In yesterday’s post ..
… The one that no one is going to go back and read to see IF your Captain added something to it.
Yesterday’s Post was our 2,000th post. I just now went back and snapped the below photos to show this fact and I added them to yesterday’s Post, the one that no one is going to go back and read.
Someone asked me “anonymously ” .. “Cap how on God’s Green Earth do you know that it is your 2,000th Post?”
Great question. This information is displayed loud-and-clear on my Dashboard. Do you all see 2,000 Posts?
So now, you-know, how-I-know the numbers (Post number 2,000) as will other new readers playing catch-up when they read yesterday’s revised Post with these photos now included.
In yesterday’s Post I explained how the word (one I do NOT particularly like but now, knowing its origin, I fully understand) Blog originated.
The word Blog is a truncation of “web log”. A Blog is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts).
Yes ! Oh Yes ! I know I am repeating myself. Yes ! Oh Yes ! I also know many (if not most) of you are senior citizens and may not remember how the name Blog originated.
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THE INS AND THE OUTS OF WEB LOGS (aka BLOGS) and WEB LOGGING (aka BLOGGING)
Everyone that I know who has a website (or if you prefer a ‘Blog’) knows that, at least inside of their own minds, no one is reading their posts because no one is interested in what they write, or blah, blah, BLAH ad nauseum !!
Many of us know better but we have self-esteem issues, aka the committee inside of our heads!
We Bloggers are not alone with committees inside of our own heads.
Online there are numerous websites about people wrestling with their committees.
“It’s not a matter of letting go, you would if you could. Instead of ‘Let it go,’ we should probably say ‘Let it be.’ ” Jon Kabat-Zinn
Can anyone relate to the below photo ?
If you want to survive as a Blogger (a Web Logger), you must have a somewhat tough-skin and you must live in reality.
At the end of the below disertation, I will give you my own answer to the committees inside of my own head.
Reality boils down to several factors.
First, out of the total number of followers one has, a relatively small percentage comment. One is truly fortunate if one has a few loyal followers that DO indeed not only leave comments, but do so regularly. Those who do so often are kindred spirits and many of them have their own Websites / Blogs. So in essence, we support one another.
Second, you simply cannot please each and every individual reader who have their own interests.
It is absolutely and totally impossible that all readers will enjoy all posts!
We have to accept the reality that in this lifetime :
We cannot be all things, To all people, In all places, At all times.
Third, very, very, VERY FEW readers are going to look at each and every single post! We all have full lives to live and MANY other things (the list could go on forever!) that occupy our time.
Fourth, basically few, if any, readers are going to go back in time and research past posts. Like yesterday’s newspaper, yesterday’s news is of little interest today!
What to do when you change or amend a prior post? In a new post, you advise your followers what you’re updating.
Yesterday I said that I have published 13,973 photos.
I went back to yesterday’s Post and added these two photos. My Dashboard has all of this information (and yes even more).
Fifth, having published 2,001 posts here on dotnet and now being in my 12th year, topics (what do I write about today) become an issue. To keep people coming back, one must offer their readers something of interest. This is why I publish photos of interest to me that friends send us. Voila .. A topic and support from our friends who like seeing their photos here online on dotnet ! We’re both happy !
Sixth, when one of our most loyal followers, those who go back years with us (many over a decade) leaves a comment on a post, we pay very close attention to their comments and respond to them as appropriate.
Seventh, often after we publish a Post, after I have then re-written it in my head, I will want to go back and alter it. But I will put my proposed addition to the acid-test .. ” Is it really important to go back in time and add this ? ” .. and seldom do I go back in time.
And now I will present to you my own answer to the above issues.
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During my life, I have had jobs that have required me to stand before (often) large audiences and give presentations. For four years in West Germany, I was a briefing Officer for a one star General. It was my job to present the status of hundreds of construction projects to an audience filled with people who had a real interest in ” their ” project.
Here is what one learns : You do NOT speak to an audience of several hundred people. Oh No ! It takes no more that one minute for you to look out at the audience and to see precisely who has their eyes trained upon you and who are really listening to what you are saying. I can go back years and remember many of these individuals. This is especially true when speaking in the Rooms of Recovery. A few listeners will really be with you and focused upon your message.
Translation : On dotnet, as a Blogger, I often write posts ” directly aimed at specific followers who I know will be interested ” in a particular post.
Fun ? Here is the fun.!
It sometimes happens that someone that I am ” aiming a Post at ” will miss the Post. Then, out of the blue someone sitting in the (virtual) back of the room that I KNOW has no interest in my topic, will come roaring back with an enthusiastic comment or reply !
And yes, quite often I get ” back channel ” comments, sent directly to me by text messages or emails.
My Number One, front and center, most enthusiastic follower ??
Guess who ??
There can only be one !!
That’s all for today folks.
Cap with Patti
Because many of you do not check our website each and every day, we are going to repeat this message several times throughout the upcoming week.
This upcoming Saturday, December the 3rd, we will be flying from Anchorage down to Seattle and then onward to Las Vegas. We will then travel by automobile South to Laughlin, Nevada, where we will enjoy a six night stay at the Edgewater Hotel and Casino Resort. Friday the 9th of December, we will head for Phoenix, Arizona, and some upcoming medical appointments at the Mayo Clinic.
