A moment of your time, if you please. I'd like to have a few things cleared up before I proceed any further with the account of the U.K. and Ireland. This was precipitated by my most recent blogging acquisition, Talli Roland, whose most recent post held some advice for bloggers. In her post, Talli delineates ten ways to make your blog "work." These include following bloggers who follow you, and following other bloggers so they'll follow you; returning and responding to comments; keeping your posts brief; making sure your blog's color scheme and font are easy-to-read; making sure your blog loads quickly; etc. Much as I dislike the notion of abasing myself before you, a pack of spittle-soaked mendicants, and pandering to your every whim, begging for your opinion like some kind of weak-minded sycophant... I have some questions for you. Let this stand as the Sententious Vaunter's first-ever quality and customer service survey. Your responses will help keep this blog fresh, easy-to-use, reasonably priced, better tasting and less filling. I'm going to ask you a few questions and I'd like you to answer them honestly. I appreciate it.
- Does this blog take an unreasonably long time to load? Do you find yourself waiting, drumming your fingers, humming distractedly, getting up for a cup of coffee, or cursing the Postman's name as you wait for the page to appear on the screen?
- Is this blog easy to read? Is the font too small? Are the colors hard on your eyes? Do you find yourself collapsing into a fit of photosensitive epilepsy just trying to read the dates and titles?
- Are this blog's posts too long? Are this blog's posts too long? Do you ever feel frustrated with the massive volume of drivel which the Postman deluges you with on a biweekly basis? Do you desire a little light reading and instead feel as though you've set out to read The Iliad or Moby-Dick?
- Is there anything missing from this blog, or anything unnecessary on it? Would you like to see a list of back-links? Is the arrangement of widgets on this blog satisfactory, or do they need to be reordered or shuffled about? Do we really need a translations box? How many Japanese people read this blog anyway?
- Does this blog ramble too much? Do you feel as though the posts on this blog lack focus? Ever find yourself scrolling down through a lengthy post to pick up the story again? Feel like you're waiting forever for the other shoe to drop? Does the Postman digress too much in his ramblings?
- Are you getting tired of seeing the phrase "this blog" in every question in this survey? I hope you are, because I'm getting damn tired of typing it.
- What color underwear are you wearing? Just checking to see if you're still awake. You don't have to answer that. Unless you really want to, of course.
8 comments:
Before I begin let me just preface my answers by saying that you are a wonderful writer whose blog I greatly enjoy reading. Also, as one of my creative writing professors said after he had handed out a list of 21 writing rules, "Art is what you can get away with."
Ok. Here we go:
1. No
2. The font is fine, but I do have a bit of trouble with white on a dark background. Although I so much associate the white-on-navy color scheme with your blog, that I might go into shock if you changed it.
3. Yes, sometimes. If I was reading your work on the printed page, I would not say that, but reading anything on a screen gets taxing after a while. A short while, for me. Sometimes your posts seem like they're covering enough ground that they could be broken into two or even three shorter ones. However, I too am guilty of long posts, so take this answer with a grain of salt.
4. No and no.
5. You don't digress too much, but as I said in 3, you sometimes cover a lot of territory. I thoroughly enjoy your "rambling" though, in the sense of going off on weird little tangents and such.
6. Not until you pointed it out.
7. Um...Yes, let's leave that one alone.
And thanks for asking!
Hey there, thanks for asking! All of these new templates take longer to load, especially for older computers. I had to go back to an old style template. That helped a lot. Good luck with that.
Your posts are long. Mine, too. We both ramble. I like that about us. But I agree with Polli, I've been trying to cover less per post and post more frequently. (You asked, dude. :) And I don't much look at your widgets any more unless they change. Sorry, lol. One thing I've read is that our follower button should be toward the top and easy to get to. I had to scroll down to find yours. The white on dark blue is a little more taxing to the eye. But I agree with Polli here, too. I associate it with you.
OH, and I despise captcha. Unless you're getting spammed. *sigh*
Remember when I shared about my toenails? Pink with polka dots? :P
Whatever you do, don't go away. I'd miss you lots!
~that rebel, Olivia
1. Sometimes the blog takes forever to load. Today, of course, since you asked the question, it just popped right up. But you have to scroll slowly because the lines and pictures don’t always keep up. I only curse The Postman’s name when I’m pressed for time and need to skim instead of read the post and the text is all off kilter. Usually, I curse Blogger or the internet as a whole.
2. It can be a little bright if the rest of the room is dark, but it allows me to find my wine glass without tipping it over. I really like this color of blue though.
3. Sometimes I need to skim through and get the gist of the post; but I don’t like doing that because then I miss interesting events and writing. Postie you are one of my favorite bloggers/writers and I hate to miss a single well thought out word. If you posted at this length every day I would have to be a less frequent visitor, but I would still be around. I enjoy snuggling in my cozy chair for a good long read. (Think Stephen King’s TOMMY KNOCKERS and Terry Goodkind’s CONFESSOR (the language of Iliad and Moby Dick makes interesting stories difficult reads.) The bi-weekly posting assures I can read every word you post at my leisure.
4. What’s missing from this blog honey is a pix of you clad only in a thong sucking down one of your own concoctions!! (Sorry; that was your fault.) There’s a translations box? Seriously? Wait while I go look for it . . Hmm, didn’t see it; but if its there Postie you might need it. Look at all the traveling you do, the interesting people you encounter. You seem to make friends everywhere you go, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those foundlings contact you on your blog. I like that you don’t have a lot of flashy gadgets - the local time thing is cool - and I’ve used the “You might also like” link a few times to refresh myself on a post I previously enjoyed or missed. Side bars tell a story about the blogger’s personality, and IMO should reflect what and how the host likes things. Having another blogger organize your site is like having your mom decorate your room - -
5. I thoroughly enjoy your writing style. I like when you “ramble” on about your life, your adventures, your writing, your hopes/dreams/success/failures. This is how I get to know you as an individual, and a writer. If you only ever talked about one subject, I’d get bored. Personal disclosure here: most of my favorite bloggers are people who seem “real” to me; people with diverse lives and outlooks. Most bloggers I enjoy find a way to relate EVERYTHING back to writing on a consistent basis. Duh, we’re obsessed about writing. But I also enjoy hearing about (reading) how life is going in general. Sit down, grab your favorite beverage and snack, and talk about yourself. This is how friends are made - and online friendships are no less valuable for the lack of face-to-face interaction.
6. (LOLOLOL) I felt like I was at work, reading some of my own case notes. “This worker . . The client . .” You’d get just as tired of saying “I” or “me” or any other phrase. Call it what it is. THIS BLOG.
7. I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me your’s!! Yours will be much cuter though. Nothing THIS big is attractive. Well, some things - I’ll just have a fantasy now if you don’t mind.
In case I wasn’t clear Andrew Dear, I like your blog. What I like most about this site is the author HOST. Like all my relationships the person is the draw, the package is just extra fluff. I don’t “follow” you because I want reciprocation; I follow because I read your posts for a while and decided you were someone interesting I’d like to get to know. I follow you so that your next submission shows up on my blog roll and I can enjoy your particular brand of entertainment.
Perhaps I should take this opportunity to let you know how much I appreciate your posts, and the time I spend in your world. Your presence here has enriched my life.
Thank you
.......dhole
Everything's fine, except the length. Sometimes the posts can be long, and it's difficult to read a lot onscreen.
You could fix this by trying to use some shorter paragraphs and having multiple posts instead of 1 post with 3 topics.
As for underwear colour, I have totally forgotten. Off to check! ;)
Ooh, I'm honoured to have been name-checked on your blog! Thank you! :)
I'm new here, but if I remember correctly your last post was kinda long. It all depends what you're looking to achieve, of course, and keep in mind my post was just about what works for me. People may like long posts but personally... I don't.
I'm not a big fan of the white on blue background but I can live with it!
Looking forward to reading more, Postman!
1) YES! When we were in Cyprus, I had to give up after a few minutes because I had only a limited time on the internet before I had to go to a teachers' meeting or someone else wanted to use it. Now I've got broadband and it loaded instantly, so I'm hoping this problem won't come up again.
2) It's very easy to read.
3) Occasionally, but it's all great stuff, and who am I to talk? Besides, it's truth in advertising, right? You don't bill yourself as a succinct writer of spare athletic prose, you come right out and call yourself an unapologetic pontificator.
4) Don't take out that translations box! I love stuff like that.
5) See 3) above. You're supposed to ramble. Besides, what's rambling too much?
6) Hahaha.
7) I haven't looked, but if my husband did the washing, I'm guessing they're grey. I saw a brand new black sweatshirt in the dirty clothes basket, but I looked in the other direction. All my fault.
Postie--I don't think you should change a thing. Like Donna said, the product is you, and that's why I started following. The rest is just window dressing.
Keep on keeping on, my bro!
Okay people! This is brilliant. Thanks so much for taking the time to post such thorough responses. I appreciate the kind words and candid comments from all of you. I'll get 'round to renovations sometime this week, I reckon.
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