Blogs

That Other Blog

~ beetleypete ~ 25 Comments

Many of you already know that I have another blog. It is very different to beetleypete.

https://redflagflying.wordpress.com/

I only dip into that blog occasionally, usually when I feel the need to rant about the Royal Family, Politicians, or some world events. What I have to say there can possibly offend or upset many readers, but in some ways, that is the point of it. To generate heated debate, hear the opinions of others, and to be deliberately controversial.

Some posts on there have hardly been viewed, let alone commented on. So by way of advertising that blog to anyone who would not be too upset to read it, here is a link to a 2013 post that has an element of nostalgia and reflection to it.

Spying for a living

Blogging About Blogging (Again)

~ beetleypete ~ 85 Comments

Having recently been consumed with my daily serial, I suddenly remembered that it has been a while since I blogged about Blogging.

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If you look on the right hand side of any of my main blog pages, you will see that I supposedly have 8,585 followers of this blog. Don’t worry, I am not going to repeat myself about what really constitutes a ‘follower’. (Not on this occasion, anyway.)

However, let’s consider the statistcs.

Given that number of followers, you might imagine my views to be at least 50% of than number. But considering my best ever views barely exceeded 800 in one day, that is not the case. Despite that apparently healthy amount of followers, the best I can manage, on a very good day, is less than a 10% interest on my blog.

As far as I am concerned, that is yet more proof that follower numbers are little more than an illusion.

***Note to new bloggers*** Read that part before you ever concern yourselves about how many followers you have.

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The new year of 2021 saw a huge increase in people starting out with blogging. My own unscientific evidence shows that around half of them gave it up quite quickly. Maybe they didn’t get the interaction they had expected, or perhaps there was not the amount of followers they had hoped for. I don’t know the answer to that. But they have stopped commenting on my blog posts, that’s undeniable.

Maybe my stuff just bored them silly? That’s very possible too.

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Spam has increased dramatically. Yes, I know that 99% of it is caught by WordPress and put in the Spam Folder. But having 200 Spam comments a day doesn’t help when I am trying to trawl through them to find one from a genuine follower. As you might imagine, I have given up on that.

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Emails from people wanting to help me with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) have also increased, to the point of annoyance. For any of you bothering to read this, please stop. I don’t give a stuff about my Google rankings, or my placing on a page searched online. Don’t care, never will. Please stop. I’m asking nicely.

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Gravatar links to blog sites. Well this hardly ever changes, despite me posting about it until I am tired of typing the strange word ‘Gravatar’. In the last week alone, I have had at least ten followers with no site links directed from their Gravatar image. I’m not even going to bother to add a link about how to do that. It’s freely available online, so look it up. Or don’t look it up, and then you will never have any followers except your family and friends, as nobody else will be able to ever find your blog.

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That’s all for now. No doubt I will be revsiting the subject soon. I usually do.

Gravatars and Site Links: Here I Go Again

~ beetleypete ~ 54 Comments

In the last month, I have had 33 new followers who had no link to their blog or website attached to their Gravatar image or graphic.

That is 33 people I am unable to thank for following, and 33 blogs or sites I am unable to view, comment on, or perhaps follow.

Regular readers will no doubt yawn, as I try once again to advise you how to do this.

But if you do not take my advice, your blog will remain unknown, impossible to find, and you will be wondering why nobody ever comments, or leaves a ‘Like’.

Please read these posts and links, and connect your Gravatar to your blog or website. It is not difficult, even I managed it.

You can thank me later.

Bloggers and Gravatars: More advice


https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/what-is-gravatar-and-why-you-should-start-using-it-right-away/
http://en.gravatar.com/beetleypete

UPDATE: Royal News Blackout

~ beetleypete ~ 31 Comments

Following my posts on here and on my other blog https://redflagflying.wordpress.com/ yesterday, Fraggle did some digging in the You Tube comments, and discovered that the video was filmed in 2018. Before posting yesterday, I watched numerous clips on Twitter, including one with a date/timer running on the screen. I didn’t use that one, as it was so shaky.

So it would seem likely that the date I saw was ‘inserted’, and the demonstration mentioned happened two years ago when Prince Andrew was initially implicated in the Epstein scandal.

Thanks to Fraggle for discovering this, and I wanted everyone to know.
This will be reblogged on my other blog too.

Of course, that changes nothing about Andrew’s refusal to testify, or to accept extradition to America. Or his well-documented friendship with Epstein and his visits to parties at Epstein’s house where young girls were flown in for the use of guests.

But it will explain why it was not on any news reports yesterday.

Lockdown: The Blog Explosion

~ beetleypete ~ 53 Comments

There have been lots of things online about what people are doing to take their minds off the pandemic crisis, and having to stay at home. Some have taken up Art, others cooking or exercising, and many are creating funny video clips using platforms like Tik-Tok.

But a growing number of people have started a blog. Whether it is something they always wanted to do, or the idea appeared in their minds like a light-bulb moment, new blogs are arriving in their hundreds on a daily basis. In the last few weeks, I have had around 40 new followers who have only just started their own blog. And that’s just me.

Many of those blogs have taken the form of ‘Coronavirus Diaries’, which is understandable. They will one day be of huge importance to future historians. Many other blogs are centred around fiction and poetry, as people make use of the extra free time to express themselves at long last. Some of the blogs have little content, often just one or two posts, or some photos. Those bloggers will either learn how to manage blogging better, or might just give up on the idea.

However, some of them have wonderful writing, with the sense that the blogger has always wanted to write, and finally has the opportunity to do so. Others have spoken about inner turmoil, fears, hopes, aspirations, love, and family.

Seeing all these new bloggers cheers me greatly, and I hope that most of them continue to blog when this is finally all over.

Meanwhile, I say “Welcome” to all of you starting your blogging journey.

A Not-So Friendly Reminder

~ beetleypete ~ 71 Comments

This is for many of my recent new ‘followers’, and those of you who have left comments that need to be approved.

A link to your own blog is not a comment. I will Spam any such comment.
Ruthlessly.

A link to a website selling stuff is not a comment. I will Spam any such comment.
Ruthlessly.

A one word comment such as ‘Nice’, especially on a post about my mother dying, is not a comment.
I will Spam any such comment.
Ruthlessly.

A blog that is simply full of affiliate sales links is not a blog.
I will never follow you.

A blog that claims to be a cookery blog but is only selling through to products or utensils is not a blog. It is a sales website, and I assure you I will not follow it.
And if you comment on my blog, I will Spam that comment.
Ruthlessly.

A Gravatar image of an attractive man or woman with an irrelevant name will not make me follow a blog that is quite obviously a sales website.
So don’t bother to use those when you like posts, or follow my blog.

To everyone else who is obviously genuine, my sincere thanks.

Blogging Memories

~ beetleypete ~ 57 Comments

Starting out on a blog is a bit like putting a message in a bottle, casting it out into the ocean, and hoping someone finds it, then replies.

In fact, given the untold millions of blogs on the Internet, you may well have more chance with that bottle.

So I didn’t expect much from my first tentative blog post, in the summer of 2012. I told my friends and family about it of course. I even sent some of them links by text message. But seriously, who was going to read my nervous waffling? I wouldn’t have blamed anyone if they had never bothered.

The first ‘likes’ and comments were from those same friends and family. They used an email address, or set up a WP account just to encourage me, but they did that willingly. I still remember the first time I got 10 views in one day. I was ecstatic. It all seemed worthwhile. When I hit 30 views, I was sure that blogging was going to be ‘my thing’.

Then I got a comment and a follow from someone I didn’t actually know. That was worth its weight in gold, and encouraged me to expand my content, and try new categories. I started to write about my time as an EMT in London, tried my hand at film reviews, and published some very long posts about my childhood memories as a boy in London.

Then one day, I could hardly believe my eyes when I logged on. I had 30 followers, and had hit the magic number of 100 views. Even now, I can remember how good that felt.

As the saying goes, there has been a lot of water under the bridge since then.

I discovered how to add photos, video clips, and images, all to make some posts more relevant, and interesting. I tried my hand at writing fiction too. Short stories at first, then multi-part serials later. I continued to feature my dog Ollie, and stuck to a formula that seemed to be popular with the community of followers and readers that was steadily growing.

As of today, I have a listed 5,470 followers on WordPress. Add to that 41 who follow by email, and 336 followers on social media sites like Twitter, and that totals 5,847. On a good day, I get around 600 views of the site, and think I must be doing something wrong when it drops below 300 on any given day.

But I never forget that 18 of those original 30 followers are still following this blog. And they still comment too.

Sometimes, 2012 doesn’t seem that long ago after all.

How Good Is Blogging?

~ beetleypete ~ 80 Comments

Well, the answer is, of course, ‘Very good’.

This recent crisis has shown just how valuable blogging can be.

Bored during ‘lockdown’? Write stuff on your blog.
Want to know what is happening in other countries? Bloggers will tell you.
Need information about Covid-19? The blogs are full of useful info and tips.
Want to keep in contact when you are self-isolated? Bloggers rule at that. Communication, friendship, and companionship too.

Blogging has risen to the recent crisis like nothing else could. Sympathy, empathy, and just plain friendship. It is all out there, on the blogs.

Free books, stories to read on blogs, photos to admire, other cultures to appreciate. All just a few clicks away.

Thanks to all my blogging friends, I could never feel lonely, alone, unappreciated, or lacking in concern.

The blogging community is like a family, pulling together in the worst of times. Asking for nothing, giving generously, and offering an ear for listening, or a shoulder to cry on.

Blogging is the best, and now is the best time ever for you to start your own blog. We will help you, offer advice and tips, and welcome you to our world.

Use your time at home productively. Start a blog. Tell us about yourself.

You will be so pleased that you did.

An Untended Blog

~ beetleypete ~ 69 Comments

People who enjoy their gardens might well tell you that untended plants are doomed to die. Some can be left to their own devices, and will come back miraculously every year. But most of those that really adorn a garden need regular attention, and a little love too.

Much the same applies to your blog. Put up a few random articles, ignore the likes and comments, and you will soon discover that it will not flourish. Don’t bother to reply to people, fail to read their blogs, and don’t invest in being part of the community, and you can be sure to see your blog wither away on the screen, until you might just as well delete it.

If you want to get the most out of blogging, you have to regularly add relevant content to attract readers and followers. Then you have to engage with them, show them that you value their involvement and input. Ignore this advice, and you will soon be posting everything for just one reader. You.

If that is what you intended, that’s fine. It is not compulsory to bother with anyone else. Just blog for yourself if you want to. But is that really why you started? Didn’t you want to connect with people, maybe some like minded bloggers from all around the world? To express your thoughts or opinions, promote your writing, tell strangers what you were feeling, or where you had been? If so, you really do have to tend that blog, just as a dedicated gardener will care for their cherished rose beds.

Many of you will know that I have another blog. Some of you even follow it, and I thank you for that.
https://redflagflying.wordpress.com/

This was always intended to be an ‘occasional’ blog. Something different, and a change from what I write about here on beetleypete. I deliberately only post now and again, as the mood takes me, or an issue makes me angry or interested enough to comment. It is very much an ‘untended’ blog. Only 153 posts in six years, and just 237 followers listed. Most days, it is lucky to receive four views. The average daily viewing figure is just one. (1!)
During July, it had no views at all on ten days of that month, and archive posts older than one year are almost never explored, read, or commented on.

That’s fine with me. I have my main blog, and this other one is just a ‘toy’ at best, and rarely played with. But it stands as a good example of an ‘untended’ blog.

So if you want to get the best out of blogging, and to find it rewarding, fulfilling, and most of all, enjoyable, learn from the gardeners.

Positive Blogging

~ beetleypete ~ 99 Comments

I moan a lot on this site about some bloggers, I know. You will have seen me complain about bloggers who follow without ever actually following, or those that only comment by asking me to ‘follow back’. I have complained about people who are blatantly just advertising themselves as SEO, or have a ‘miracle’ way to make a million a year from blogging, and also those who are trying to sell me ladders, or new car tyres. (In Australia!)

So it is high time that I said something positive. Because let’s face it, 99% of everything to do with blogging is positive.

Well done to so many of you new bloggers. Getting out there with bright new blogs, and a good idea what blogging is all about too. Nice comments, engaging with followers, and putting out content worth reading, or looking at. And the same to so many of my own new followers, with your much-appreciated interaction, and genuine following of my blog posts.

Appreciating feedback is just the start though. Learning from it is important too, and if you desire to have a large and regular readership, then quality content is more important than quantity. I am pleased to report that this is exactly what seems to be happening. Great photos, explanatory text, and enthusiasm that comes across in both words and pictures. For those new bloggers who are getting all this just right, I salute you. And those of you writing about your life, your past, and your hopes for the future, you are getting it right too.

It really is great to have so many positive things to say. Some superb articles to read, compelling fiction on occasion, and interesting differences in culture, from all around the world. Exotic travel, as well as fascinating places in your own back yards. It’s all out there.

I think 2019 has been one of the best blogging years ever, and that is due to most new bloggers finally realising what it’s all about.

Community, sharing experiences, empathy, and discovery.

And it’s free too. How good is that?