Grandma used to ask if I broke my arm
What’s fun about blogging? And why do I do it?
Let’s be honest. A big reason is feeding ye olde ego. I’m not going to lie about this, I gotta keep it real, yo. I found out recently I may have a streak of narcissism within me. I guess I’m part show-off. Who knew? 🙂
Another piece of the fun has got to include watching the stats, too. Or, as the good folks at WordPress put it, “obsessing.” If you check your stats several times a day on a regular basis you just might be obsessing.
Speaking of stats: last week was this blog’s fourth best week ever. And, in terms of traffic, March 2010 is officially my most successful month to date. And the abyss is about to hit the only kind of 10k I’ll ever personally experience.
OK, enough obsessing. What I really want to talk about today is the funnest thing about blogging:
Meeting and getting to know my fellow bloggers!
Yep. That’s it. I’d rather read what y’all have to say than most anything else on the net. You bunch of monkeys at keyboards. (More on that later. Heh.)
I just counted and I subscribe to 61 of your blogs. Wow! And I use my “blog surfer” function constantly. That means if you write it, I’m going to read it. And that is a lot of fun.
Unlike other media, though, like newspapers, TV and radio, I’m not limited to a read-only mode. If I’m moved by what I read I can leave a comment and in the vast majority of cases the actual blogger will respond. I mean, seriously, can it get any more exciting than that?
As for as blogging is concerned I believe that “comments” are the coin of the realm. They are generally fun to receive (especially if they are on-topic and don’t attempt to disembowel me – hint hint) but they are even more fun to give. I guess one of those old adages about giving and receiving and stuff like that might even be true.
Even though I’ve made a commitment to blog every damn day – even if it kills me – giving out those comments is just as important to me. And lately I’ve been sucking at my comment production, mainly because of time constraints. My writing time has been diminished the last week fews, and of course, there is also the ongoing work on my novel. I’m up to three sentences now!
So if you’ve noticed a reducing in my comment output of late, I sincerely apologize for that. Please know it is not intentional. I have not dropped anyone from my reading list. I’m still read every delicious word you write. Unfortunately, for you anyway, just like the Terminator, I will be back. And then you’ll just have to live with it. Mwuhahah!
Shouts from the Abyss 
Hey, I’ve got you beat. My novel is two pages long already… What’s a little competition among fellow friends/bloggers, eh? 😉 I haven’t been been blogging as much lately, because, like you, I feel bad that I don’t visit other blogs as much as I should so I’m spending more time reading and commenting. I probably write as much in the comment section of your blog as I do in my own posts. I’m sure I annoy everyone else! (Not her again!)
Speaking of my blog — have you stopped by my blog to vote in my poll? I can’t tell who’s voted. Don’t worry, it’s not political. All of you other readers stop by, too, and be counted. It’s a highly scientific poll. 🙂 Click on my avatar to get there. I’m not a stat hog — really. But don’t do it until you’ve commented here! Twice! And because you’re so special, Mr. Abyss, I’m posting this photo of mine that you liked so much.
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I call that one “Being Chased By A Rainbow!” Or how about “Tubular Wavy Spectrum”? 🙂
Ahem. I always vote!
Sometimes I go crazy prolific in a comment. If I go too long I might feel guilty. Or I may end up feeling greedy and want to keep it for myself. So I might save the comment after all the work, but then again, I may not. Either way, I reserve the right to use it on my blog, too, because gosh darn it, it’s one of the damn few times in life I’m actually the copyright holder! 🙂
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Monkey on keyboard weighing in here. I too LOVE it when people comment, and I get to respond. FYI: I check my stats daily and when they’re high, I feel like I’m a better human. 🙂 But, don’t call me obsessed! I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met in the virtual world via my blog, whom I am now friends with. As in flesh and blood. Some of them are still cyber blood, but blood none the less. Today I enjoyed my highest stat day after – last time I looked 440 and counting. All because a post I wrote almost two years ago got picked up on a site. I had my husband check it out and he couldn’t help but notice what a prolific writer I was during my first few months of blogging. There’s a name for that. It’s called Summer Vacation.
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Hey, you, alwaysjan. Who got you hooked on this blogging stuff? Who? Who? I’d like a little mention here, too, cuz my ego needs it, too. Everyone head over to her blog after mine, but not before commenting here THREE times.
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Summer vacation! LOLZ! 🙂
Yes, high stats make you feel good. Low stats make you feel bad. Such is the way of blogging. 🙂
I’ve met some amazing people that I’m so excited to call friends. It’s been a very eye-opening experience for me, and quite unexpected and serendipitous. 🙂
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Blahahhaaha I have the same friggin problem, the more people you attract the more you are excepted to visit and leave comments on their blogs. There just ain’t enough time in the day.
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I appreciate you not commenting here. Ooops. You just did. Gotcha! 😉
Must run now. I was peeling a cucumber…
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Ditto on everything you guys said. I love writing and reading blogs too, especially when I learn something new. But the comment exchanges are the greatest thing of all! 😀
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You are so right about the comments – seriously, it’s that feedback that keeps me blogging – weird when I get up to 200 page views a day, I don’t get anywhere near that amount of comments! Lots of lurkers abound, so don’t worry, you’re not the only one. lol
Thanks for the explanation though – hope things even out for you soon!
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Ha! I’m laughing — I forgot there were stats. You had mentioned it before — I’m so not paying attention half the time. I honestly don’t get how people blog every day. I think it’s brilliant, but it takes up a lot of time to read, write and just keep up. But I do love blogging too!
Happy Day!
~Nadia.
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You say that just as you are the only one to comment on my last two blogs. 😛
Perhaps you’re the only one who doesn’t get offended by blogs about Hitler and rape video games.
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If only there was some way to combine the two… 🙂
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I’m on it!
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I’ve still got the notification for that one in my inbox. I got caught up trying to go through the shorter posts first. Sorry. 😳
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I have been AWFUL about commenting lately. Just awful. When I comment, I want the comment to actually mean something — I don’t want it to appear as though I slapped something together. I’ve found some bloggers will post comments that obviously don’t have much thought put into them because they are looking for you to go over to their blog and comment. They’re all about numbers and popularity. I don’t like that.
Also, I wanted to share something with you that I hope doesn’t freak you out. The other night I slept really poorly — one of those nights where I just have ridiculous dreams and wake up feeling like I haven’t slept at all. Anyway, I dreamed you were mad at me about some comment I posted on your page. I guess I wrote something about steak that you really didn’t like. The subconscious is so ridiculous sometimes. 😉
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Hot damn that steak smelled good. Since I went vegetarian a BBQ stand and a kabob place have opened in my town. I might have mentioned that 27 times or so by now. But did I also mention that another BBQ stand just opened and it is about a five minute walk from my house? Oh God, no!
Oh yeah. You’re on my shit list for sure. Steak?!?!?!?!? 🙂
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BTW – I’m a former stat junkie – I still look, but only every few days now, instead of every hour on the hour!
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Every hour! 🙂 Yeah, that sounds about right. Of course, it’s hard to avoid them when they give you that snapshot in your dashboard.
I have been watching them carefully of late since 10k was approaching. I imagine my interest will now drop to a weekly and/or monthly type of thing.
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