Dear Blogger team

I have been blogging for 7 months now and was just wondering if you could maybe help me out ...
1. Any chance of reducing spamming such that word verification would be a totally unnecessary function?
2. Any possibility that you can prompt when someone's trying to leave a nasty comment...something along the lines of..."Hey, that's not very nice!"...then we won't need comment moderation and approval...?
3. Any chance that URLs are automatically linked so that we don't have to do html coding when leaving a simple direct link to our post?
4. Any chance of working out all the existing bugs in the current widgets instead of adding new widgets?
5. Is it possible to click on a commenter's name and be brought immediately to their last blog post instead of having to go to the user profile?
6. Can we have a lot less down time?
7. Can you tell me why my comments sometimes disappear into a mysterious black hole when I am in the middle of writing one?
8. Can I get the awesome post I wrote yesterday that I intended to post today that *gasp* is no longer in my drafts folder? Why? Why? Why?
9. Why do I have to constantly clear my cache & cookies before I can load pictures?
10.Why do IE users always get an error message?
11. Why doesn't anybody from Google blogger respond to my queries? Hey, I need help!
12. Why can't I leave a comment on a blog?
13. Should I switch to a different platform?

Inspired by Thursday 13. Pin It

13 ways to get more blog comments

Whew! I made it! 6 months of blogging. [I did a post at 3 months.]. So now I'm way past people just visiting my blog, I want them to comment. Don't you just love comments? :)

I did a little research, both online and through some books I found at the library. Here are 13 ways to get more people to comment. These are not exhaustive. Some I've tried, some I haven't.

1. Write short posts. Especially if you want people to read through your entire post.

2. If your topic is really descriptive, add pictures to sustain interest. And keep important points at the beginning of the post.

3. Ask questions. Try to do it subtly in the beginning and at the end. People love to answer questions. Somehow "what do you think?" is a better call to action than "let me know what you think".

4. Respond to your commenters. Reply to their questions. Visit their blogs. Familiarity breeds participation. Whenever I participate in memes, I always visit blogs of people who have left me lovely comments first because I remember them..:).

5. Relevant content. Content can be targeted for a niche group of people or to a wider audience. People like to respond to something they can relate to. Just last month, I blogged about something as mundane as scissors and people commented and answered my questions. I guess it's because everybody has a pair somewhere.

6. As much as you wish to be thorough, leave your post a little open-ended so that readers will comment to point out to you what you missed out.

7. Have a giveaway. Personally, I haven't tried this but by observation, this seems to work. Have you tried it?

8. Ask for help in solving problems...people are generally helpful and sympathetic.

9. Visit blogs and leave meaningful comments. This really really works. I no longer leave meaningless single word comments that add no value because you really get what you give...:)

10. Disable the word verification function. Apparently this is a turn-off for a lot of people. Personally, when I experience difficulty in leaving a comment (because blogger sometimes hangs at this stage), I just don't. I've disabled this function for two weeks now and so far no spam and a few more comments I think....:) Have any of you had problems?

11. Substantiate your posts with relevant links. Check to make sure the links work.

12. Be positive. No one likes to read a whiny post. Vent if you must but stay generally upbeat. I gave up visiting a blog entirely because the writer blamed everyone else for her "miserable life" and the language was totally offensive. Have you had such an experience?

13. Be yourself. You don't have to be an open book but people respond positively to authenticity.

I leave you with this post on how to leave a great comment. There's a hilarious YouTube video in it that you must watch! Oh yeah, before you go, have you left a comment on my post? ;)

Inspired by Thursday 13. Pin It

Happy day

Supplies: Patterned paper: October Afternoon, Cardstock: Bazzill, Letter brad: EK Success, Stickers: Toga, Felt leaves: Queen & Co, Wood letter: Kaiser Craft, Others: Red paint, white pen.

I believe in the power of visualization and affirmation. Do you?

We see things we want to see. Even when others don't see the same things. It is good if we can visualize the happy things that we want in life. It is bad if we dwell too much on the unhappy past. There's nothing we can do about the past but our future is certainly in our hands. I choose to have a happy day. Everyday. I hope you do too. :)

Inspired by Sunday Scribblings & Card Patterns. Pin It

Do good guys finish last?

The other day, my 80 year old grandma said something that I found absurd. At least initially. She said that there is no need to be overly nice because good people don't always triumph in life. Her observation stems from watching drama serials on television where the "good" guys "die off" in the early episodes while the "bad" guy remains "smug and arrogant" till the very last episode. Sometimes, the "bad" guy gets punished, at other times, the ending is open-ended. I told her that it only happens in "reel" life. But it really got me thinking - do good guys really finish last?

Inspired by this week's prompt at Sunday Scribblings. Pin It

Driving

Do you like to drive? I do. I know a lot of people drive just to get to places. I love the driving experience. Especially when I'm alone. Just cruising and singing along to the music on the stereo. I suppose that it does help that I live on a small island and it takes probably an hour to drive from one end to the other. Along with the joys of driving, there are some things I don't like about driving... Can you relate?

1. Meeting drivers on the road who overtake you, then proceed to drive very very SLOWLY. I'm not a speed demon nor a road hog and honestly can't understand why any driver would want to do this. Totally unnecessary and extremely irritating.

2. Meeting pedestrians who cross the street 5 metres away from the pedestrian crossing, then give you the EVIL eye when you honk to warn them that you are approaching.

3. Wondering why there is a jam on the highway I'm on when the accident that just occurred is in the opposite direction.

4. Meeting drivers who drive exceedingly SLOW in the fast lane.

5. Meeting drivers who drive with their signal lights blinking for a really LONG time. This really drives me crazy somehow.

6. Meeting drivers who swerve in and out of traffic like they are Formula One drivers.

7. Meeting drivers who constantly step on their brakes when it's apparent that there is no obvious obstacle ahead.

8. Meeting pedestrians who cross the road extremely SLOWLY when the green man is blinking (This excludes old folks and people with children) and I'm trying to make a turn.

9. Meeting drivers who don't turn on their headlights when driving at night.

10. Tailgating.

11. Cyclists who want to be both MOTORISTS and PEDESTRIANS. All rules are in their favor.

12. Meeting drivers who cut into your lane without signaling their intentions thus forcing you to jam your brakes.

13. Pedestrians who cross behind a car when it is REVERSING.

Inspired by Thursday 13. Pin It

Soul Mates

Do you believe in soul mates?

I do. There are some people that I naturally gravitate to. I may not even have anything in common with them. It just feels nice and comfortable to be in their company. My paternal grandfather made me feel that way. When he was alive, I would visit him weekly. We would chat about the most trivial of things like the weather or what we had for lunch. Yet, there was this warm comfortable feeling that can't be described in words. When he passed on, it was like a piece of me just died along with him.

Then there have been people I have met just once and there is this intense chemistry. Our chi just agrees with each other's. I've always believe that attraction is instant and I always trust my instincts. Some of my closest friendships have been based on this. These may not be friends I meet frequently but when we do meet, it's like we've never been apart, we just pick off from where we left off.

I believe that we can have many soul mates in life. And we must be open to that possibility.

This post was inspired by Sunday Scribblings. Pin It

A love letter to my body

Dear

1. Feet: Thank you so much for carrying me so far through life, bearing the weight of my physical body and the weight of the emotional luggage I insist on carrying around everyday. I am sorry that I've put you through hell when I chose fashion over practicality and tire you out unnecessarily by wearing skyscraper heels and oh-too-small shoes. I promise to love you more by wearing pretty but comfortable shoes and giving you a good massage every evening. Please know that I appreciate and love you.

2. Calves: I know I have a tendency to complain about you because you are a little on the chunky side but that's just me being self-critical. I love that you respond quickly to strengthening exercises and that it is because of you that I am able to run, jump and pedal so effortlessly.

3. Thighs: I love that you are strong and constantly strive to be stronger as I test you in the various yoga poses and leg strengthening exercises. I know that you like me to eat more fruits and vegetables so that you will look smooth and cellulite-free. I know that you like to be pampered with moisturizer and I will continue to do so every night.

4. Butt: I admit that there are times when I wish you were smaller so that I can wear a pleated skirt and not look like I've gained 15 pounds. But the truth is that I love how well-rounded you are. You are comfortable to sit on and you sure make me look hot in a tight skirt..:)

5. Stomach: You are the greatest.

6. Breasts: Thank you for appearing when you did so that I didn't have to go through life as a skinny, flat-chested teenager. I love that you are perky and firm and make me look great in a form-fitting top...:)

7. Arms/hands: Arms, I admire your strength in enabling me to lift and carry stuff. I especially love it when your muscles are defined after a weight-lifting exercise. I know that I have a tendency to focus on the biceps but I promise to work on my triceps too so that you will look good at every angle. Hands, I appreciate the work you do every single day. I'm sorry I haven't dolled you up in a while. I promise to give you a little treatment this weekend and paint your nails a bright red - I know that you'll like that.

8. Back/shoulders: I know you suffer when I don't maintain a good posture or when I lug so many bags around all day long. I promise to keep those bad habits to a minimum and stretch you when I can.

9. Organs: I appreciate that all of you work so hard every day to make sure that I am okay. I will eat healthily, exercise regularly and supplement you when the need arises so that you don't have to work so hard to sustain my well-being. I know you like that I work out every day because it really helps to make your jobs a little easier.

10. Face: Eyes, I do love that you sparkle when you have enough rest and you look mesmerizing when I doll you up. Nose, you are small and sharp and look great even with a pimple on your bridge. Mouth, you are perfectly proportioned and look great in red. Ears, you are such a great listener.

11. Teeth: You are stressed constantly by the food I put into my mouth. Thank you for enduring the torture of braces and a retainer and many years of non-flossing. I promise to keep you sparkling clean and healthy. Because of you, I have a really nice smile.

12. Skin: I promise to hydrate you and love you everyday. Please know that I appreciate how healthy you look. I will try my best to give you the rest that you need in order for you to glow....yes, no late hours and less alcohol.

13. Hair: I appreciate how you flow and make me look good. I know that sometimes you like to doll up and look different but often, I'm too lazy and simply just wash you and let you air-dry. I promise to try harder. I've stopped coloring you because I know you hate all the chemicals and you might have noticed that I've switched to an organic shampoo so that you feel cleaner and lighter.


Love,
me.

This post was inspired by Creativity Prompt and Thursday 13. Pin It

My perfect day

My perfect day

1. To be awakened by a wonderful dream with solutions to all my problems.
2. My favourite song is playing on the radio when I turn it on.
3. My entourage waiting to greet me...(just my two shit-zus excited about their morning walk)
3. An invigorating morning workout.
4. A relaxing shower.
5. The smell of roasted coffee beans.
6. A hearty breakfast.
7. A meaningful blog comment in my mailbox.
8. An inspiring movie.
9. Surprise snail mail from a friend living in another country.
10. A text message on my cellphone from a loved one telling me that I'm going to have a beautiful day.
11. Ice-cream.
12. Freshly ironed and clean bedsheets.
13. Knowing that tomorrow might just be another perfect day.

This post was inspired by Thursday 13. Hope you are having YOUR perfect day. Pin It

Disconnected

I have experienced some days when nothing on my computer works. The modem appears to work but I can't get connected to the internet. I reboot and try again. It still doesn't work. I try to edit my photos with Photoshop and the computer tells me I don't have enough memory to run the program. I clear some files. I reboot and try again. Still no luck. I try to open a Word document and it can't start the program either. NOTHING works. Argh! Technology twilight zone! I power off and go do something else.

The next day: I turn on the computer and EVERYTHING works. Guess the computer just needs a day of total disconnection. Do you have such an experience?

This post was inspired by Sunday Scribblings. Pin It

Thursday 13 - 13 things I've learnt as a 3-month old blogger

1. Blogging is hard hard work.... it requires effort and some level of commitment to keep at it. It takes up more time than what I initially thought it would...linking to posts, inserting pictures, writing meaningful posts. Blogger's help function isn't really very comprehensive and a google search isn't very helpful if you can't narrow down the focus. I stumbled and struggled a little to get started even though I grew up with computers and the internet.

2. Blogging is a two-way street. Participation in other blogs through commenting is important because it shows appreciation for other bloggers' opinions/posts. That said, I do comment only when I feel I can offer something of value that is relevant to the type of issues being discussed. Or sometimes, if the author explicitly asks visitors to say "hi" . I now spend half my "blogging time" reading other people's blogs, learning about what I like and what I don't and appreciating other bloggers' efforts to engage their audience. Respect begets respect, right?

3. That I dig the comments people leave me. Seriously. I've never been the attention-seeking sort but this fuels my narcissistic side somewhat. To think I wanted to disable the comment function...what was I thinking? Of course, people have been nice so far...

4. Succeeding as a blogger is like most things in life - it takes time and practice. I can only get better at it. If I keep at it.When I read about the demise of the world's oldest blogger, I knew that this shouldn't be an excuse..given life expectancy rates, I have a good 80 years to get better at this, right? Blogs are a work in progress. Always.

5. That I need to make the effort to be objective. Sure, it's my blog and I should be able to express my opinions. But I should also be mindful that there are others reading who may not agree with me because our social realities are different. Culture. Religion. Age. And a whole load of other things.

6. That after reading so many blogs, I want to be REAL and be able to relate to people's life in a meaningful way. I did put some thought into last week's post about 13 good things about the economic downturn but it could be better if I wrote it in a more personal way..it could have been a good dialogue for discussion especially since it is something that is affecting everybody. See #12.

7. That I should include relevant links in my posts. This can sometimes help readers understand your posts and add credibility to the issues you are addressing. This is something I'm doing right now in this post..:)

8. That it is not quantity but the quality. Blog readers have discerning tastes...afterall, there are many blogs to pick and choose from so they definitely expect content of a certain quality. To a certain extent, I think blogging is really about reinventing journalism. In the internet age, you don't need to be a good writer to blog. There are a lot of blogs that offer visual stimulation/inspiration like the photo memes I discovered this week - Ruby Tuesday, Mellow Yellow Monday, Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday and Skywatch Friday. Interesting stuff that I intend to try out.

9. I should be more focused on my blog posts. I find it confusing when some bloggers cover many things in one post...sometimes I get so lost, I give up reading altogether. My intent is not to be a prolific blogger but to be a proficient one. Does this make sense?

10. That I still don't understand a lot of things that are associated with the blogosphere...Twitter (I really don't get this phenomenon, am I missing out?), Technorati (this is supposed to help my blog get noticed and searched but is it necessary?), Trackback (how does this work?). Honestly, I still don't know how to link a direct URL within a comment box.

11. That there are a lot of blog tools available for FREE. But what are the tools I really need? I don't want to focus on all the bells and whistles and create a beautiful blog with no real content. So at this time, I'm still trying to fine-tune and narrow the scope of what my blog should be about.

12. It is important to be yourself. I realized that the blogs I gravitate to are not those who write in the impersonal, third person voice but those who are excited, engaged and sometimes enraged about things in life...because that's life..Some of these bloggers are people like Aimee McEwen whose blog is really a reflection of her fun, artistic side (I can feel her excitement as I read her posts and her original artwork is amazing), Kirsty Wiseman, who is able to describe her daily living and artistic pursuits with wry Brit humour (she's really funny and she writes very well), Nic Howard, who blogs about everday living and scrapbooking in New Zealand (her layouts are true to life and she's funny too). And through Thursday 13, I've discovered Anthony North who writes about everything with "an offbeat style" while retaining "a high level of rationality" (his own words) - his writing is profound and I haven't left a comment because I honestly don't know what I can add! And also, I did like Rian Fike's piece on squids - I find his blog fascinating and in his own words "completely controlled by chaotic creativity". That said, I am still defining who I am and trying to find my own voice in the blogosphere. When I first started, it was just about having a channel to take part in creative challenges, now it has evolved and I want it to encompass my other interests as well.

13. That I've made some "mistakes". (a) Like not responding to comments. Because behind every comment is a real person, with opinions and feelings. If someone took time to write something, I should at least let them know "hey, I hear you!". (I started doing this just this week...after I discovered I could redirect the comments to my email account and respond directly to the commenter...I know I know..you must be thinking "duh"! So, I'm on a gentle learning curve...appreciate some help here.) Right now, the comments are manageable but I'm wondering how this is going to be possible when the numbers increase?? (b)Not subscribing to a whole list of other stuff (see #10 & #11) which is a chicken and egg thing. Help! (c) Not choosing a fantastic blog address that tells readers exactly what it is all about but instead chose one with my initial and last name (yeah..boring..)..this I think I can salvage when I can finally think of a fancy all-encompassing name for a blog.

Thanks for reading my list. Please feel free to share with me your experiences on blogging, I'm keen to learn! Check the rest of the Thursday 13 participants, they have interesting things to share! Pin It

Thursday 13

13 Good things about the economic downturn

1. People are unconsciously becoming more green. I see people bringing water from home instead of buying bottled water. And packed lunches. And taking fewer plastic bags because they are buying less.

2. People are getting more exercise. Best way to cope with stress is to sweat it out.

3. Bargains galore! If there's something you've been hankering after and you can afford it, now the best time to buy!

4. Conspicuous consumption has taken a backseat. Yay! Buy only what you need. Is there a need to be showy?

5. Consumers finally know the extent of retail markups. I thought I knew...now I really know.

6. (Hopefully) Better service everywhere. We all want this.

7. A deeper appreciation of FAMILY and FRIENDS.

8. A desire to find REAL MEANING in life. There has to be more to life than working to feed consumption.

9. People are finding CREATIVE ways of spending their time. Using things they already own or just taking a walk and appreciating nature.

10. Businesses that add genuine value to the supply chain will survive.

11. Best time to be a creative entrepreneur. Especially if your value preposition is cost efficient.

12. People will realize that it does not take a lot (of money) to be happy.

13. We will really see the BEST COMPANIES IN THE WORLD TO WORK FOR. A corporation is nothing without its employees and this is the best time to demonstrate its appreciation. Some transparency will help. It would really suck to go to work everyday worrying about what's going to happen next.
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