Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Single Blossoms & Blogging Thoughts





Perhaps I'm feeling a bit brighter and more hopeful about things today. I chose a collection of recent bright blossoms from the gardens to light up the day, and have been digesting some thoughts and ideas.

The comments everyone left here in response to Entrecard gone haywire were really wonderful for me. I took some time thinking about them, about the whole blogging experience in general, and reading what other folks have had to say about all this. I'd like to summarize some of my initial impressions and mention some of the actions I've been spurred to take, in the wake of my experience with the EC frustration and the wasted time.

I concur with every single opinion left here (and elsewhere) that finding wonderful new blogs and blogging friends is the crux of my Entrecard experience. I decided that, just to be safe, I'm adding more blogs to my "own special list" in case I do leave Entrecard...so I'll still be able to find most of you fellow bloggers. This list isn't complete yet, in fact, it may take awhile, but it's a work in progress.

The second thought is that the whole point of this 'exercise,' commonly called EC, was to both find blogs AND to be found by new readers. To this end, I joined the EC forums and have posted some of my thoughts about their new proposal to cut down on credits as a response to the 'inflation' they claim has messed up the points system. There I pointed out how, in my opinion, their proposal to not give credit for drops upon a blog--only for dropping on other blogs--really undervalues the blogs and the blog writers and rewards the 'power droppers' primarily. It seems to me that a true measure of a blogs' value is how many folks bother to check it out! And power dropping (and not stopping or reading) and high bounce rate were exactly the things that the EC folks were railing against just a few weeks ago. I'm tempted to say "get your act together!" We'll have to see how this all shakes out and the jury's still out for me on my future with Entrecard....

But the challenge of getting a blog more exposure remains. I have put my blog into a couple of new lists and directories, have begun to use the CMF ad program. I'm investigating other ad programs and directories, and am open to hearing other ideas from any and all of you for exposing a blog to a wider audience with the hope of finding additional interested readers.

At the root of it all is my love of making & sharing photos and possibly sharing some words, ideas and opinions in a fun and maybe artful way. For me, this is all part and parcel of making objects, too, because each activity feeds the other.

So to both bribe and reward you for sharing some of your thoughts about this...here, enjoy a few fresh bright new flowers! And thank you so much....

22 comments:

by keiara - lampwork beads said...

those photographs have brightened my day! thank you for sharing them :) xox

Rick (Ratty) said...

I really like these flower pictures, especially that first one. I love all those little shades of blue.

As far as Entrecard goes, I use it a lot, but I only stay active there to find new blogs. Entrecard seems intent on screwing up their system, so I try very hard to ignore anything they do. That way I stay happy and still get to find other blogs too.

EHillson said...

Your pictures are lovely and certainly brighten up a dull and gloomy day here in the UK.

As to Entrecard I can't comment yet as I am a newbie and I'm still figuring out how it is meant to work.

Anyway have fun and keep posting.

•°°• IcyBC •°°• said...

Beautiful photos, and the first one is just out of this world.

I agree with your opinion about EC. After the rush with viruses, I'm very wary..

Helen Harris said...

I have enjoyed your photos, your niece's fine voice and your engaging blog...I found you thru Entrecard. For me this was & is my main intent of remaining with Entrecard, to discover interesting ,art filled blogs. I've ignored all the rhetoric & avoided the extreme 300 droppers. (most of the blogs don't fit my interests)
I do stop to read many blogs, rather than drop and run.
I can only hope the content in my blogs attract like minded readers.I have learned from many bloggers by carefully viewing their pages. Entrecard was & is a part of my "education" . I take what I can use & ignore the rest.
I'll be back:)

Unknown said...

I miss summer!!!!

Ann said...

I've always responded well to bribes and rewards...lol I so agree with everything you said about EC it does seem to be more of a reward to the power dropper the way they are going. I've also discovered so many wonderful new blogs, yours is one of them.
Love all the flowers pictures especially the first.

Cher Duncombe said...

The photos are yet another compliment of your artisic talents. They are beautiful. If EC has done nothing else, it has enabled me to find your blog, along with some others, which I cherish.

J. M. P. said...

I didn't bother about the changes in EC until I read your post. I'll keep my eye on them. As regards other directories, I only know BlogCatalog, and I found you there, so I don't have news for you. Thanks for the flowers.

Mrs Sweetwater said...

your photos are beautiful, as always. I dropped a few cmf ads in your queue. hope you can hang in there with the entrecard crap long enough that we can see them finally fix it. it takes a village to raise a child - and entrecard is one bad mannered kid at times. but with patience and training - we may be able to finally potty train this toddler. ;)

Jennifer MacNeill said...

I love the first flower. All those squiggley bits in the middle are magical to me:)
I hate ads on websites and if there are too many it will make me not want to come back (unless it is an exceptional blog). I only have the entre card ad on mine. I find the greatest way to gain exposure is finding, commenting and following other great blogs. Twitter is also great. I tweet everytime I add a new blog entry.
I go back and forth with the ec thing every week. Ugh...

Unknown said...

WOW! just WOW! i don't even know what else i can say about those photos!

like i stated in your other post, i am grateful to ec for giving me a place to find great blogs and great friends. i don't care much about the credits. have you checked out my husbands blog? he has some excellent posts on getting more exposure and such. lots of great advice. (not saying that just because he is my husband either...hehehe)

have a great day my friend!

Tina said...

Your flower pictures are just gorgeous! Flowers are my favorite subject to photograph, next to my grandkids. Just love them...flowers, and grandkids. :-)

BeadedTail said...

Your photos are so beautiful!

As for EC, I've been adding blogs to my reader too just in case I leave but I'm still going to wait it out awhile longer and see what happens.

Joanne Olivieri said...

Your photos always blow me away. The first one is spectacular, truly.

As for EC you make alot of sense in that using EC is to find blogs in which you have some interest. I find myself that I drop on the blogs I like which are also the blogs I follow so I'm thinking why drop? I don't like the virus issues either. However I am still dropping though not advertising until I see after September 1st, what is happening.

Cruiselife & Co said...

First of all, I adore the pictures and your blog. Secondly, I agree with your standpoint on EC. Originally I was in need of more blog traffic, but when I finally started dropping cards everyday, and out of those drops maybe one person would comment on my blog, it just seemed useless. I like having time to read and comment on articles that I enjoy. The problem is, I have three sites and I don't have the time to drop 300 cards a day, so I just stopped doing it. I only drop on blogs that I follow now.

I think it's better to build a relationship with other bloggers instead of just running and dropping.

Anonymous said...

Totally agreeing with your comments. Makes you wonder if it is even worth it to stick around anymore. If it weren't for the friends I made on EC, I may have been gone long ago...

Unknown said...

Oh boy....I love the blue....what a perfect capture:)

Anonymous said...

Those are beautiful

Split Rock Ranch said...

LOVE the photos. Who needs a garden? I'll just visit your blog and enjoy yours instead!

As for entrecard, I have burned out doing 300 drops daily. I did those drops to earn the EC's so I could advertise and bring more traffic to my blog. But I feel like some days it is more of a chore than it is worth. I'd rather just visit blogs I enjoy and not feel the pressure to hit so many in one day. I slid from the number one spot in my category yesterday and was actually relieved in a way - that takes the pressure off. It will be interesting to see what happens after September 1st.

threadsofmagique said...

I just found your blog through the Bloggers group on Indiepublic. Have to say I love your blog, so nice and clean and such beautiful photos!!!
I was interested to read your post and all the comments on EC. I belonged for awhile - a couple of month maybe - and found some wonderful blogs. I dropped out when I realized just how much time I was spending every day (that I could have spent crafting) and out of all the blogs I visited and left comments on, how few returned the courtesy, just dropped their card and went on. Now I check blog lists on places like Indiepublic and Flickr and also check the blogs that my followers follow. I've found some great ones that way.
Anyway, thanks again for the interesting post and the wonderful flowers!

Jackie said...

These are stunning shots of gorgeous flowers!!

I too am once again am not pleased at all with this last statement from EC.

I have left them 2 times before and really was hoping to see a positive change this time.

However, this is truly going to hurt me. I am on satellite and simply can't get anywhere near 300 drops a day.

I also like to stop and look at people's work and read their thoughts.

I don't know as of yet what I will do either. I have been with CMF almost since they started and yet to have received any credits whatsoever from them.

My blog has run a ton of adds and many have had a great deal of clicks. So I do not understand why I have not built up any credits.

I have had to purchase all of my credits with them to be able to advertise.

Just in case, I just grabbed your link and will make sure you get added to my roll tonight.

I hope you have a lovely day tomorrow. I am off to make my post and hopefully get to bed!!

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