It's after 10 p.m. and I haven't finished today's homework assignment for the April Platform Challenge. (Does it count if I already did it yesterday?) Instead of writing, I've been reading about blogging from various experts around the web. You see, I'm still trying to figure out what topics I should focus more on in Travels with Books, which turned 3 years old yesterday. Should I add separate pages for history, books, and genealogy? Would placing those links at the top of this page distract people from reading new posts?
I like all those things in the "About This Blog" blurb on the right side of this page. Out of curiosity, I skimmed through the blogs I follow (I don't necessarily read everything), and counted up the categories. Several of them were outdated, or sadly, closed shop a few months ago. Those did not get counted. I follow:
17 history blogs
26 genealogy blogs
29 about books, booksellers or libraries
5 about Quakers (modern)
1 travel blog
29 writing blogs
6 scrapbooking or photography
and 6 others, just for fun.
Apparently Genealogy, Books and Writing still grab my interest, about equally. I was surprised to see only one for travel, because I follow several travel bloggers on Twitter. New posts show up in the Reading List on Blogger's dashboard, but I don't know how to delete duplicates or extinct blogs.
What about you?
1. What are your favorite themes?
2. How do you read your favorite websites and blogs? (eg. Google reader, Blogger)
Please post your answers in the comments. I'd like to know your thoughts.
6 comments:
I too am struggling through the Platform Challenges, also am unclear about my blog "personality," and think I may have messaged you through an earlier challenge. Do we make a good connection (for PC #15)?
I think blogs by their nature are works in progress that evolve with us. I have a postcard blog which I’ve neglected a bit to work on a new focus. I also have a blog for my writing too.
My favorite themes? I’ll have to research that but race cars, dog mushing and humor postcards for my postcard blog. My writing blog is, well, about wonder and pain and liberation.
I read blogs differently depending on the subject and depth. Almost exclusively, I visit blogs via Twitter and have several I follow regularily.
It seems you are doing a great job mixing your themes. Have you thought of a separate blog for each theme? They might feed off each other. This has the advantage that your readers will know what subject they will be viewing when they visit.
Sorry so long winded. Best of luck with the Platform Challenge.
Here are links to my blog:
http://milkofmoonlight.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/visiting-grandma/
http://postcardkris.blogspot.com/2011/11/cold-to-bone.html
Toodles
Hello Elizabeth, I am also struggling with MNINB let alone twitter, FB blogging and checking out others's blogs from which I KNOW I will learn a lot. It reminds me a bit of my resistance to emailing in the 1990's and how I thought I wld never do this - but thank heavens I overcame this (pretty quickly). I like what Kris said about blogging and they will evolve with us.
All best wishes,
Susan
You asked about favourite themes .. I like contemporary and historical novels, authors such as Edward Whitmont (Jungian analyst who died a few years ago); Joseph Cambell (a great writer on mythology who incidentally may be a source for you on Ireland:did you know that St Patrick was accredited with driving all the snakes out of Ireland?); good biographies ..
Hi, everybody. Thanks for stopping by!
Mary, where? Twitter? I think I was interested in one of your MNINB comments and clicked on your profile, but there's no information (in Blogger). No last name, no photo, no info - makes it hard to connect. All the challenges are a little overwhelming, aren't they? I hope to see you again in one of these venues.
Kris, thanks for the comments. Separate blogs or not is exactly what I'm struggling with. I like having everything in one place, especially 3 years of past posts.
Susan, it's a lot going on, isn't it? But fun! I think we'll like some of the venues more than others and gravitate to those. I hadn't heard of those authors.
Today's challenge about SEO and keywords really helped me think about the content of this blog. He had us write down what search words we want people to use to find us. I wrote this in the comments section on MNINB:
"I realized I've been blogging about writing and blogging, when I really want people to find me for Irish genealogy or Quaker history. This is just the kind of focus I needed."
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