…was July 27, and I completely overlooked it!
I did think about it a few weeks ago, but forgot it again.
In the past I’ve had a giveaway to mark the occasion, but with getting ready to move this week, I think I’ll refrain.
My very first post is here. Since then I’ve had 2,002 posts, 20, 163 comments, and 74, 896 spam comments. 🙂
It’s been a very fun, learning, stretching, rewarding four years, and Lord willing, I plan to continue! Thanks to you for coming by. You’re a blessing to me!
Edited to add: Please don’t take offense if you do one of the things I mentioned I don’t like. Maybe I should have ranked these from worst to not-that-bad. 🙂 I think things like profanity or spam comments are pretty universally disliked, but some of these other things are just matters of personal preferences. If I like chocolate and you don’t, I am not offended: if you like red and I like pink, we can still get along. Some of these are just that — personal preferences. But that’s what the meme was asking for: what we liked and didn’t like and why.
I saw at Quilly‘s that Nessa has begun a meme about blogging etiquette. The basic idea is to:
On your own blog do a post listing 5 things you like about blogs, 5 things you don’t like and 5 things you do blogging that you think are cool and why you do them. Try to give the reasons why, too, so people understand your way of thinking.
However, these aren’t ironclad rules and you can feel free to list more or less as desired.
Things I like about blogs:
1. Connection. I was amazed when people first began commenting on my blog and left genuine comments, and then showed genuine care, even praying me through some difficult situations.
2. Stimulation. Many blogs stimulate me imaginatively, creatively, intellectually, spiritually.
3. Fun.
4. Good writing. Most of us just write as things come to mind, and that’s fine, but there are a few who express themselves really well, whose writing style I like as much as their content.
Things I don’t like:
1. White or light words on dark backgrounds. They are hard on the eyes and make me see the “negative” (as in reverse image, not as in not positive) for a while.
2. When an everyday average friendly blog goes commercial. I know a lot of people do ads to support the cost of the blog, if they are paying for their own domain, or to justify the time spent, etc, and I am not talking about that. But there are a few who, once they start to go that route, become more business than blog. There are two specifically (and no, I am not going to link to them) who used to be regular commenters here, and I am not even on their radar any more, even though I still commented there for a long time (I rarely do any more). But it is not just about return comments: it’s that the whole tone of their blog changed.
3. Long posts not broken up into paragraphs. I think probably most prefer short posts to long ones, but I don’t mind long ones occasionally if the subject and writing are good. But one long paragraph that could be broken up into smaller sections should be.
4. Nudity or s*xual (disguised not because I am prudish, but to avoid the wrong kind of Internet searches) jokes. If I come across anything like that on a blog, I shut it down immediately.
5. When a site gets stuck or is very slow in loading, especially when the culprit is ad-related.
6. When I comment on someone’s blog and they start sending me unsolicited e-mails urging me to come read their next post, especially when they don’t ever visit my blog. I keep up with blogs I read regularly via Google Reader. Self-promotional e-mails really irritate me. Again — I feel I need to keep balancing things out — I don’t mind an occasional thing like that. For instance, Quilly sends out an e-mail when her Punny Monday posts are ready, and that’s fine — sometimes it doesn’t show up in Google Reader for a while, sometimes she gives a bit of background, sometimes I’ve forgotten, etc. Or e-mails that are just a personal note or a continuation of a discussion — those are all fine.
7. When a blog is overly cluttered. I don’t mind sidebars, but a great lot of distracting things is…distracting. Things that move or flash, in particular, usually lessen the likelihood that I’ll spend much time there.
8. When a blog doesn’t have a search button. It’s very tedious trying to look through the archives for a post you read previously (especially if you can’t remember when you saw it) without some kind of search function.
9. I dislike the format I’m starting to see around now where blog posts show up side by side instead of being in a list form down the page. Here is an example — this is from a site I love and I don’t mean to “slam” them, but this format is so busy it’s off-putting to me. But this is a site I usually read via a feed reader and only comment on specific posts occasionally, so I don’t run into it much. In fact, I was really surprised to go to the main page and see it like that, but if it had been my first visit I probably would not have gone back.
10. When the blog posts are set up on feed readers to only show part of the post, making me have to click over to see the whole thing. A couple are set up to only show the title of the post, and honestly, I don’t always click over to those every day. There are some blogs that I click over to comment on almost every post anyway, but it just bugs me to have to for every post. And it especially bugs me if the purpose for setting it up that way is ad-related: some time back one blogger did share that she gets “credit” for how many people read her blog by how many actually click over, but she didn’t get credit for those who read via rss feeds, and that was why she only put partial posts or “teasers” in the rss feed. As I said elsewhere, I do understand why some place ads, but I don’t like to be manipulated or “used.”
10. These are more about comments than blogging, but comments are in integral part of blogging (otherwise what you have is an online journal):
Things I am on the fence about (Yes, I made up this category):
1. Music that plays automatically on blogs. Normally I don’t like it, especially if it is loud, rockish, or jarring. Usually I don’t even have music playing in my home while I am blogging: my brain can’t seem to handle both at once (though I do like playing music if I am cleaning, cooking, etc.). So I usually turn off any music or hit the mute button (and one pet peeve is when the music widget is hard to find and therefore hard to turn off.) However, a few times I have found music I really liked and even ordered through hearing it on someone’s blog.
2. Awards. I do love when someone has thought of me and tagged me. But I feel awkward tagging some people and leaving others out, and the generic “All of you take this award” seems to take some of the meaning out of it. I put all my awards on a page in my sidebar with a thank-you to the giver, but I don’t often follow the “rules” for them any more.
3. When I comment on someone’s blog, if they are going to respond, my preference would be that they visit my blog. I don’t mind an e-mail in response too much (and some responses call for that rather than a public response, and occasionally a friendly discussion will ensue via e-mail — that’s fine), but there are a few bloggers who never “return visit” someone who comments or who always respond via e-mail without ever visiting their visitors. Maybe I am wrong, but I seemed to pick up on the idea in early blogging days that it was common courtesy to try to return visit someone who commented on your blog. It’s not that I comment just to get visited — but when I repeatedly comment and that person never responds, I feel awkward and eventually stop. Then again, some people answer within their own comments, and that works really well for some, and if I know they do that I often check back after I have commented. But I have over 130 blogs in Google Reader. They don’t all post every day (I’d never be able to keep up with that many if they did), but I have a hard time some days keeping up with all the posts, much less making a return visit back to each one I have commented on.
4. I can understand the idea of having multiple blogs: I’ve thought about it myself. For instance, some of my readers are only interested in posts relating to books, and I’ve often thought of making a separate book blog. But I really don’t like visiting a blog that has frequent reminders to “Come see my post over here.” And when one blog I like splits into two or more, it makes it that much harder to keep up. I end up just reading the main blog I started with. It does work well for some people, but generally I prefer everything in one place.
5. I like devotional blogs that share thoughts from God’s Word. (Well…I like good ones, not ranting ones.) But I like them better if they show some aspect of the person’s whole personality — something funny here, something about the family there, etc. Getting some idea of the whole person makes me appreciate more what they have to say. Just a straight devotional blog can come across as just looking for an audience to preach to. That’s not necessarily wrong…just personal preference. I guess I like devotional posts that are more like sharing over a cup of coffee than a sermon outline, though I have done my share of outlines.
Things I do on my own blog:
1. I try to visit every one who comments on my blog at least once. I may miss some or not have time some days, but I try.
2. I like to change at least the picture header with the seasons. I used to change themes, but I like the features on this one the best.
3. I like to share links to other interesting things I’ve read.
4. I have a mixture of serious, devotional thoughts, fun or interesting things, “life in general” posts — a hodgepodge. But a good reflection of who I am, I think.
Wow — I’m sorry this got so long! I know that “long posts” are going to be on some people’s lists. But I guess once I got started, I wanted to get everything off my chest. I wrote most of this last night, and when I saw how long it was, decided to let it sit overnight and then come back and cut it down — but I ended up adding more, so I’d better stop!
I think some of these things would likely be on everyone’s lists, but others we would have different opinions on. That’s fine: we can disagree and still be friends. 🙂
Edited to add: Please don’t take offense if you do one of the things I mentioned I don’t like. Maybe I should have ranked these from worst to not-that-bad. 🙂 I think things like profanity or spam comments are pretty universally disliked, but some of these other things are just matters of personal preferences. If I like chocolate and you don’t, I am not offended: if you like red and I like pink, we can still get along. Some of these are just that — personal preferences. But that’s what the meme was asking for: what we liked and didn’t like and why.
Each year about this time I’ve looked back at the first blog post from each month, but this year I want to do my favorite from each month as well:
January:
First post:
New Year’s Meditations.
Favorite post:
Hard to choose between three different favorites this month, but I’ll say When children’s beliefs and practices differ from our own.
February:
First post:
Bible study on women.
Favorite post(s):
Choking anxieties and Melli’s ABC Challenge and other things I see in odd places (the post wherein I see Gene Shalit in the wallpaper…)
March:
First post:
The Conversion of Adoniram Judson.
Favorite post(s):
I have a preposition for you and Encouragement for homemakers.
April:
First post:
O Baby!
Favorite post:
Yes, I got dressed in a hurry. Why do you ask?
May:
First post:
Poetry Friday: Ode to Hay Fever.
Favorite post(s):
Graduation dinner and The visible teaches of the invisible.
June:
First post:
Preaching personalities.
Favorite post:
Of lists and marriage.
July:
First post:
A Thousand Words in Idioms: O and P.
Favorite post:
Things I remember from childhood.
August:
First post:
Reasons why prayers aren’t answered (this was actually the second post as the first one was a contest winner announcement.)
Favorite post:
The Wedding.
September:
First post:
Book Review: How Do I Love Thee?
Favorite post:
Another tie between Helpers and Thoughts from the toy store.
October:
First post:
Melli’s September Photo Scavenger Hunt (Hey, Melli — when’s the next one? 😀 )
Favorite post:
Hard to choose this month! Couldn’t decide between God does so much more than “show up” and Fathers and sons and a couple of others.
November:
First post:
All of These.
Favorite post:
What He Is To Me.
December:
First post:
Book Review: The Heirloom.
Favorite post:
On our 30th anniversary: 30 things I love about my husband.
I’ve enjoyed talking a couple of days to skim back over the posts of each month. I wish I had done so before writing our Christmas letter — there were some things I had forgotten about! But I like how these encapsulate the different things I focus on in my blog: meditations on Scriptural truth, family, books, and fun posts.
…you might want to read this interview with Richard Cleland of the Federal Trade Commission, which is revising its guidelines concerning bloggers who do product reviews.
I can understand the need to disclose to readers that a post is a paid post or that a book or product being reviewed has been received for free in exchange for a review. But Cleland is mistaken that “there’s an expectation that you’re going to write a positive review.” Well, there may be that expectation on the part of the company sending out products for review, but most reviewers I’ve read don’t hesitate to say when they don’t like an item. But I can understand that some might provide a positive review in exchange for compensation, and the FTC wants to disclose that relationship.
This, however, seems overkill to me:
In the case of books, Cleland saw no problem with a blogger receiving a book, provided there wasn’t a linked advertisement to buy the book and that the blogger did not keep the book after he had finished reviewing it. Keeping the book would, from Cleland’s standpoint, count as “compensation” and require a disclosure.
A link back to a site where the product can be bought seems to me to just save a step in the process for the reader. And if every book reviewer had to send back the books they read, that just seems unnecessarily burdensome. Most books I’ve reviewed average about $12 or so — that seems like awfully small potatoes for the FTC to be worried about. I do know book reviewers who then give away the books they’ve received in connection with their review. I wonder if that is acceptable?
For the record, I mainly review books here that I have purchased just because I enjoy them and want to share them with others who might enjoy them. There have been just a handful that I’ve reviewed after receiving a request to do so and a free copy of the book, and I am pretty sure I have disclosed that in all of the reviews. So far I have turned down requests for reviews of books whose authors I am unfamiliar with.
You can find a good explanation of the FTC’s guidelines at Blogging Basics 101.
Thanks so much for all your sweet birthday wishes! My family gave me a wonderful birthday — I’m thinking I might save the particulars for the next Friday’s Fave Five post.
Some of your comments gave rise to a question, though:
How do you get those musical notes in your comments?
Those were so neat — and there are times I’ve wanted to do that but didn’t know it could be done.
I have some assorted puttering around to do today — a little cleaning, a few errands, etc. But I wanted to share with you some great things I’ve read recently. Some of these are blogs I am subscribed to through Google Reader — some I found through a series of links that I forgot to make note of.
Studying love at Making Home — great study of I Corinthinas 13.
Gifted Moms — funny post from Christian comedian Cheryl Moeller.
Before I was a Mom — poignant post on love learned as a mom by The Diaper Diaries.
Interview with Stephen King and Jerry Jenkins — the latter of the Left Behind series as well as several other books, the former of…well, who doesn’t know about Stephen King? I haven’t actually read his books — I don’t do scary — and the only film I’ve seen based on one of his books was Stand By Me, and I really enjoyed that. But though the authors are opposite in some ways, they have some similarities and mutual respect, and I thought this interview was quite interesting.
On the craft front — I love these little collages by Charlotte Lyons at house wren studio.
I’ve mentioned before that I was looking for ideas for craft storage or craft/sewing rooms: here are links to some inspiring ones I’ve found.
Lynn at Queen of the Castle is hosting agiveaway for the book Making It Home.
Reason #4,926 why I love him by Carpoolqueen. Just go read it. It’s hilarious.
Have a wonderful Saturday!
Thanks so much to those of you who commented on my Third Blogiversary post! Your words warmed my heart immensely.
I used Random.org to choose a number, counted down to the corresponding post, and the winner of the giveaway is…
I’ll be contacting you shortly! Congratulations!
Three years ago today I started this blog inauspiciously with this post.
A while back Thom had a quiz about types of bloggers. I found I had more than one answer to the questions: if I answered them one way I came up as a “pundit” blogger who likes to post things to think about; answering another way, I got “life blogger” — someone posts about family and everyday life. I don’t know if there was a “community blogger” category, but I like that side of blogging, too — keeping up with folks I’ve come to know, having fun with memes and quizzes and things like that. I’ve always described my blog as a hodgepodge.
A while back on a meme about blogging, in answer to the question about goals I wrote:
I want first of all to be used of the Lord. I want to share His truth and encourage people to read and heed His Word and get to know Him better. I want to be an encouragement to other women. I want to be able to be a help and testimony to people with transverse myelitis and other trials. I want to improve my writing by writing. I want to have fun. I think I have accomplished a little in all those areas and hope to continue to.
I share the same struggles as other bloggers in trying to keep in balance and perspective the time blogging takes. I struggle with my blogging “voice” sometimes.
But overall I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and plan to continue!
Just for fun, though it may not interest anyone but me, I thought I’d post a few stats:
Posts: 1,573
Comments: 15,851
Spam comments: 55,782 🙄
Some of the most viewed posts:
Christmas Devotional reading
Recipe for a happy marriage
Works-For-Me Wednesday: More chicken tenderloin recipes
When there is no hunger for God’s Word
Thursday Thirteen: Favorite Q&A joke
I Corinthians 13 applied to Christmas
Encouragement for mothers of young children
I really, really appreciate those of you who come by to read and especially to comment. So to say thank you, I am having a little giveaway. On Saturday I’ll choose from one of the comments left on this post and send the winner a copy of one of my favorite books, By Searching by Isobel Kuhn, and one of my favorite CDs, Hear My Prayer, a recording of hymns played on the guitar by Mathew Burtner. I’m willing to ship internationally. If you’re not interested in the giveaway, just mention that, but I do hope you’ll leave a comment letting me know you’re “out there!”
(Photo is from the stock xchng.)
I don’t watch Jon and Kate Plus 8. I’ve caught just a few minutes of it here and there as I’ve flipped through channels. My fleeting impressions were that Kate was high-strung and somewhat disrespectful of her husband and that Jon seemed to be just…there.
I am very sad to hear that they are planning to divorce. I would hope they’d go for some type of counseling. All too often I have known of people to struggle silently in their marriages and then decide to divorce without trying to get help in the mean time, and it seems once that course of action is decided, the door is shut to any thought of healing and reconciliation. I am from a divorced family. The Bible calls marriage a coming together of a man and woman to become one flesh, and the rending of that relationship is just as painful as real flesh tearing.
But what also saddens me is the “chatter” I’m seeing on various blogs and Facebook about them, especially among Christians, whose speech is supposed to be “always with grace, seasoned with salt,” (seasoned with salt, not primarily consisting of salt.)
I admit I struggle with where the lines are between evaluation and judgment, criticism vs. critcal thinking, discussion and gossip. I don’t always know where the line is that crosses from one to the other.
I do know it is a major mistake to assign motives when we don’t know what is going on in another’s heart.
Of course, inviting the public into your everday lives means they are going to see faults and failures as well as everyday life, and of course we can learn from others’ mistakes. But that doesn’t mean we can’t exerise compassion as well.
…on the post “Caring for Elderly Parents,” I apologize, but it was accidentally deleted. It was in my spam folder, which I do check every day, because sometimes legitimate comments get caught in there. But I only skim those posts lightly because they are so often vile (why do spammers not find better uses of their time??!!) I skimmed through the spam comments, clicked delete, and just before it disappeared saw what looked like a legitimate lengthy comment on the post about elderly parents, mentioning something about coming up to the one year mark of having moved my mother-in-law near to us. I checked with the WordPress support forum, and there is no way to get it back.
I hope whoever left that comment sees this and resubmits it. I would very much like to read what you had to say! My apologies again.
Janice and Susan at 5 Minutes For Mom are hosting their annual Ultimate Blog Party, a chance “meet and greet” other bloggers and to introduce your blog. It runs from March 20-27 and includes the opportunity to win a plethora of prizes. It’s a way to make new friends and let others know what your blog is about. It’s not restricted to mom-bloggers or even bloggers: anyone can join in. More details are here, and the links to other party posts are here.
Please make yourself at home, and help yourself to a Congo bar.
For those who don’t know me, my name is Barbara. I usually comment as Barbara H. just to distinguish myself from other Barbaras out there. I became a Christian in my teens. I am a 51 year old mother of three, married 29 years to my wonderful husband, Jim. Our 30th wedding anniversary is this December. My boys are 24, 21, and 15. None have left the nest yet, but my oldest is working on being able to support himself after being “downsized” at his job, and my middle son graduates from college in May and will be getting married in August. I am treasuring these last few months with everyone home but also excited about the future.
I’ve been blessed to be a stay-at-home mom ever since my first pregnancy. Besides keeping the home fires burning, I’m active in the ladies’ ministry at our church and in ministering to my mother-in-law at a nearby assisted living facility. I love to read and have just gotten back into cross stitch the last year or so (though I need a lot of magnification to do it now!) I’ve been blogging for almost three years. Though my blog is a conglomeration of my “stray thoughts,” both serious and silly, one of my main desires is to encourage women in the ministries God has given them, first at home and them outward to others, and to encourage us to keep in God’s Word. You’ll see those topics reflected in my favorite posts listed in the sidebar: I invite you to peruse those as you have time.
At the moment I can’t get into the 5 Minutes for Mom site because of all the heavy traffic for the Blog Party, but as soon as it settles down, you’ll be able to find the links to the details from the front page of their site. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you again!
In order to be eligible for the aforementioned prizes, we’re required to put links to the top three prize providers we’re interested in and numbers from the prize list for all the rest. The prizes I am interested in are:
#19: A $50 Target gift card provided by Shoot-Me-Now.
#21: A $50 gift card to Target from Agoosa.
#22: A $50 Target gift card provided by Beginner Baby Blog.
And if my top three picks are already chosen, I’d love any of the following (in order of preference):
68, 26, 91, 109, 113, 118, 123, USC 15, USC 47, USC56, 86, 114, 121.
Stray Thoughts 