Friday Five – Things I Do Not Understand About My Blog
So I’ve had this blog for a couple of years now.
I’m not even going to pretend that I understand most of the technical part of how it works. But I’m willing to poke around and look things up and read about whatever it is that I need to do. This usually works pretty well.
There are, however, a few things that I just don’t understand about my blog. I’ve tried to figure these out, but I’m coming up blank. And I’m really frustrated because I can’t get my blog to behave the way I want it to.
So perhaps some of you out there can help me. I’ve met a lot of great bloggers in the last couple of years. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been introduced to even more. Surely someone out there has some experience with this stuff.
The biggest thing that I don’t get about my blog is why some people land in my spam comments, even though they are regular readers and contributors. My blog is supposed to recognize people after they’ve had two comments approved. Or so I thought. Poor Dyanne and Josie and Tinne end up in my spam every time they comment and won’t show up until I approve them. How can I get my blog to recognize these people and keep them out of spam land?
On the topic of spam, I would like to know why I get so many spam comments even though I have a spam filter or five. Am I using the wrong ones? Or am I just supposed to delete the fifty or so I get every day and then go on with my life? They’re nice, sometimes. It’s comforting to know that Michael Kors outlets and Burberry scarves are such dedicated readers.
Then there’s the question of images. Pictures. Photos. Whatever. I know there are images galore out there to be had and used. But all the copyright stuff scares the crap out of me. So I rarely, if ever, use images that aren’t my own. I know there’s a way to do it and a way to understand all the Creative Commons stuff, but when I try to learn it feels…overwhelming. My ADHD does not respond well to overwhelming, so I generally give up. Anybody who has image knowledge and wants to do some tutoring, please let me know.
OK, then there’s my comment problem. Know that comment form at the bottom of my posts? Where it says “Leave a Reply?” I want it to say something nicer. Other bloggers have nice things on their comment forms. I want nice things on my comment form. I’ve read about 52 different articles and forum posts explaining how to change it, but I don’t seem to be able to find the things they talk about to make the change. I know it’s a simple thing – but my blog does not seem to have the same setup as the people who wrote those instructions.
I’m also trying to figure out how to do a good blogroll. I know there’s a widget that will show them on my front page. Easy. But I don’t like them on my front page because I feel like they get lost. Right now I have a page set up on my blog with its own little tab, but I don’t know if I’m doing it right. I feel like there should be a way to add them to that page sort of automatically, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Any thoughts?
Update: Lizzi’s comment here reminded me that there was one other thing that I need to figure out. I want to know how to get my blog to send a commenter an e-mail when I’ve replied to their comment. I love getting those notices. It lets me know that the blogger took the time to reply to my comment and also enables me to return to continue the conversation. I’m sure it’s a plug-in that I need, but have yet to figure out which one. Any thoughts?
So there they are, friends – the five six things about my blog that I just don’t understand. They’ve been bothering me for far too long. If you can help me figure out how to move past these little roadblocks, I’d be most appreciative. Help a girl out if you can!
Your turn: What things confuse you about your blog? About blogging? Share your thoughts and maybe together we can figure out how to do a few new things!
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Comments confounded me for THE LONGEST TIME! I was so frustrated that people didn’t get notification of my response and that they didn’t know to come back and continue the conversation.
I don’t know how to fix any of your problems (other than to say I think you’re right – just keep using your own images – it’s SO much easier!) and I hope someone can help you with them.
My current bug-bear on my blog is that the share statistics don’t seem to tally properly. I see my posts being shared and out of nosiness I want to know how many times, but they just don’t seem to register properly.
OH DAMMIT! That’s the other one I wanted to include here – I can’t figure out if people get a notification that I replied. I really want that to happen. Does it? I have no idea. And if it does not, then I want to know how to make sure that happens. I love when I get an e-mail that shows me someone responded to my comment. That’s what I want to happen when someone leaves me some love.
I do not understand one single thing about the statistics stuff. Except that the most frequent search term that lands people on my blog is “creamy kohlrabi soup.” 😀
Ummmm. Yes. Duh. That is all.
Yeah, that kind of sums it up for me.
Wait WAIT! I think I know something ! Well no maybe not. Just that when I follow a blog it is auto signed into my blog roll. Well on rewritten it was. I haven’t started on the new blog yet.
And on rewritten I also went into settings to change that “leave a reply” thingy….damn if I recall where….
Yeesh how helpful am I huh?
Oh and no I don’t get a note that you answered. I just like ya and I come back!
Aww. You’re awesome. 🙂
I don’t think mine does that auto-blogroll thing. If it does, it’s happening somewhere I don’t know about.
And I do know that I have to change something in settings somewhere to make that “leave a reply” be something else…I just can’t seem to find the place that the forums describe.
I’ve been blogging for about 5 years now, and I’m still trying to figure it all out!
I am the ultimate DORK))))
And I ask and bug and annoy other NON-dorks for Information!
….you. are. not. alone. xx
That is good to know because sometimes I feel like the dumbest blogger on the block. I need to hire a tech guy.
I might be able to offer a bit of guidance regarding photos. I LOVE beautiful images and I no longer have a DSRL camera to take photos I thought were good enough. So, because I, too, was not wanting to infringe on copyrights; I did a fair amount of research.
I primarily use Flickr because I understand their classifications. Go to: https://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
I use the first two categories listed…Attribution License and Attribution-NoDerivs License.
With attributions you just need to credit the photographer and where you found the image. I’ve seen this done MANY ways! I decided to cover my bases and overcredit if there’s such a thing. I can’t find the website that provided me with this format, but this is how I did it…
photo © 2005 Paul, Flickr CC BY 2.0
I then linked “photo” to the image on Flickr and then found the photographer’s profile and linked their name to it. Sometimes, I used the photo’s title after the word “photo” but started to get lazy and did so inconsistently.
At times, I’d leave a comment for the photographer and share the link in which their image was being used. I had no complaints and a few thank yous.
With this license you can also alter the original; so you can draw on it or add words (to create a Pinnable image), etc. You just need to indicate you changed the original. This is how I did so…
A derivative work of this photo © 2005 Paul, Flickr CC BY 2.0
Then there’s the Attribution-NoDerivs License. It’s pretty straightforward in that you must credit the photographer, but not make any changes to the original.
I have always been stumped by the “noncommercial” use definition. I never had ads on my site, thus I didn’t generated income. I assume one could use any labeled for “noncommercial” purposes if this is the case.
The two categories I mentioned do not stipulate “noncommercial” use; so if I ever changed my mind I figured I’d be ok.
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This is helpful info, Phoebe. Thank you! Certainly gives me something to work with.
Listen, if you figure out the letting people know you replied question, I WANT THE ANSWER! I love getting those notices but no way in hell do I have the time to check back on everyone’s blog where I commented. Why is it such a mystery?
And the twitter handle thing? Remember that?
I will let you know and that is like my hot topic, even though I forgot it and didn’t remember until Lizzi said it. I try to remember to go back, but I can’t remember where I read and I get so lost…
Yes, the Twitter handle. Still in my holding file in the inbox because every time I think to open it, I decide it’s going to be way too technical and I close it again. Tomorrow, I promise. I’ll holler very loud if I can’t figure it out. And if I get it? You’ll hear me at your house. 🙂
I’d be interested in knowing whether people use Blogger or WordPress (free or self-hosted). If WordPress, what plug-ins do people recommend?
My blog is presently a self-hosted WordPress one. But since I’m not blogging much these days I’m thinking I won’t renew b/c costs. So, I’m thinking about finding more of a niche and starting a blog on a free site. Then, I also wouldn’t have to deal with backups, security and spam.
Thoughts?
Hi, Phoebe! Good to see you – I do miss reading your posts.
I’m also self-hosted using WordPress.org. I’d love to know what plug-ins others use. I’ve found a few just by trial and error but wonder if there’s something awesome out there that I’m missing. There’s just so much information…
You are such a patient reader of my blog letting me know when the comments section is going wonky. I wish I could offer you some advice on fixing your blog, but I’m in a blog difficulty boat myself. What I can do is commiserate with you!
Commiseration is good sometimes – it helps. I love your blog, so I am happy to wade through the comment wonkiness. I feel kinda special that I have to log in to do it! 😀
I love this! I have a list closer to five-hundred than five things about blogging that I do not understand. I do think though that the plug-in I use for spam called Askimet does a pretty good job although sometimes the spam hits my older posts and then I close the comments on those (don’t ask how long it took me to figure out how to close the comments on just those posts alone though). I see that someone earlier commented about Flickr. That’s primarily where I go if I don’t have an image and need one for a post. I’d love to know how to make the Pinterest images show up in my posts but I’m not sure about the “rules” regarding that so perhaps it’s better that I do not know how to do it anyway. I usually just do a search for things I don’t understand but it’s a bit embarrassing how many times I don’t understand the answers to my questions.
I am certain I have more than those, but they are the things at the top of my list that bug me the most. I do use the Akismet spam filter and I still feel like so much gets by…well, it lands in my comments to moderate and then I have to delete them. I suppose it’s good that they don’t go right on the blog, but having to sort through them to get to real comments is annoying. Maybe I’ll try closing comments on older posts and see if that helps. Good suggestion!
I don’t think there’s any reason to be embarrassed about now knowing something – there is a TON of information to digest. The images are a big area for me. Eli over at Coach Daddy uses a lot of images – I’ll bet he could help us out. I’ll have to check in with him.
Sorry to say that I use Blogger, and it’s set-up is very different from Word Press, so I can’t be of any help at all. I did laugh to know that I am showing up as Spam though! I wonder if that’s because I have a Blogger address?
That’s a good thought, Josie, but I don’t think it is – others who are on Blogger make it straight through to the comments and don’t get tied up in the spam folder. I can’t figure it out. It’s always totally new people, Dyanne, Tinne, and you! 😀 So when I see something in spam I get kind of excited because it’s usually one of you!
That spam filter…I just don’t know how to get that thing to work. I get a lot of those burberry and Michael Kors comments too. Whoever is sending them out must just be good at what they do. It used to be worse for me. Before I had a good filter, I would get 200 or more spam comments a day. That changed once I go that “confirm you are not a spammer” buttons at the bottom. Now I just get about twenty or so a day. It’s still a pain, but it’s one that I can at least manage.
Well, that’s about what I have with the spam thing. When I look at how many it blocked, though, I guess I should be glad! Still amazes me how many get through.
OH I’m so glad you posted this. It makes me feel so much better. I thought I was just slow at learning since I’ve only been blogging for less than a year. I also panic with the photos that aren’t mine. I’ve used a few recently and did the sign of the cross as I posted them. LOL. The thing I also can’t figure out is how to “re-blog” something. Is there a tool for that or what does one do?? And another thing…I would like to have an option to “Like me on Facebook or Follow Me on Twitter” but I can’t find anything like that for my Blogger template or gadgets. So instead, I just added a tab at the top of my home page with a link to my FB page. Lame, I know. Also, I’m seeing here at the bottom of this comment template checkboxes for “Confirm you are NOT a spammer. Notify me of follow-up comments by email . Notify me of new posts by email.” I always check the box to be notified of a reply on most blogs but it’s hit or miss. Sometimes I get them, sometimes not. Sigh…We need our own personal web designer helping us.
I was glad I posted it, too, Jackie, because it does seem that lots of us out there have things we don’t understand.
I don’t know about the re-blog thing, either. I think that may be a Blogger thing and I’m not on Blogger.
The “like me” gadgets for me (on WordPress) are plug-ins. I’ll bet if you posted something on FB you’d get some input from folks. I did that the other day, in fact – I had a question about Twitter and several people offered some info. People are friendly, I’ve found, and will share what they’ve learned. If you figure out that re-blog thing, let me know!
I just did a search on Blogger on how to re-blog. The forum says it’s not an option on there. They suggested copy/pasting a portion and then adding a link to the rest. I dont know what a plug-in is but I’ll look into it. Thanks for the tip! And yes, FB is a good source that I hadn’t thought of. P.S. I never got an email saying that you had replied even though I checked the box. LOL.
Interesting info – thanks for sharing it.
The e-mail thing, yes, well, that’s one of the great mysteries of my blog! I really want to figure out how to get it to e-mail people that I’ve replied to their comment. Just have to keep working on it!
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