Friday, March 6, 2009

The Followers Follow-up

I really enjoyed reading all of your comments on the previous post about the followers widget and live feed / stat trackers. Thank you for your well thought out and open responses.

So what did I glean from what you had to say? As I see it, the following:

1. This one should come as no big surprise. We are all individuals and as such, the reasons for having or not having these little gadgets vary widely from one person to the next. From "I think they are too highschoolish" to "I like the way they look on my sidebar", what one person might find as fun, another might view as ridiculous. So is one of these views more correct than another? Of course not. They are, just as we all are, different. Thank the good Lord for that too I say. Can you imagine how boring it would be if we all liked exactly the same things? Ugh.

2. There is no perfect formula for what my or any other blog should look like and trying to find it will only make a person crazy. If you like using a particular widget or doodad on your blog then go for it. It's your little piece of the Internet to do with as you see fit. We all have the ability to continue tuning in or to go elsewhere if what we see doesn't please us.

3. Three out of four commenters surveyed declare that I am in fact a macho stud muffin! Okay, so a couple of you said this, but come on, you had to know I'd be milking that one for all it was worth.

4. A couple of gadgets on a sidebar are probably not going to make someone stop reading your site. We are visited by the content of our blog, not because of what we have it decorated with. While we're on the subject, may I interject the following? Whether you post with humor, political commentary, beautiful photographs, stories, etc. keep doing what comes natural to you. When you start trying to change your individual style to conform to what you think others expect, then you'll be doing nothing but fighting an uphill battle.

5. Music. I'm glad someone brought this one up. Our musical styles do seem to be quite a personal thing don't they? We like what we like and would rather not be bothered with what we don't. I generally don't have my speakers on while I'm surfing around, so the music players don't make a difference to me. I suppose if I had them on, then these would be an annoyance to me, but again, to each his or her own. I do like the player bars that some use though. This gives me a choice as to whether or not I want to hit play.

~~~

So what am I going to do about my own followers list? I think I'm going to keep it. I'll probably keep it at the top of the side bar for a while and when I feel like a change, I'll drop it down lower or even to the bottom of the page.

Site feed? I had the Cluster Map thingy before and kind of liked that one. Always thought it was fun to look at the world map and see where people were visiting from. No hidden agenda to it at all, just cool to know that people thousands of miles away would read my ramblings.

The blog list. That I'm definitely keeping. I love being able to see when you've posted something new, and this does a great job of that. There are a couple of exceptions to this "works great" part. For some reason there are still two blogs listed there that don't get updated or linked properly. Blogger gremlins perhaps, I really don't know why.

There, that about covers it for today.

19 comments:

Finding Pam said...

I am sorry that I forgot to call you a stud muffin! Though, I thought I did give you a nice compliment.LOL!

You have made excellent use of the commenters input. Very interesting and detailed. Way to go, Jeff.

Lanny said...

Hmmm, all that is very interesting. I just love how malleable you are Jeff. Sheesh, just blowing in the wind, tossed back and forth by the waves, aren't you.

Dana said...

What? My views aren't any more important than anyone elses? Clearly you've been misinformed Jeff! *wink*

Roan said...

You have perfectly summed up the blogisphere. Everyone is looking for a blog that interests them, “sun is good for cucumbers, rain for rice”. “To each his own”. “Live and let live”. We should not judge what bloggers choose to post, “search others for their virtues, thyself for thy vices”. It really doesn’t matter how a blog is decorated, after all, “froth is not beer”. Those who like what you post will return again and again because “birds of a feather flock together”. I keep coming back because I firmly believe, “a day is lost if one has not laughed”. And in closing, you may be a "stud muffin", but,

"beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart. ~Kahlil Gibran

Nessa said...

Very nice summary, Stud Muffin, you.

The blogs I read are so varied. I love the differences.

I surf with my speakers off too. The one thing I find very annoying is the shock of music suddenly blaring at me. It's the surprise of it mostly.

Jeff B said...

Pam- I'll forgive you - this time. hehehe

Lanny- Part of being able to relate well with other people is being willing to listen to other viewpoints and consider their value. I still have my core values that I hold fast to, but I'm always looking for more input on the human condition at the same time.

Dana- I knew i should have put in the Dana disclaimer.

BJ- So what you're saying is I may be butt ugly, but I'm still a decent enough guy?
Bwahahahaha

Nessa- Varied would sum up my blog roll as well.

Akelamalu said...

You're quite right Jeff. Our blogs are like our homes - we decorate them to our own taste not everyone else's which is quite right. :)

Jay said...

I can't believe I forgot to call you a stud muffin. Dang, I'm sorry dude!

buffalodick said...

The only blogs I get annoyed with are the ones that have so much crap on them (Music, ads, awards, etc.) it takes 5 minutes before you can comment, as it takes so long to download! And these are people I like!

Cherie said...

Sounds like you have chosen wisely. :)

Sandee said...

Sounds like a plan to me.

Have a terrific weekend. :)

Jeff B said...

Akelamalu- Exactly

Jay- That's alright, probably better that way.

Happy Birthday man

Buffalo- I've visited some like that and know exactly what you mean. Thank god for DSL or I can imagine how frustrating that would be.

Cherie- Ah yes grasshopper.

Sandee- I most definitely will.

Ron said...

Howdy Jeff!

You summed it up PERFECTY!

It's your little piece of the Internet to do with as you see fit.

My sentiments exactly!

Enjoyed reading this post, bud!

Have a great weekend!

Travis Cody said...

You'll understand, I'm sure, why I didn't make any reference to the stud muffin thing.

I do agree with your points about the content of a person's blog. We should do what works best for us.

david mcmahon said...

We all need gremlins, Jeff. If it was good enough for a hit movie, it's good enough for electronic gozmos.

Gene Bach said...

It doesn't matter what you have in your sidebar you're still an idiot.

Mom said so.

katherine. said...

I'm trying to figure out where the term Stud Muffin came from...

male version of cupcake?? but isn't that beefcake???

Desert Songbird said...

I, like you, don't leave my speakers on, so I have the option to play the music that is included at my choice. I was startled once too often by an "auto play" music track when I was blog reading during an insomnia-driven late night foray into the blogosphere.

Cath said...

Hi Jeff I came late for this one, but just for the record, I agree with you.

I have done away with big gizmos and like to have one little sitemeter to count the hits (which amazes me) and to see people come from all over the world which delights me. And I like my followers list and blog list for the same reasons as you.

And you rock!