photo credit: *clairity*
I’m just back from ”on the road” so to speak, and I thought I would send along an update on two recent projects: Blogging Idol and Tiny Tales.
First, Blogging Idol has been an interesting experience. Initially I had hoped to enter my new site, LitGuides.com, but was a little too intimidated and a little short on time.
So, I decided to enter this site since my subscription base had remained static for the past couple of months. My feed burner count was at 70 and my google subscriber count (from before I started feedburner) was at 28. So, I thought maybe I could break 100 and learn a few things by joining Idol. Happily, within days my count went up by 7!
Here’s what I’ve tried so far… jump starting my participation in the lit blog world by leaving comments on other blogs, joining Mrs. S’s Book Blowout, starting a meme on classic literature, and signing up for a bunch of blog directories. I also did a little shopping for plugins and downloaded “subscribe to comments” (finally! geez…), What Would Seth Godin Do (which is why my blog now “welcomes you back,” Related Posts, Contact Form (I’m still figuring it out…), and Comment Relish.
My plan for this week is to finally update my literary social media sites, like Shelfari, Good Reads, etc… and ask my Twitter followers to subscribe to my blog. I’m also hoping to analyze my most popular posts and figure out why!
Quick question: I had never started a meme before and thought it really fostered an interesting discussion about which classics move us and which do not (poor Jane Austen…). However, at least one responder expressed an opinion that memes are an imposition and finds being tagged annoying. What do you think? Are memes fun or a pain?
Next… Tiny Tales! This short story book club is on-going throughout the month of July so I thought a mid-point report might be in order. First of all, I’m sorry I hadn’t downloaded the comment subscription option earlier — now you can check to receive follow-up comment emailed to you, which will save a lot of time. Anna suggested that I look into setting up a wiki to make the discussion even easier — good idea! Now I just have to learn how to do that… Hopefully before August 1st!
So far, I’ve really enjoyed the discussion. I chose a story about a relationship because I thought it might give readers a common base from which to respond (and it is really short!). I have enjoyed reading whether or not we “like” the husband or wife and whether we empathize with their predicament (different views on race). If you haven’t read it yet, please do: Say Yes. The reactions have been thoughtful and complex and I look forward to reading even more — the more the merrier!! The next story will be released August 1st…
Thanks for reading!!
Hi Kristen – it’s good to hear how you’re going at Blogging Idol. I like the WWSGD plugin and have used it for a long time. Do you have the All in One SEO plugin? That will let you optimise each and every post for the search engines – perfect for this site and your Lit guides.
Also I highly recommend following this step by step guide to optimising your top posts : http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/07/3-hour-internet-marketing-tune-up.htm
SEO is the way to go
Oh and about memes – I quite like being tagged – but I see some people get tagged A LOT and then I guess it could become an inconvenience because your blog gets filled with meme answers – and it takes time. Sometimes I think it’s just good to throw the meme open to all readers rather than tagging.
I think memes are great fun–but I don’t especially like being tagged. With tagging comes a responsibility–and obligation–to respond. I like to happen upon a meme and do it if I want to.
Some memes are interesting, but like SmallWorldReads I want the choice to participate or not. I also refuse to tag anyone else b/c I don’t want them to feel obligated to “play along”. If I do post answers to a meme, I’ll include an invitation to “respond if you like” but that’s as far as I’ll go.
If you develop backlinks from directory submissions, do not neglect to also develop backlinks from the resource box of articles you publish (on topics closely related to your blog’s most important keywords).
I maintain a list of The Top 101 Blog Directories & RSS Submission Sites on my blog at:
Blog Directories
I update this list weekly. There are no dead links, and currently 243 directories are listed.
Best of success,
Robert A. Kearse
Like the others said, I think memes are a pain if they are assigned, but if someone writes a meme and it is interesting to me, it might be fun to do.
Since I’m the one to whom I think you’re referring, now I feel obliged to respond…as if I’d been tagged for a meme.
First, what I said in my response to the meme was this: “I’ll be honest that I’m not ‘real big’ on memes, except for the few weekly ones in which I participate. Sending them out to others or having them sent to me, feeling ‘forced’ to come up with an answer on a subject I might or might not have any interest.” And then you responded: “Eek! I had no idea people found memes an imposition! It was my first one and I thought they were fun, community-oriented things…”
Yes, I agree that they are fun community-oriented things, as long as they don’t become an imposition, for example, if you become tagged with four or five, which hasn’t happened to me yet and probably now won’t after my response.
Unfortunately, for me, with a few other blogs that I also have, I just don’t have time to respond to all the memes. That said, I have been making a conscious effort to respond to comments…and to other blogs, as is the case here.
I hope this makes sense, because it’s late and I need to get bed. I’ll probably be writing a blog entry tomorrow on the subject of memes…based off the conversation we started.
Thank you, Mrs. S! I saved the link and look forward to checking it out tomorrow (since I just rolled in from 5 days out of town). I really like the All-in-one SEO plug-in, too. I’ll be sure to pass along any other tips I learn!
Thank you, Robert! I’m new to blog directories so I appreciate any and all tips!
I’m so glad I asked this question! From the answers above, it seems as if throwing memes open to responses, but not specifically taggging people, is the way to go. That way people can respond if they want — and if they have time — but don’t feel an obligation to respond…?
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