"Inspiration, expectation, exasperation, concentration and wit." Toss those ingredients into the industrial strength wordsmiths blender that is, Barking Mad, and you have this month's Remarkable Blogger©.
One dog, two cats, three teens, one toddler, one Brit and one all American author make for some of the most hilarious posts you could ask for. Add a couple of extremely large spiders and well, just go read for yourself.
I found this blog a few months ago, while searching for new writers. And though it was her husband's post that pulled at my heart-strings, as I've come to know Auds, I've realized the beauty and the stripped bare honesty of the person that she is. Her blogging roots run deep as she details her early experiences with the craft. And like most of us, her baptism was born of necessity to keep far away family and friends in the loop. (Just happened they were an ocean away)
I first discovered blogging about eight years ago when there wasn't much of a "community" to speak of. It was pretty prehistoric back then, but I kept it in mind as a means to express myself. It wasn't until the spring of 2005 when we discovered we were expecting our own little AmeriBrit baby that I decided to publicly publish my thoughts as I went through the pregnancy. My hubby is from the UK and at the time we were going through the immigration process to get his Permanent Residence Card and he was there and I was here. We were flying back and forth across the pond every six weeks or so, selling the house over there (originally after we married in '03 I immigrated over there but we decided to return to the states for various reasons) and blogging was a means to keep families on both sides of the pond up to date on the pregnancy. The hubby had also just lost his dad and I wanted to make sure I journaled every single thing I could for the baby. Besides, I knew once she got here, that I'd be crap at keeping her baby book updated and our initial blog, AmeriBrit Baby, was the ultimate "baby book" for me. Add to that the fact we almost lost her when she decided to make an unscheduled early appearance, it was a Godsend to be able to update west coast family and Europe family via the net, as well as friends, and others who were concerned.
Never shy about what gets next to her be it, spiders or dogs , or neighbors who whistle too early in the day; Auds gave me the 411 on what her biggest peeves
...this notion of exclusionary cliques and groups of bloggers who are perceived as seeing themselves as better than the rest. I've never experienced that and from my own experience, I've been embraced by the very women that unfairly get called out as being in the center of these mythical cliques. Ask me again tomorrow what my biggest social media pet peeve is and it might very well be the fact that Twitter is a huge time suck and I'm addicted!
and addictions are when it comes to blogging.
...I'd have to say Twitter. I got rid of my blog reader and between my blog roll, bookmarks, and the folks that post blog updates to Twitter, it's how I stay on top of new stuff. Plus I love the back and forth banter.
I asked Auds who she reads when she's not reading the Bird or Twittering about the Casa. While her blogroll is extensive and I'm ultra sure her bookmark list must be off the map, true to her style, her immediate answer was heartfelt.
Even though I've been publicly blogging for more than three years now, I've only been aware of the awesome "community" of bloggers and writers for just under two. But since day one I have always read I am Bossy. Even on days like yesterday when all I want to do is crawl into bed and not do anything except dissolve into the mattress, I ALWAYS READ BOSSY. Her style is completely her own and she never fails to put a smile on my face. I think part of her charm is the fact that she writes in third person, her artwork is unique and who could not help but fall in love with her devotional to John Cusack. Why do I think other's should read her? Well, one might fall into the depths of a deep depression after watching the evening news, or reading the paper...go and read Bossy, you can't help but laugh and forget yourself and the world for a few minutes.
Defining moments in our blogs are usually hard for us to pinpoint. While our readers can generally take the pulse of a blog post immediately, its often difficult as authors to get a handle on it. Nonetheless, I went to Auds, looking for her defining blog post. I think you'll all agree, the sheer transparency in her writing and her ability to convey what's on her mind and in her heart, though not a definition in total of her, certainly shows her depth of compassion, of hope, and promise for healing.
This is difficult for me because things change from one day to the next around here. I think everyone who reads the blog knows that right now I'm having a bit of a tough time but I really hope that isn't something that "defines" me. I am tempted to say "I am THAT Mom" is defining...but really, it's only a part of me. However, having said that, I think that post, if we're being singular, has to be it because I know it's possible to make something out of being "THAT Mom." I've spent the last eighteen years trying to define myself after the loss of a child. It IS possible and I'm proof of that.
Not just a Remarkable Blogger©, a Remarkable mother, wife, daughter and writer. Pop over and give her a read. Then just try and tell me you don't agree! And don't forget to tell her congratulations!
Wordle courtesy of Wordle.net
This is not a plea for comments for THIS blog. I talk about my chronic commentitis here. I use my blog only as a reference point. Instead, this is a reminder that comments are like chocolate, really good if they're rich and have some substance to them. And that if you can’t comment, you can still help out the bloggers that you like. A big shout out to Mommie Pie and Bloghernot 2008. I'll be participating in a big way!
At the time of this blog posting, over 543 people receive this blog in their RSS reader (or via email). 
Another 2,000 - 4,000 come to the site directly, depending on the day and the post. Add those up, and let’s say that around 5,000 people come here daily to read my stuff. (Hey, don't laugh, I'm pretty jazzed about those numbers.)
If 1% of you commented, that’d be 50. (I’m bad at math. Did I do that right?) The average post on here gets a respectable 10 or so comments, but that’s about 1/3 of 1% then, of the folks who get a copy of each post. Ok, enough of the math class stuff.
This got me thinking about the other great blogs that I love. (That Hotwire© List over on the side bar isn't just there for looks. I ACTUALLY read those!)
I read several hundred blog posts a day. I comment on maybe five or six, if there is something I feel compelled to say. So I’m in there with you. I’m not commenting much, either. Does that make us bad ? Not really. If I’m able to leave a decent and thoughtful comment, I know that the other blogger will appreciate it. Sometimes, I even get a nice little email from them saying so. Comment Relish is a great little Word Press plug in that sends an e-mail message to users who comment on your website who have never commented before.
Sometimes, it’s a matter of time. I've read a blog post, and the comment I want to leave will take some time to phrase properly( I HATE TO LEAVE ONE WORD COMMENTS, Just as much as I hate receiving them) or I just don't have the time to comment right then. If that's the problem you have, here are some other ways to help:
If You Don’t Have Time to Comment
- Bookmark the post in a social bookmarking site (so others might find it).(Don't have a clue how to do this? Check here and for a comprehensive list of Social Sites check Blog Marketing Tactics. Another Word Press plug in Social Home adds a sidebar widget containing a subtle list of all your social homes as linked favicons.
- Share it in Google Reader.
- “Like” it in FriendFeed.
- Tweet about it in Twitter or Plurk it
- Stumble it in StumbleUpon.
- If it’s "really" really good, Digg it. (Note the emphasis on really)
- Note it on Facebook.
- Talk about it on My Space.
You get the picture. If you enjoy something, but don’t have the chance to comment due to time, another great way to be helpful is to move it along to others in your network. That’s why there are social software tools to begin with. Making better use of them can benefit us all.
And now that I think about it, because he has comments turned off (for his own reasons and don't try to send him email either), how does Seth Godin know when he’s hit one out of the park? (Remember Seth? He's the Purple Cow guy) Del.icio.us? Links? Hmmmm.
I love my comments. They're how I know you're really reading what I type here. They're often better than the post, (don't get me started on the spam comments) and they usually tells me when I’ve hit a home run!
I could probably list 100 blogs that deserve more comments without breaking a glow. (You know Girls Raised In The South don't sweat, we glow) You probably could, too. One might even be yours. If you want to talk about your blog in the comments section here, what it’s about, and why someone might want to come by and comment, that might be fun. Give it a try. I promise I'll try to respond to your comment. I've found that responding to comments, either by email or by response comment, gives the original commenter a little warm fuzzy. Which is nice, don't you think?
Part 7 in the Remarkable Bloggers© Series
Finding a blog for this issue of Remarkable Bloggers© turned into a chore. In fact, I'd all but given up on finding anything really remarkable to write about. Technology blogs, humor blogs, writing blogs, marketing blogs. I searched and searched. Mommy blogs, whines, pictures of kids with too much information. Still nothing "remarkable". I stewed in my own juices and kept on reading. And then...what I assumed was just another "mommy blog" popped into my screen. I read, A Letter, Re-written.then I read more and more. I got chicken skin. This could be the next Remarkable Blogger©. As I continued to read this blog, I became enamored with this blogger. Her compassion, her strength, her intention to care, her utterly clear outlook on life (despite a wild turn of events), and her from the gut writing all blend to make a Remarkable Blog©. This one is a MUST READ.
When I emailed the Jenn, the author of Serving The Queens, I expected a diatribe about a tough life and tougher yet circumstances. Again, I was surprised.
Back in the day, I used to write about things that touched me and email them, or (egads!) snail mail them to family and friends. One day, someone said to me, "You should start a blog". "What is this blog thing that you speak of," asked I, and so it began. I was surprised and humbled when people began stumbling upon it and reading me regularly.
I've been taken aback a few times by mean comments or emails with critical messages, from what kind of mother am I to not commenting on other blogs. And I struggle now with people that know me reading my blog, later using the words that I write against me. (If you don't like it, don't read it.)
But, Jenn says life keeps her blogging.
writing is my outlet, my expression; my Prozac, I suppose.
While she'd rather focus on the commonality of the writers in her niche and the ties that bind them, Serving The Queens is truly a stellar example of blogging. When asked who she'd most like to meet and have guest post on her blog, her answer was clear.
You know, actually, I'd just love to meet some of my fellow bloggers--Slouching Mom, Lawyer Mama, The Wink--some of the people that inspire me so often and that I wish I could just wrap my arms around.
So, while you're thinking that those "rockstar" mommy bloggers who rant about their "rockstar" lives and detail much more than you need to know are all there is in this vast niche called "Mommy Blogging", think again. And remember what happens when you ass-u-me.
- I am not a rockstar mommy blogger and honestly if it takes imitating one to be on top , I'm out
- I am opinionated, sometimes snarky, but never vulgar. (see Girl Raised In The South)
- If they (or anyone (ahem)) offers to publish my book, I'm all over it
- I do not consider celebrity gossip sites w/7 paid editors a blog
- If they (or anyone) tried to hire me, I would consider it (dangling participle and all)
- I Love Comments (seriously I do)
- I have 1 dogs, 1 cats , 2 kids, 2 grand-kids, a husband (sometimes) & a melange of extended relatives
- I don't know if I like dogs, cats, kids, husbands or relatives
- Being frugal doesn't mean being broke. It keeps you from being that way
- I want to be your favorite
Today's post is guest written by Will from the blog Healthy Living for People and Planet Earth . The rabbit has nothing to say about Blogger. An explanation of what he is up to can be found here.
I visit many Blogger or BlogSpot blogs. A few of my favorite bloggers use Google's Blogger platform. In fact one of the most frequent visitors and the top commentator on my blog is Anna, who uses Blogger for My Only Photo . So, I have nothing at all against the people who use that platform for their blogging. If I really like a Blogger site or the person writing the posts, I will go to the trouble of commenting no matter what. But if I am visiting a Blogger site for the first time and the pop up comment box is used on that site, I am gone, never to return.
Some of the recent problems have been brought on by Google itself. As I wrote about in this article, in November of last year, Google, without notice, eliminated the ability for anyone to comment and link their name to their website. After the uproar caused by many articles like mine, Google added the open ID feature. This still did not quiet things down and as I wrote here , Google finally backtracked, allowing commentators to leave their name and URL with a comment.
If you use Blogger, you should use the changes Google made and make it as easy as possible for your visitors to leave comments. To help you make sure you have your Blogger site set up correctly, here are a few friendly suggestions that have been shown to increase the number of people regularly visiting and commenting on BlogSpot blogs.
First, don't use the pop-up comment box. This is the most important suggestion. If you start a new Blogger site, don't even think of using it, and if you do use it already, get rid of it today. Use the comment form that opens in its own new page. This form has the added helpful feature of a link to show the original post while you are commenting. Here is a link to the actual comment page being used on Anna's blog. I could make a list of reasons why you should not use the pop-up, but please just take my word on it, don't use it.
Once you have the proper comment page in place, make sure you show the two boxes needed by those of use without Google or Blogger ID's. This allows commentators to use real names and websites by entering their name and URL. You can see those two boxes in the image in this post or at the full size image linked above. Please note that I don't mean the Open ID box. That is there also, but the additional radio button drop-down labeled "Name/URL" with the two boxes for "name" and "URL" must also be included.
My last suggestion is that you absolutely do not use one of those captcha boxes on your blog comment form. I understand that spam comments are a real problem. I have been told that Google does not provide anything to stop spam comments. I find this hard to believe, but since I don't use Blogger, I will have to take the actual user's word for it. Those of us with self-hosted WordPress sites are spoiled by the Akismet plugin that comes with WordPress. I get hundreds, if not thousands of comment spam attempts every week. But with Akismet running, it is rare for even one to slip through. Because I have to help of Akismet, I don't need to moderate comments on my blog, but if you feel you must moderate in an effort to limit spam, do that rather than using a captcha box.
If Blogger does not have any way other than a captcha box to stop spam, then I make this my final suggestion.... Every single person you know that uses Blogger should be asked to contact Google and ask them to put a tool in place to stop comment spam. Point to Akismet for WordPress as a good example. If a month goes by with no change, contact them again. Google tried to take the easy way out last fall by eliminating the name and URL boxes. That backfired on them and they listened to the hue and cry of their users. Maybe an uproar asking for a better way to stop comment spam will also get their attention.
As a final, (and of course gentle), suggestion, you could always consider changing to a different blogging platform... like, maybe, WordPress.
-Will
