I decided to put the followers widget up on my sidebar. I've lovingly referred to those listed as "My Stalkers". Hope you don't mind. I did notice that all thirteen are women, and I'd like to think that's because I'm some sort of macho stud, but . . . Wait, this is my own little fantasy world, and I'm going to go with just that!- A macho stud!
I'm a legend in my own mind.
So what do you think of the followers list here or elsewhere. Like it - Hate it? Why?
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Here's another one for ya. What about the live feed doodads I see on some sites? Personally I don't like them and here's my reason why. When I visit a site with one of those goodies in its sidebar, the city where I'm currently at appears along with the blog I'm coming from. That in itself doesn't really bother me, but what does, is that if I decide to pop back over a few minutes later to see if the person has responded to my comment (or for any other reason) there I am again at the top of the list of visitors. Why does this bother me you ask? You did ask didn't you? Cause now I feel like a damn stalker. Sometimes I'll go back to a site several times in a day to read other comments or to look at another post or whatnot. I just hate that I keep showing up on the stat watcher.
Okay, so that probably sounds paranoid, but that's why they bug me. What's your two cents? Some of you have these on your sites and I wonder what you look at from them. I could be totally off with my own perception of them. So now's your time to set the record straight. Are they just interesting to look at? Do they give you useful information of some sort? or ???
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The comment box awaits you.
27 comments:
Followers -- you are a groupie! I decided not to put this on my blog. I would feel so horrid if nobody joined it ....
I think the Followers thing is kind of like bragging -- look at all the friends I have! Of course, I might have gotten that impression because the first time I noticed one, was when a person whose blog I visited once in passing, followed me back to my blog and begged me to join his followers and prove I was the kind of friend people wanted to have.
As to live feed dodahs -- again, it's the show-of factor. I have readers from all over the world and here are my stats to prove it. I don't worry much about how often I visit or what I leave behind because I don't think people actually watch them that closely.
Feel free to come by my blog repeatedly. My stats will just tell me that post "Gobbledegook" had 87 visitors today and 24 were duplicates. That is common at my place because I respond in the comments and folks keep checking back to see if I've answered yet.
And, why do I have stats? So I can puzzle over why 486 people today wandered through my archives. Whatever were they looking for?
The only time I look at stuff like that in other people's sidebars is to find other blogs to read - because if I love a blog, it stands to reason I might well love the blogs of some of the other people who read it, yes? So the 'followers' widget is annoying to me, because the icons are too small to see, not everyone has one, and they don't give me any meaningful information, except (as Quilly says) to show me how many friends you have.
Except ... no it doesn't. Lots of people don't use Blogger to blog with. I only use it to redirect people if I comment on a blog which only gives me the option to comment and link using my Google address. I'm a Wordpress gal.
Oh, and while I'm on the subject, I loathe and detest music on blogs. Rarely do I like it, and often I have my own music playing while I read, so it's merely cacophonous. I have to really, really like a blog to keep going back and turning off the player. IF I can find it, that is...
Yep, you sound paranoid. But that's okay. I'm not sure about any of it. I'm still wondering why I let my married children talk me into facebook, talk about worthless, (in my opinion).
I look at my blog as a place that keeps me writing, not where I am concerned who my friends are and where they come from, not that I don't appreciate the people with whom I have become friendly, I most certainly do. Well I could ramble on a bunch more, hey, guess I will..
I am not conderned with why other people blog, we all have our own reasons for breathing all day. I like to read what I like to read and not much of what I read makes sense up against other stuff I read. I'm just mindful of mine. Ahhh opinions aren't they fun!
You are definitely a Macho Man - that's a Village People song, right?
So I put up the followers thing because it was new, but like my stat counter I really don't look at it much. I prefer just reading peoples' fun comments. I really don't know what to do wit any of the rest of it, like the live feeds too.
I want to just post and see if anyone responds. I ave never and will never win a popularity contest. I haven't figured out how they work either.
I had followers on my blog, but then it got a bit highschool-ish - heard a few bloggers comparing the number of followers - saying they felt like the unpopular kid. Then there was the blogger who asked me why I followed some blogs I read, but not all *rolls eyes* Now I don't follow and I don't have the followers widget any longer.
... and the IP identifier? Yeah, I stay away from blogs that use it!
I think that 90-95 percent of all bloggers have a site stat monitor that shows IP addresses. As for putting the location thingy on the blog itself, I think that is just part of the love of gadgets that many people have.
I used to have tons o' crap on my sidebar, but I healed myself of that addiction.
And by the way, chicks dig ya, 'cause you're HAWT. Cheers Stud-Man!!
The girl put my counter thingy on the weblog. Every once in a while I click on it. Maybe three times a year? I have no clue. LOL I rather like it that way.
I guess it's some folks just like widgety thing. Other folks like tracking who shows up. Other folks--might be a measure......who knows. Guess that's theirs to know?
I use the 'stalkers' piece of the weblog cuz it came that way. I guess the girl would have to show me how to turn it on or off.....LOL
See--THIS is why I paid darn good money for her schooling!
I run kind of a bare bones blog- no counters, ads, people I follow or people that follow me... Half the reason is I don't know how, the other half reason is because it seems to work for me. I'm with you on feeling like a stalker when checking for a new posting by the folks I visit, and I don't plan in the near future to count how many visited- that's up to them!
I'm loving the feedback you all are giving. Rather than comment back on each one as I normally do,I'm going to let everyone voice their opinion and then I'll do a follow-up post later tonight with my thoughts and observations.
Keep 'em coming.
I like the followers thingie cause I like the itsy bitsy teeny weeny heads - yes I do
I added the followers thing hoping it would replace my blog list which is a royal pain in the a** and is never up to date and takes up too much space on the sidebar
I don't have any other gadgets or widgets - and I rarely pay attention to them on other blogs. I once got an e-mail from someone because my photo turned up on her 'bloglog' thingie and so she followed me back and asked why I had visited her blog and not commented. WTF?
I don't really care where I turn up - they can't reach me thru my monitor and if they want to e-mail me or leave a nasty comment - it's all good
now I'm off to follow you - yesterday I asked for a hug and today I'm following you - you're such a stud muffin.
oh - Jeff's brother - he IS a stud muffin - don't contradict me
I like the followers thing.... it helps me know who reads me on a more regular basis...
And I am like you and I want to be followed. :P
Jeff, I read on blogger that I should place my followers at the top of my blog so that if someone per chance wanted to follow it was right there.
The first time someone became a follower, I was freaked out a little bit because I had no idea that anyone read my blog. Paranoia struck, then I added my tracker, but I moved it to the bottom of my blog so folks would not see it. hahaha
Since I am new to this insane blogging world, I have tried to make my blog interesting. It may actually border on insane, but what can I say. I am a visual person and I like color.
Now, I am not that worried. I found the edit button. So far so good. I write for myself only, but I have made a lot of wonderful friends out there.
As far as the high schoolish thing, I have not encountered that yet. I look for content, quality, humor and honesty in blogs that I follow and of course stud muffins like yourself!
Humor saves the day for me and you are one funny man with cooking talents. Oh, I think you would be another post in and of yourself! Too many quallities for this commenter.
This should be a post for all of us. Reasons come and go?
Take care and enjoy all of our comments. LOL! You have a harem. hahahaha!
Followers - I appear to be your first stalker. I don't know, it's just something to do I guess.
As for the Feedjit widget, I don't care. It doesn't bother me in the least. I always figure who really looks at the darned thing anyway and now I know it's you. Bwahahahahahaha.
Have a terrific day and weekend. :)
I have that thing on my blog, for no other reason than everyone else did...I hate that my blog does not link on yours and a few others...i really need to take some time and redo my template and try and figure that out.
After reading Jay's comment, I am glad that my music player only starts when you hit play!
I like to see who's stalking me and how often. It's amusing and reverse-voyeuristic. Ya know?
I likey the followers - the little avatars brighten up my sidebar. The other dodah is ok but I don't have it on my sidebar - not enough room.
PS Are you a stud muffin? ;)
This whole thing is so complicated, and we all have our idiosyncrasies. I don't mind anything that anyone has in their sidebar. I find it kind of interesting. I especially like blog lists because as others have said, I use them to find other interesting blogs. It's how I found you, and I used your old list to find others.
I have a relatively short list on my blog that I kind of use as a "favorites". I've never become one with the whole RSS feed thing and others like it. I like to use my blog as a sort of a home page from which to spring to others.
I don't use the "followers" widget at present because, like Quilly, I'm afraid that no one would join, and I might get insecure. lol (Though I have managed to pick up a follower that I never remember interacting with, which is kind of nice.) I haven't "followed" any blogs for kind of the same reason that you don't like the tracker. I don't like being on some list. (I'm back to the popularity contest thing.) So, even though I'm not "officially" one of your "stalkers," let's just say I still keep you "under surveillance." LOL
P.S. Love the new theme on your blog. Very spiff. :)
Howdy Macho Man!
Well...as you know, I don't have the follow thingy, but I do have the live feed thingy. I like the follow thingy, but the only reason why I don't use it, is because widgets slow the page load. However, I do have a feedburner, so I know how many people are reading my feed.
I like having the live feed, because through it, I've discovered some cool things, like when someone has posted a link to my blog. This way I can go over to their blog and say thank you.
I think the live feed is terribly ugly though, so I placed it on the footer below my posts, along with stat stuff and affiliation badges. I'm not big on having stuff on my side bars.
I've always been interested in my blog stats, and seeing who visits.
It's a combination of being both curious and egocenric.
And BTW...I know I shared this with you before, but this new blog design it AWESOME! You did a great job, bud!
Have a great weekend!
I like the followers box but it changed and now it's a little weird. I use Google Analytics on my blog so only I can see stuff. I have no idea what most of it means but it's got maps, graphs and charts, so it's fun to look at! LOL
I like the follower thingy, and I don't have it for an ego boost or to throw me into the depths of depression, I find it useful for easily accessing other blogs. It's a handy little gadget.
As far as the live feed doodads, I rarely ever look at mine, only if someone leaves me a weird comment. I know someone who had a seriously scary cyberstalker. That's my only paranoia. Again, I don't have it for the purpose of bragging to other bloggers. I don't see the need to brag, either one likes my blog or they don't. Everyone is welcome to come or go as they please.
As far as music. I don't like music on reading blogs because I can't concentrate on the story, but I do have a music player on my other blog, which is mostly pictures with simple descriptions, memes, and other junk. I enjoy trying to match the song to the post. I love music. Again, others can come or go as they like. I blog for myself, not to try to please everyone.
Since I'm a happily married, older woman, I guess I don't stalk you because of your handsome face, must be because I enjoy your wit and brilliant writing.
That's my two cents. Hope it helps. BJ
I don't have the follower thing on my blog, but I try to follow everyone who does. I'm like Dianne. I hate my blog roll and it annoys me so much. I'm thinking of creating a new page with the blog roll on it and getting rid of on my sidebar. We'll see.
As for gadgets on the blog, I really don't like most of them. Especially music playing gadgets.
You could surf anonymously. Just Google it and find lots of sites that you can go through to be anon. ;-)
Thanks for dropping in at my place. I wonder how you got to me, actually. Was it from another blog?
I added the followers widget and the blog lists because they are separate things. The followers widget lists who signed up on their own. The blog lists identifies the people I follow, not the same people, necessarily. I only had to eliminate one follower.
It's good to find other Northwesterners.
I don't really worry too much about gadgets and doodads. That's mostly because I don't always know how they work!
I do click on the Followers when I see them though. The reason is because I've been so busy recently that I'm not able to make regular rounds. But since I'm on someone's list of Followers, they know I'll get back to them soon.
Love the followers thingy. Hate the stat tracker! :(
I use my follower list like another blogroll. I visit many of the people on my follower list occasionally to often. I think it is handy.
What is NOT cool is when I lose a follower and then wonder why. I don't want the darn thing to mean too much to me.
wow...people put a great deal more thought into why various gadgets are on other people's sites.
It never occurred to me to wonder why or what it all means...other than just author's preference.
Of course as usual, I'm late to the conversation, but can't resist putting my two cents (penny?) in. I have mixed feelings about the followers thing, though I think Quilly kind of hit it on the head AND for me, I don't have that many friends and I would feel bad about myself. As for the tracker thing. I hate it when sites show that I've been there... what if I don't have anything to say and don't leave a comment? Or get a phone call... will I hurt the person's feelings? I don't know... it just kind of bugs me. I kind of agree with Jay about music even when I love people's taste in music. Some sites take forever to load because of the stupid music box and then it starts up all loud and you have to hunt for it to find it so you can shut it off or just turn the volume off on your own computer and... But you didn't ask about that, did you? Anyway. Maybe this is only a half penny and not 2 cents... I do like the new look of your blog. Very easy on the eye.
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