. I have a search widget, a catagories widget, a tags widget, and an archives widget, but I don’t yet have a contact me page. Fine. I’ll add one as soon as I figure out how to do it.

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  17. Great suggestions, I agree with all of them! I don’t understand why so many people leave example widgets hanging around, it’s like they never visited their own site to take a look at it?? And then there’s the navigation, if I land somewhere, please let me navigate to other posts on your blog! And then there’s the gravatar profiles that haven’t added a link to their site, such a shame because if I see an interesting comment somewhere, often I get the impulse to visit that blog! 💕Happy blogging!

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    1. Ooooooh that’s a very good point there! I agree that it is quite a shame when an avatar doesn’t have an up to date link!! I too often pick up a new blogger by looking at comments in other people’s blogs….

      Heyyyy… I was giving your blog a look. Did I see Helsinki there?? You know I’m not going to let you go if you are a Viking, right?? 😉

      Happy Blogging 🙂 And thanks for stopping by xx

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  20. Wait… there’s a research widget?!?! I didn’t even know! I have wanted to add something like that to my blog because every once and a while I’ll want to find something specific but have to dig back through old posts. Such a good idea! I need to put my tech skills to the test now…. may be coming back to you with questions.. lol! LOVE these posts, Cyr!!!

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  22. Thank you for this post! I’m a newish blogger and still trying to get the hang of wordpress. Widgets are amazing! At first I didn’t know how to use them, but now l added the ones that I need. I love looking at people’s about pages so I made sure to fill mine out.

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  24. I agree. 🙂
    And time is tricky isn’t it? I also like to visit the actual site, which I haven’t done here in a long time, so I want to say how much I like the look of your blog, that photo is gorgeous for one thing!
    Vanessa 🙂

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    1. Ohhh, Thank you so much! I wanted my blog to have a soft, relax, calming look… I didn’t want to go into flashy designs, and bright colors, but I was a bit worried it might come as boring… It is so heartwarming to read your kind comment! Thank you very, very much Vanessa 🙂 xx

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      1. I love it for all of those reasons! Not boring at all. I completely relate to your thought process with that, exactly what I was thinking when I went through a number of themes, never quite happy. But I think you have the perfect balance for that!
        And you are very welcome 🌸

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    1. Glad to meet you, Tammy 🙂 Really nice looking blog you have! Don’t have much time, tonight, but I really want to give it a better look later!! How long have you been writing here?

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      2. Did you really just start on May 14th? You must have had another blog before, or else I am really curious to know how you gathered almost 3500 readers in 4 days!! Hehehehehe

        Btw, you should check the link joined to your avatar, it doesn’t lead anywhere…

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I promise I thought I fixed it. 😩 ima go check. And I’m not sure. I connected my social links. Maybe that’s why? And no I really started May 14th lol

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      4. Ahhhh okie, that must be it… you must have many social media contacts 😉

        Don’t worry about the avatar thing too much, I was just pointing it out, in case you didn’t know 🙂

        Warm welcome to the Bloggosphere! I love discovering brand new bloggers 🙂 🙂 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      6. Yay you!! It is working now 🙂 xx

        I’ll make sure to check your first posts out! If you have any question, feel free to contact me. I love to interact and help when I can!

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  29. I love this post. I must have missed it when it was posted but glad to find it today. 🙂 Thank you for pointing out the contact page. I never really gave it a thought. And you made some valid points about it. Some bloggers might want to send a private message for one reason or the other. Damn, now, I need to add the contact page ASAP. Thank you so much for always sharing value. Xoxo

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    1. Hehehe well it is a pleasure to know I could help you Stella. I do think a “contact” page is an asset, and I know some bloggers could be afraid to get tons of emails, when they get a lot of readers, but I think it is just a matter of how you interact with them. I get regular little notes, either to point out problems with pingbacks, or questions, or sometimes just to say hi… But nothing even close to “excessive”. I really recommend trying it out… You can always remove it, if you find out it is not for you 🙂 Thank you for the always kind words, Stella xx

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      1. Sure, I’m going to do that. I think there would have been some bloggers who would have loved to reach out to me in the past, or even now, besides the usual comments. Sometimes, people crave for some privacy. I really got value here and thanks again. Have a wonderful week. 🙂

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