February 10, 2011

please please pretty please....

can we talk about blogs and blogging
without hurting the feelings of anyone
~
last month i posted the information at the bottom of today's post. thanks kate.
it's so easy and wonderful and makes blogging so much more fun. often when someone leaves me a comment i immediately have something i want to say back to you. it might be a simple "thank you" or "i'm so glad my photos brightened your day" but if you don't do what's in the message below, more than likely you won't hear back from me. if i can reply to you immediately, then usually we become friends because all of a sudden we're sending emails back and forth to each other.
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i did get a note from someone confused by this information below. she didn't realize that she could be getting her comments in an email form in the first place. she was having to go back to her blog multiple times a day to see what comments had been left for her. if this sounds like you, just go to the "comments" on your post page and look for the box that asks for what email address you'd like comments to go to. enter your email address and wha-la. no more checking your blog for comments. they will come directly to you.
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also. some of you who do what i described above {checking your blog for comments} leave comments yourself on your blog, answering a question or thanking someone for what they said. once i have read a blog and leave a comment. i don't go back to your blog to see if you responded to what i said. does that make sense without sounding rude. i'm guessing some of those people are the ones i described above that don't have emailed comments coming to them.
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something else. often if you have music playing on your blog, it will take longer for my computer to load your page. so often when i am short on time, your blog will be neglected as i have to move on. so many blogs. so little time.
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okay
that's it for today.
here's the information i talked about. and if you have any questions, feel free to send them my way. many of you have asked for help with banners, blocking followers, picture resizing and template backgrounds and i am honored that you trust me.

Bloggers out there ~ you’ve seen it. It’s the ‘Noreply-Comment@Blogger.com’ message that appears sometimes after you click on reply to a reader’s comment.

I often respond directly to reader’s comments, but there’s that little grinch who always seems to show up like an unwanted guest when I have something I really want to say to someone.

There is a way to help rid this little problem and it’s so easy to do. Readers who have blogs can do the following:

  • Open your blog and click on the Customize link. It’s in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
  • Click on the Dashboard link, also in the upper right hand corner.
  • Now click on Edit Profile, on the left hand size of the screen right next to your picture.
  • This takes you to the Edit User Profile screen.
  • Look in the Privacy section.
  • Check the box that says, “Show my e-mail address”.
  • In the Identity section, enter in an e-mail address.
  • Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on Save Profile.

25 comments:

  1. Thanks for saying this...it needs to be said a lot!

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  2. Good thoughts, excellent and clear instructions, no hurt feelings here : )

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  3. I have to say the music is one of my pet peeves because I listen to music on my computer while I'm cruising the web...suddenly I realize I am listening to a mash-up that usually is not pleasant:)

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  4. Hi Beth...my post tomorrow is about blog etiquette from the perspective of just not being able to respond to every comment every day...and not feeling guilt, but love and compassion. Well that's tomorrow's post...Today's is simply about love...go figure, one will follow the other.

    Have a blessed day:)

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  5. I "hush" the music on most blogs - most of the time I find it distracting if not annoying. There's a few out there that are good ones tho and I always appreciate their tunes. :)

    I recently discovered I didn't have my email "shown" and thought I had corrected that. Since I fixed it, I've been getting many more direct replies.

    One other tip I saw on someone's blog recently that I wish more folks did - if you've got your blog set to approve comments before they're posted, would you consider removing the word verification? It's rather frustrating to type the comment, then get the secondary word verification, then only to get the message that the comment will go thru approval anyway... I thought that was a considerate suggestion so wanted to pass it along...

    For those of us that follow a ton of blogs, it could really save us lots of time...

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  6. What you've explained will enlighten a lot of people. Of course there are those who don't want to be relied to! That's what I usually think when I see the "Blogger No Reply" thingie in my email. I usually go to my blog and click on the name of the person which takes me to her profile but if she has many blogs then I will likely just go away. I agree with you about the music too. It mucks up my page download PLUS I don't like to have music suddenly pouring into the room. Especially music I don't choose.

    Word verification - hmmm. I took mine off for a while but I started getting a lot of spam comments. So I put it back on. I know it's annoying though.

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  7. I hate blogs with music! I like to listen to my own music.

    Also, I finally went and changed my profile so I think you can answer me back via email now....I was mad about the same thing and I was an offender!!!! Sheesh!

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  8. excellent info .. well put ... well received!

    and timely ... : )

    just this morning, i had a thought about how others viewed
    my profile, so i took a look ... horrors of horrors ... i had
    links up there to 'test' blogs and a whole mish mash of
    unnecessary clutter that no one would want to bother with ...
    i think time eluded me and i got so caught up in other 'stuff'
    that i wasn't taking note of, or care of my own back step!

    there are lots of little details that do make a difference ...

    thanks, beth!
    xo
    pg

    ps. verification does help with spam, so i don't mind it ...
    also prefer the quiet to music ... : )

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  9. Very constructive and helpful comments.

    I think we blog not because we need replys, but because we love to get them.

    I really like the music blogs, but like you if it takes too long to load up I am not so patient and sadly probably miss a great blog. But that's how it is.

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  10. Oh! Now I need to check on the comment reply thing!

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  11. well....the blogger ate my commment so i will go back to try and reconstruct what i said. can't stand the music because using i'm taking a few minutes out of my busy day to visit and i don't have time for all of the blogger's cute music, gifs or the whatnots to load. honestly, if it takes too long to comment - i pass by the next time. also, i'm a lover of "white space" on a blog - to me, that is what makes it inviting and want to linger to read, dabble, etc. if i feel the page is interesting, i will click around. that is on new blogs....on my friends i tend to be a bit more forgiving because, well, i've made relationships and we know that we forgive or indulge our friends "likes"...right? *smile*
    i read over 200 bloggers on a semi-regular basis....so time is important to me. and i honestly try to comment if i read your blog that day. on my catch up days that may mean i read 2-3 of your blogs. (your meaning that blogger)

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  12. ps - i do this already

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  13. Some good advice all around. I'd like to comment about the responding to comments on our own blogs as opposed to replying by email. I do that because I assume EVERYONE thinks like I do. ;)

    When I leave a comment on someone's blog which I think might evoke a response from that blogger, I simply click on the "Subscribe by email" link before I post my comment. That way, I'll see the subsequent comments come to me in an email (much as you described about getting our own comments via mail) and I can check for responses there.

    I sure don't expect folks to come back to my blog to read my replies but I know that many do. Those who know me well enough, know that I always reply to comments on my blog. Those who might be interested can either follow by subscribing by mail, or a return visit. I'm good either way. :) Of course they can ignore my reply completely and I'll still be fine.

    I dislike the follow up routine with Wordpress, so if I'm interested in what someone might have said in response to my comment there, I'll just scroll back one post the next time I'm commenting there.

    I'm not fond of music auto-playing on blogs either. I'm usually listening to my own music and the jolt of two tunes playing at the same time is unpleasant.

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  14. Hey, it's funny seeing my words are on your post!

    I have to agree about the music. I often have to have the sound disabled when I visit blogs.

    And I love responding by e-mail.

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  15. i am a wordpress girl, so this is all greek to me, but i agree, i am not a fan of sound on blogs...

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  16. first - those words dont hurt, amnd i agree that music on blogs is annoying - which is why i usually have the sound on mute when i am reading blogs.

    i already do the email thingy you mentioned. but here's the thing. i dont know how to respond to comments made on my posts via email. yes i realise this makes me sound like a complete idiot, but hey, thats me ;)

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  17. Thank-you for this short course in blogging etiquette and set-up. Great to know that we are all on the same 'page'!!!

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  18. kath and i are going through the process of redesigning our blog and our commitment. all of this is well taken. thanks.

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  19. Oh I love this!
    I feel very much lost in the woods
    at times.
    For instance, how in the world
    do you all leave such lovely warm
    welcomes near the "Post a comment"
    ditty.
    I feel as if mine simply growls
    indifferently and dares someone
    to reply.
    Where oh where do you insert such
    wonderful things?
    I keep telling myself "baby steps, kid.
    ...baby steps."
    Thanks for this tutorial!
    -Jennifer

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  20. Excellent blogging public service announcement, Brilliant One ! Cheers to this !

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  21. Lol!!! Was that me who kept going back to her blog for comments!? You saved me! So much nicer - not that I get a bunch but a few and it's great to get them by email! So thanks!

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  22. Thanks for the blogging tips. I like to get email addresses and respond privately to comments also. Now I need to check to see if I have set mine up or not. And, boy, do I agree with everyone who commented about music! I usually have my own music from Pandora.com going on and so I stop looking at a site when their music comes on and interferes.
    I enjoy your blog. The photography is fantastic. Today's photo is wonderful.

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  23. Great thoughts and tips. I most often mute the sound on my computer when I visit blogs, it does slow things down and most often is distracting. Now I have a question - You once gave me the information for analyzing a blog and I cannot find the link now. Would love to have it. Thanks!

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  24. Thanks, Beth. This is good --good tips. Yes, I am not fond of the music settings, too -- partly because of loading, partly because if I'm sneaking at work, a Gregorian chant is a dead giveaway!

    OK, so just confirm for me -- if I hit this subscribe by email, then I'll see your comments? Will I see everyone's?

    Yes, I rarely return to a blog post once I've commented. On a rare occasion when I've noticed the discussion is good and interactive, I do -- but those are few and far between and in any event, I have a hard enough time keeping up with things as is! These are all good.

    I'm doing the Sunday check in after one crazy week. So, I'm reading backwards, as usual. Perhaps you answered my question below!

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  25. Blog music drives me crazy! I'm either fumbling to try to find the volume control and then I panic and just hit exit, or I get bored and frustrated while it is loading, and then I just exit. I have never understood why people answer comments in their comments. Once I've commented I might go back to the post, but I'm not likely to look at the comments again.
    And I'm pretty sure that I'm not a "no reply" blogger :)I hope.....

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**I love reading the comments you leave, as they make me feel like we're sitting in my kitchen, having a cup of tea, discussing life and wondering where all the time has gone ...beth