tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692998196257456390.post4168311540930338607..comments2023-08-24T05:35:37.999-07:00Comments on YA for the YAt Heart: Blogging--My New InsecurityMelaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03696084321447737813noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692998196257456390.post-7637586384397007982010-09-16T04:55:45.023-07:002010-09-16T04:55:45.023-07:00Hey Guys,
Wow. Thank you so much for your words o...Hey Guys,<br /><br />Wow. Thank you so much for your words of support and understanding. Each and everyone of you have made very interesting points. I have mulled over all your comments and I feel much, much better and have a better perspective on things. <br /><br />@Angie, you hit it just right. it totally messes with your psyche, but i'm coming to realize that blogging is not about what receiving, but giving. If I can pound that into my head enough times then i think i i will be able to put this insecurity in check.<br /><br />@Jennifer, you are so right. it's not a popularity contest and i need to keep that in mind. i also need to remember i'm still very new in this all and like any author, it takes time (and a real kick ass story) to develop a true following :-). and i also need to keep in mind that i ultimately started this blog because i read that it's important to have web presence and since i don't face book or tweet (as of yet), this is all i've got.<br /><br />@Joann, thank you thank you thank you. you are so so right. i'd rather have a small group of followers who really care about what i say (my regulars, so to speak) then to have some superficial number of followers who joined for their own self-serving reason or because of some auto button that joined them to my blog.<br /><br />@ Fiona, you right. i do need to remember that i read other people's blogs and don't always comment whether because of time constraints or because i don't feel i have anything valuable to add or for whatever reason i just didn't connect to that particular post (even though it may be very interesting). it's a two-way street. sometimes, i read, get the info i need and move on to reading the next blog on my list. it is hard to keep up with all of them sometimes, which is why i will keep my list limited. gotta keep it real, right?<br /><br />@Nomes, yeah, funny you should say that. i have been debating doing a contest, but i feel like i'd be doing it just to get more followers who are looking to follow to win a prize and not because they are interested in my blog. i think i will wait until i have more followers that i've earned on my blog content alone rather a contest. i don't want followers based on that. it's just not me. not saying others shouldn't have done it, but i'll admit, i have not joined one single blog for a contest yet. i think it's fake and sometimes it's a good way to intro a blog to others who may not otherwise know about someone's blog and has great info and posts to offer. i think that is exactly what happened with Angie's contest and what she was saying. She got more people who joined her blog but didn't enter the contest because there is this weird feeling that it seems kind of "fake" to become a follower just because you want something free. Chee-sey. (IMO). if i like someone's blog, i will join and follow and wait for the next contest when i feel like i'm already a interested in their blog.<br /><br /><br />Thanks again guys. you have all offered me something wonderful. i feel much better and whole lot less insecure about the blogging world.Melaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03696084321447737813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692998196257456390.post-48663645350706896512010-09-15T16:09:00.328-07:002010-09-15T16:09:00.328-07:00a blog I follow had 230 followers two weeks ago an...a blog I follow had 230 followers two weeks ago and now has 650. insane, right? they ran some competitions - book vouchers and bam! (they also linked their competition to a site that has 1000+ followers.<br /><br />but, i would much prefer people to follow me b/c they're interested in what i say. or... something :)<br /><br />it's a little humbling when someone follows you. i also like to get to know my followers back and that can be exhausting - reading and commenting on all their blogs. i guess i mainly comment on the blogs who are people who comment on mine and we feel like we have a relationship or whatever. (otherwise i could spend all day commenting on blogs)<br /><br />blogging is such a weird thing.<br /><br />i was surprised once i started that i had stuff i was pumped about that i wanted to share - and i like going on about authors and books and talking about them in a community of people who get psyched like i do.<br /><br />and i am so pumped you have a blog - i love the stuff you share and your thoughts on things :)Nomeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07995363401476834241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692998196257456390.post-32396253341068296872010-09-15T13:13:59.792-07:002010-09-15T13:13:59.792-07:00I think those of us who aren't out just to get...I think those of us who aren't out just to get popular all go through those moments of 'maybe I'm no doing this right' when we realise that we have very few followers and almost no comments. It's hard not to get caught up in the feeling that after months of blogging you should have more followers, that each post you spend hours planning should get more than 1 comment and that no one is really reading along. I like to remind myself that I read blogs and don't comment so other people must do that too.<br /><br />I'd also like to point out that I've been blogging for over a year now and you have more followers than me and your posts always seem to get more comments than any of mine. Not that I'm jealous or anything. I should really work on my posts more, I know that.Fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17890775614132785654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692998196257456390.post-77044193750211992292010-09-15T12:14:41.055-07:002010-09-15T12:14:41.055-07:00Great post, Mel, and I totally get what you're...Great post, Mel, and I totally get what you're saying. I echo much of what Jenny said (she helped me get past my own insecurity early on because of her total awesomeness). I'm in my third month of blogging and I have very few followers, but those I do have are absolutely fabulous. They comment regularly (like YOU!), they say such smart things that make me think, and they're loyal. I couldn't ask for more.<br /><br />BUT it's so easy to believe there's something wrong with me or my content when those follower numbers don't go up for weeks at a time or I'm getting only a comment or two. I had a big realization not too long ago - I often seek external validation for what I hope is an internal reality. In other words, I want people to validate that I'm a good writer, a good designer, a good person. And, boy, is that a lot to put on people! Once the realization hit, the solution was right there too. Now I blog, design, and write, not to gain approval, but because it makes me happy and because every word I type and every video I create gets me closer to that internal reality.<br /><br />p.s. You rock!Joann Swansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16887227115980242205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692998196257456390.post-29573600378164626562010-09-15T10:32:44.830-07:002010-09-15T10:32:44.830-07:00When I started blogging a year and a half ago (I s...When I started blogging a year and a half ago (I shudder to think of how many hours I've spent on the web when I should have been writing fiction), I was really hung up on comments. Or should I say, lack of. Hardly anybody ever commented, and I used to get paranoid thinking nobody was reading, or that they were reading but weren't connecting to anything I was saying.<br /><br />Now I don't think about it much. The reason I started blogging in the first place was not to be popular or have a thousand followers (I only added that widget over the summer), it's to chronicle my journey to getting published. I write for me, and I write for my friends and family who I know are reading, even though most don't have Google accounts and most don't comment. I also wanted to carve out a space for myself in cyberworld in case I ever got published -- nobody likes an author with no web presence.<br /><br />Comments and followers are lovely, don't get me wrong, but I'm amazed at how many blogs I've read that are huge on followers and light on content. Not mentioning names, but I have read blogs that have upwards of 500 followers and all they ever seem to do is have contests -- which is probably why they have so many followers. Are they popular? Sure. Are their blogs interesting? No. <br /><br />But I totally understand the insecurity. I feel it every day too.Jennifer Hillierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15783975547643539868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692998196257456390.post-61757546863478692762010-09-15T10:30:22.564-07:002010-09-15T10:30:22.564-07:00Wow - I did not know about that feature. That woul...Wow - I did not know about that feature. That would actually kind of bug me, I think. Sort of a loss of personal control although I suppose it doesn't matter. It's always up to you if want to actually go visit the blog and check out their latest post. I do totally get what you're saying about the followers numbers though and what it does to your psyche. I look at some of these blogs where the followers numbers really go up and I wonder what the heck it is they're doing right that I'm doing wrong. Here's a funny thing - during the contest that I had, I got 15 new followers but only half of those actually entered the contest. So truth be told, it wasn't boosting my numbers as much as I thought it would and I'm still getting the same number of comments that I had before. The contest was fun though, so I think I'll do another one in a couple months. Anywho, keep blogging Mel. I'm listening at least.:)Angiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12526875813399934443noreply@blogger.com