Blogging Tips:

Hi Everybody,


It has been a while since I have just written you a note.  This one isn't even going to be long or rambling, and it is mainly for those of you who have your own blog.  Or are thinking of beginning your own blog. 

I have been participating in the April A-Z Challenge, and have been visiting many, many other blogs.  It is so interesting to see what others are writing about and taking pictures of!  Great stuff out there, you guys.  I want to just write down a few of my observations and things tips that I have learned in my little bit of experience.


1.  I do my blog work on Firefox.  I just like it better and the toolbar is easier for me to figure out.  Plus, a couple of years ago, my Internet Explorer browser was corrupted and I couldn't even work on my blog at all.  It freaked me out, an the lady at the cable company told me that I should try Firefox, so I did and it works for me. 

2.  A couple of months ago, some of the photos on "My Blog List" were not showing up on my sidebar. I use those pictures to gauge if my friends have posted anything new lately.  And, sometimes, photos were not showing up when I went to visit a friend's blog, inside their post.  What the heck?  Somehow, I figured out that if I opened up my blog in I.E., I could view their blogs just fine.  So, I end up toggling back and forth on some days between using I.E. and Firefox. 

3.  My friend Patti told me that it was like pulling teeth to be able to leave a comment on my blog the other day.  Arlee Bird, the creator of the A-Z Challenge mentioned on his first day of reading the postings of his participants, that the word verifications were really slowing him down, especially with pop-up windows.  He said that if you were not receiving many comments, then that may be the reason why.

My blog had word verification, but not a pop-up window.  I feel that word verification really helps to reduce spam.  Still, after Patti told me of her troubles, I changed things around.  I made it so that you don't have to do word verification any longer, but now your comment goes directly to my comment page, and I have to approve it before it appears under the post.  This is good, because I get to make sure it isn't spam, especially on older posts where I might not notice advertisements for escort services or Viagra and male enhancement products.

Guess what?  I am getting lots more comments now!  Yay! 


4.  A few months back, I began to have trouble loading pictures on Blogger under the "Compose" page.  That was a real NIGHTMARE for me, as you can imagine.  So, I had to plan things out a little better and load them under the "Edit HTML" option.  It works, but I have to toggle back and forth between screens.  Oh, well, where there is a will there is a way.

5.  I learned that inserting a video or slide show inside a blog post is super easy, and that is why you are now seeing them on here right and left!  All you do is click on "Post Options" as you are making your blog post, and look for "Edit HTML Line Breaks".  Click on "Use < tags" and then put your Embed code right into the body of your post.  After you are done with that, save and hit your space bar a couple of times and then return to the option you began with.  If you don't, all your other pictures will run together with no spaces in-between. 

6.  On my favorite photos that I take, I am always scared that somebody will steal them.  They are copyrighted by even being on my blog, but still, they are my babies and I worry.  I have tried watermarking them, but then it takes away from the pretty picture.  Maybe I am not making my watermark transparent enough or something.  So, this weekend, I decided to just use the "caption" feature on my photos, signing my name and sometimes the date and location of my photo.  It tells others that it is my own work, and it kind of frames the photo and makes it look a bit more professional.  At least I think so. 


7.  I have put my "Followers" widget back on, and it is located underneath my last post on the page.  I have received 14 new followers since I did that.  Thanks everybody!  Still, some of my newest blog friends became so when I didn't even have my Follower box on here.  I am more interested in friendships, building relationships and your comments than the number of followers, truth be told.  Still, I know that following is a part of blog culture and I welcome new followers.  I have still been following folks all along.

8.  I post a lot, and I know that if you stop by for a linky party, you are missing something else that I posted that day.  If you want to see more, please click on Home or on the pink box that says "Celebrate the Positive" at the end of each post.  With the April A-Z Challenge, I am mainly posting links and photos of older posts that new people may not have seen yet.

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog.  I appreciate each and everyone of you very much!  This is my work and my passion, even though I'm not making any money from it yet.  My blog is always on my mind; what to post next and how to improve it.  I am grateful for your encouragement and for your feedback.

I hope that some of this helps! Have a wonderful week ...

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