On your own blog, would you rather see the icons and faces of followers in the box (it’s always nice to know we’re not alone) or are you just as happy with subscribers through an email feed or reader page who are not visible for display?
I’m wondering why on some of the blogs I follow my little pink umbrella icon shows up and on others I am the silhouette face with part of my personal email prefix? Does this make sense to anyone? Ugh. I promise you if I am commenting on your blog I am a follower although you might not see my pink umbrella! Does this matter in the scheme of things?
Someone emailed me and asked what my subjects were for August.
I thought that was a very interesting concept. Do you plan ahead?
I admit I do not but this has given me something to consider.
What are the benefits to Word Press and how is it different from Blogger?
Do you feel your blog actually benefits from Face Book and Twitter?
Please tell me no but also tell me the truth if you feels it has. 😉
Thanks for your comments. I’m really interested in your opinions. 🙂
Have a great day today!
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I find the same thing…sometimes my martini glass is there…sometimes it’s not!
I always have a few topics ready in my blogger drafts – that way when I am stuck I can use one of them.
I do think blogs get more traffic from facebook and twitter – they are both great ways to spread the word to a lot of people at once.
I’m no expert, but I believe WordPress uses a different code, CSS. I started a blog there out of creative curiosity but I hadn’t really figured it out and never did anything with it. I can do the HTML here on Blogger myself so I stayed here.
I fly by the seat of my whims on what I’m going to write about each day.
I like a bit of anonymity on the blog and could tie it into my FB page, but I haven’t. I closed my Twitter account, didn’t see the need.
I haven’t subscribed to any blogs, I get enough emails everyday! But I guess that’s a way to find out who’s reading? Maybe? I read the blogs I have time for, and follow the ones that are especially interesting, which changes from time to time, or are my friends that I’ve come to care about 😉
i’m curious, too, if a blog benefits from facebook.
i’m on twitter and haven’t really seen any benefits??
I have you on my blog list so when you post it shows up on my main page. No pink umbrella just the blogger B. I don’t plan ahead these days with the move I’m lucky to be online.
Very good questions!! I will be checking bk to read comments.
I like to “see”….love your umberella:)
To me, it helps me “know” whom they are.
I don’t have a FB for mine but who knows what tomorrow brings, maybe even today, LOL!!!
Interesting questions–I hope you’ll share the answers. Personally, I like to see “followers,” but I’ve recently discovered that I have some subscribers who probably aren’t followers. I’ve just started looking at Google Analytics (to tell you the truth, I’m not sure I have the code on my blog), but I’m trying to figure out if it’s important to me anyway. I’m coming up on my one-year blogging anniversary, and I’m still trying to figure out why exactly I’m doing this! And, no, I don’t really plan ahead more than a post or two. I sometimes think that might be the way to go, but I am not really a subject/topic driven writer–or, at least, if I am, I haven’t found my topic yet–although I have noticed I get more comments on food-related posts. Sorry I’m so rambling!
I track pageviews and rss subscribers and don’t use the follow widgets and so forth, it tells me plenty.
Planning ahead means I seldom get blocked or face the ‘what to write now?’ days that can be common without a plan. Sometimes it’s just a week or so ahead, other times it’s a series that will take a year to complete.
My biggest thing about WordPress vs Blogger is that on a self-hosted WordPress blog you’re in complete control of pretty much every facet of the site. Any free host is going to place restrictions on the user and has the ability to take it away without notice. That’s not very comforting!
I have readers that reply on the Facebook feed of my blogs rather than visit the site–that’s readers I wouldn’t necessarily have, otherwise. I use twitter more for the social aspects and staying up with what those I follow are doing.
S. Princess ~ I once went through all the blogs I follow and made sure my umbrella was there. I unsubscribed and resubscribed. I don’t think I can do that again with the amount I follow. I guess it really doesn’t matter.
How much time do you spend on those sites? The thought of adding more computer time overwhelms me.
SJN ~ I love how you change things on your blog. I am totally inept on the computer past email and the blogging text box. I’ve always said you should design websites.
Little Miss ~ Would FB and Twitter reach the same people? I don’t know.
Ex-Frau ~ You have a lot of Americana to catch up on. 🙂
Flip Flops ~ Thank you. I like the little icons too because when I see someone new I can go back to their blog and discover them too.
T&C ~ I’ve heard of the Analytics and tried to figure it out but I am so ‘challenged’ when it comes to understanding computer stuff that I wouldn’t know what I’m looking at. Isn’t that awful to admit?
After a year and a half of blogging myself I am wondering what direction to go in. I love the social aspect but I spend hours writing, editing, photographing, visiting, commenting ~ all of which I love to do but it’s a hobby and sometimes interferes with doing other things like working from home! How anything gets done in a regular office with access to the internet I have no idea. Then when I’m feeling particularly guilty spending so much time ‘playing’ taking time away from our business, my hubby says try to find a way to get paid for your time on the computer. I think most of us would like to do that. 🙂
Scraps ~ You are definitely sound like a pro on this. I wonder though, and this comes from a very limited knowledge of FB, why wouldn’t readers subscribe through email instead of FB? With Twitter, FB, email and Google reader pages isn’t that spreading out too much? As in too much to check and more time going to all these different sites? I am really trying to understand how the social networking works and the benefits to each one.
Thank you all for taking the time to comment with your great answers. 🙂
Fantasic post! Great questions – personally I like to see the faces (symbols/icons)of followers – it helps me to remember who is who.
It is nice and only human to feel that your words/thoughts/opions are being read by and are also helping others.A friend who does not blog – suggested a flag tracker – she noted some of the blogs she visits only have a hand full of followers – but their flag counters – show how many people from different countries “acutually” visit. She also set me up with a report – that gives you the total number of visitors – breaking it down into, repeat, new, and other (not sure what other means).
I’m not on face book or twitter, perhaps if I was promoting a business I would see the benefit of cross marketing.
As for getting paid .. many Blogs I visit – have advertising on them (that they put up – not google) and get paid for it. I’m not sure how the advertising works -perhaps someone out there has an idea they could share.
Since – blogging for me started out as part of my speech therapy – to work on my writing, vocab and grammar skills – I guess I have not given much thought of the time it consumes. But, yes, I can see where it does – what I have found is that I have settled in to some blogs that I read daily (and have them posted on my blog page – sorted by most recently posted) this way I stay ontop on my reading on blogs that interest me and have developed a BlogFriendship with. Other blogs that I find interesting and follow are also on there – to remind me ..in case I forget.
Again great post! and I’m sure you have many of our minds thinking today …XO HHL
HHL ~ Thank you. I would like to know more about that tracker which lists new and repeat. That is very interesting and I haven’t heard about that specific of a service before but I shouldn’t be surprised one exists.
I decided long ago since my blog also incorporates private musings and this was my original purpose of my blog and is not strictly for business, or really any business, for that matter, I would not feel comfortable including ads. I am thinking of splitting my blog into one for business and one for pleasure although I don’t know if I’d like that or if I really want to have a business though the media branches. It’s something I think about from time to time when I think about what I’d like to be when I grow up. 🙂
Thank you so much for writing your comment. xoxo
Hello there! Hope your summer is going well. Don’t be sad about your boys, I know how you are feeling. Just think how full their brains will be when they are done!
As for blogging I do like the icons and faces. It is nice to know when you have a new follower. Now Facebook and Twitter are a different story for me. I’m not quite ready to go that public yet. I guess I can be a little shy at times. I’m perfectly comfortable with my little group of friends at the moment. I never think ahead or draft posts. I don’t know too much about WordPress. And finally I do see your cute Pink umbrella. Have a great day!!
Hi Pink. Well, so.
1. Word Press allows more control. And people say using Word Press makes you look more serious.
2. Google Analytics is a little complicated to get started. Get your genius son to get you set up. Then you can see how many people visit you every day. You can also see where they come from, i.e. what other blogs refer them, and what search terms they use. It’s really worth the effort.
3. Google followers are not the only subscribers you have. I show you as having 447 subscribers in my Google Reader. I believe those are your RSS subscribers, as opposed to your 412 Google Followers, but am not 100% sure.
4. I have no idea why sometimes the icon shows up and sometimes not. It probably depends on whether the comment function on the blogs you visit can access your Google profile or not.
5. I get traffic from Twitter. Not huge, but it’s there. I’ve also met some fun new people. Even better. I don’t use Facebook, but I hear that people get a lot that way too.
6. As far as making money, so far I’ve done nothing. But people are starting to ask about adds, and I’m working on making it possible in a way that doesn’t look blazingly ugly:).
7. I have a list of possible topics I keep, and then I start planning each week around Thursday of the previous week. It is a lot of work, as you say. I started about when you did. I think we are having mid-blog minor crises:).
Uh Oh, I just saw the Google icon on my blog for you. What happened to the pink umbrella??
Ronda ~ I can be so anal. I actually went through each blog I follow on Google and changed them. Can you believe that? I am nuts! 🙂 I wonder if they will stay.
LPC ~ I have Site Meter which sounds similar and is free.
I don’t see any subscription numbers in Google Reader. I would like to know where I can see this. I’m embarrassed to ask what exactly is an RSS. I thought it was email subscriptions but I don’t have that option on my blog.
Mid-blog crisis? Love it. Maybe so. Nothing that a good bottle of wine can’t solve. I love quick fixes. 🙂
Thank you so much for all the information.
i always enjoy your giveaways and wanted to pass mine along to you — it’s a mini monogrammed giveaway, building up to the BIG giveaway i have planned!
http://howimetyourfatherblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/mini-giveaway.html
Some input! Yes, I think my blog benefits from Twitter. Not so much Facebook. I follow a bunch of people, and every time I create a new blog post, I tweet about it with a link to the post! I think the only instance where your blog could benefit from Facebook is if you create a Fan/Like page for it and update it a few times a week.
Subscribe to yourself in Google Reader, if you haven’t already. Then when you are looking at your feed, click on the little label in the upper right hand that says.”show details.” Google Analytics is free too, BTW, but if you are happy with SiteMetrics probably no need to switch.
My previous comment in reply doesn’t seem to have made it here? To see the RSS followers, I think you can subscribe to yourself in Reader, then click on “show details” in the upper right hand side of the reading pane.
LPC ~ that was so much fun to do! Thank you for the tip. 🙂
I have the same problem too with my picture… I love to see my followers… I love to see my list grow. I have no idea who is following me via email. I have to admit it’s good for my ego when I see that people are following me and like my blog.
For the most part I do not plan ahead. Usually, I’m I have an idea and I’ll run with it now kinda girl.
Not sure if FB and Twitter improve my traffic all that much… though I do love them.
I do hope you are having a fabulous time with all your men and without your pearls!
Oh… I tried WordPress and didn’t like it at all so I came back to Blogger. For non technical people Blogger is much easier.