Mega Bloggers forget us small fries

Are you one of those successful, mega bloggers who have dozens (or hundreds) of followers and commenters?  Do you have guest bloggers knocking down your door?  Do you have sponsors and constant invitations to provide sponsored content on your valuable space? 

And.

Did you get there from hard work?  Did you visit hundreds of other blogs and leave your thoughts and subscribe even when you didn’t have enough time in the day to think? 

Well.

Then my message is for you.

I am not a mega-blogger as everyone knows who ventures to my site on occasion.  God knows I’ve tried and just haven’t been successful.  

I’m not making excuses and I’m not apologizing.

I’m not a mommy or grand mommy blogger.  I don’t have a serious illness that I know of, unless you count chronic unemployment-itis.  I haven’t had a horrible thing happen in my life.  Oh wait, I have, but I don’t want to build a blog around it.   I don’t have money to hire someone to make my site pretty, and what you see is what you get.

I'm not dissing those who do, either.

That being said.

I have a list of a few dozen bloggers that I adore and I frequent as often as is possible.  Some of you are Mega-Bloggers and you know who you are.  Some of you visit my blog maybe once a month if I’m lucky.  I’m always happy to have you, but I’m not blind and I've been doing this for almost two years now.  Some of you are actually IRL friends and you still can’t take a minute out of your busy schedule to acknowledge my work. 

It is work you know, my writing.  I am a serious fiction writer, and will continue to write. 

I’m just not sure that being in this blogging business and trying to support so many people who don’t have the time to support me is really the wise thing to do.

I would like to say that I don’t care if you visit, but I do.  I would like to say it doesn’t matter if you don’t support me, I will always support you.  Up until now that has been the case. 

However.

I’m spending a lot of time supporting people who probably don’t give me a second thought.

If you no longer want or need my support, please email me.  Use the Contact Tab on my site and let me know.  I will not be upset. 

But let’s get real, shall we?   I love you all, but if you don’t need my help, I can direct it towards others like myself who really need the support and will reciprocate, at least occasionally.

Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but I’m busy too.  I spend hours each day trying to get work and the other hours studying for my Masters.  These things are important to me.

Enough said.  Have a good week. 

Much love coming from…

Terri’s Little Corner

Widget WhaJit?

Oh for cryin’ out loud!

If you’re reading this, then you found your way over to my new, and quite fabulous, website.  I have to commend you on your perseverance and chutzpah, though, because I certainly didn’t make it easy for you to find me.

Here at terrisonoda.net we are still very much under construction, utterly confused, uberly consternated, and overly constipated (but that’s another story).     And by We I mean Me.   Sheesh.

I could take the ‘arrogant’ road and say that I was testing you, but then I’d be downright lying.  I’ve been the one tested and I’m about ready to hand in my assignment half-assed, and accept my less-than-desirable E grade.  That’s E for effort, just one step away from F for fail.  In case you aren’t up on your alphabet and grading systems. 

Seeing as I love lists  (I think I caught the list bug from Ally over at Two Normal Moms.  She’s awesome at lists!)   I decided I would list some of the things I’m still trying to work out on this new website, along with some of the things I screwed up, and finally some of the things I just gave up on and threw in the towel.  

I’m a nerd but I’m no widget-holic, people.  This shit is making me nuts.

Here’s my List:

1.  The Squarespace platform I’m using does not provide for an Email Subscriber widget.  After looking up the word ‘widget’ and deciding the word must have been created by  R2D2 from Star Wars or Mater from the Cars movie, I gathered what was left of my dignity and pressed on.  I did a little research and then I gave up and called my friend Lisa from Grandmas Briefs and offered my first-born for her expert advice.  She graciously turned down my bribe, but gave me the info anyway.  She told me to check out a third party thingy from Google called Feedburner.  I’m still looking into this.  I’ve read page after page after page, and still don’t know what the fuck they are talking about.   Terri Fail.  Thanks for trying Lisa.  You must have thought I had normal cognizant powers and I could grasp the newness of the situation.  I’ll keep reading. 

 

2.  My blog comment section was lacking this detail called threading.  For other clueless folks like me, it means there’s no place to reply to the comments, so interaction is limited.   I would have to post a regular comment and refer back to the commenter.  Pfffttt.  I don’t think so.  I LOVE the comments and I LOVE my witty retorts even more.  I’m a replier legend in my own mind.  I must have this capability!   So I called…..you guessed it…..Lisa from Grandmas Briefs.   Oh yea, I also sent an email to tech support.  However, I’m quite sure Lisa is a much better source.  She told me I could bring in Disqus, a third party comment widget thingamabob, that would do the things I want it to do, but there’s a big downside. 

(Isn’t there always a downside?)  Once installed, Disqus removes ALL the old comments from all your blog posts, from forever and infinity.  I am serious.

Did I opt to go this route?   Why, yes…yes I did.  And now there are no comments on my blog.  And I make my apologies to everyone who ever commented on my blog.  I hope you didn’t want to go back and view your previous comments because you can’t. 

 The.Comments.Have.Gone.to.Comment.Heaven.   May they rest in peace. 

       I need a minute.   Just let me get a tissue and I’ll be right back.

Sooooo, I consider that a partial Fail for Terri.  BUT now I have comments and replies just the way I want them.  So Please leave those comments.  Give me some shit.  Cuss me out.  Give me love.  Bring it.  I can take it.  And?  I can REPLY!     Awesome.

3.   So what did I give up on?   Well, I sat here for two hours last night, trying to do a sketch of a skyline and stars and really cool stuff to put up as background to my Title Header, and I finally gave up after a succession of miscalculations on size perspective and having a tree that  could pass for Godzilla.  I just gave up and went to bed.   I’m keeping the wine bottles up there.   What?   My creative juices are all dried up.  I’m just sayin.  You try and figure out widgets, threading, HTML, Page Ranking and all that other geeky crap after your second (or was it my third?) Baileys and Coffee.  I just didn’t give a shit anymore. 

4.  I also couldn’t figure out how to redirect anyone going to my old blog, over to my new blog.  I need to read some more.  Oh goodie.   So I applied a temporary fix and put a note up on the old site.  I’m nothing if not thorough.   And cheap.  And in search of a quick fix.  It’s been fun but also very frustrating at times!   Something that seems like it should be so simple, probably is.  I just can’t figure it out. 

Anyhoooo, welcome to my new place.  Like every new home, there is much to do.   The one thing that will remain constant, however, is my dedication to this blog and my readers.     I’ll make a deal with you. If you’ll keep coming back, I’ll keep trying to figure out how to make this website better and more user-friendly.  Deal?

Cool.   Much love!   Merry Christmas.  Happy Hanukkah.  Happy New Year.  Wicked Widgeting!  (is that a holiday?  It should be)     XOXOs!

      

(Images from Google Images)