Is My Gravatar Crooked?

I was thinking today about how people find my blog, and, alternately, how I find other peoples’ blogs.  I probably follow too many blogs — 242, to be exact.  Of course that is accumulated over several years, and many are now defunct.  Here lately I have been trying to find some new blogs to read, blogs that I really “get” and that are either funny, touching, or talk about something I believe is important.

I have my ultimate favorite blogs of the now; the blogs that I will read no matter how little time I have and no matter how long it takes me to get to it.  I have blogs I will frequently comment on, to blogs that I generally just hit the like button.  And then there are the blogs of the people I consider my friends, and I try to do my very, very best to always read and always leave a comment with content.

I have blogs that I will skip out on reading that day, due to not  having time or having a severe annoyance with the topic at hand (excuse me, I think it’s important, too, but I cannot read another single line of political commentary.  Although Greg Fallis did a quite hilarious one on Texas Republicans, in a fashion that only he can.).

I find that I tend to move within a “reading circle,” in that, on most posts that I am dropping by to say hello on, almost all of the Gravatars are the same, from blog to blog.  I’m not sure exactly how this happens — maybe it’s how some of my seemingly-random readers find me; don’t know.  What I do know is that it’s kind of fun to read along together, to comment along together, to grow along as a community together.

Sometimes I think people in the same reading group should really sit down and have a cup of virtual lemonade.   What brought us here, initially?  What else are we interested in?  Any new blogs to recommend?  And what are you READING?  Because, if you’re in a similar circle 0f blog readers, you are undoubtedly reading the same books and could likely save yourself a few dollars buying the latest best-seller-that-is-junk on Amazon.

I can more readily identify most bloggers by Gravatar than name.  I mean, that IS why there are Gravatars, I’m sure.  But sometime I wish I would make time to sit down and scout out my fellow reading circle’s blogs.  I think I would probably find a wealth of people with similar interests.  I know for a fact that I am looking for more mental health blogs to follow, and  have been somewhat out of luck there.  (That’s a hint for you to leave me recommendations in the comments!)

While I don’t have a perfect idea about  how to find other blogs, I have no ideas on how people find my blog.  I don’t get weird search terms.  I do get search terms from DBT, but not tons.  Readers seem to mysteriously come and go, and maybe that is just the way things go.  I think it’s altogether possible that some of my readers are spam, as they come by, follow, and never like or read (to my knowledge).

Maybe the Daily Prompt could do something on say,  how do readers come to your doorstep?  Then bunches of people could give their theories and maybe we would find the correct answer.  As you can see here, I’m all about finding the correct answer.

As my man Insights of a Bipolar Bear says, people don’t like to read over 600 words, so I’m shutting this brain down.  Don’t forget to leave your favorite mental health blogs in the comments!

25 thoughts on “Is My Gravatar Crooked?”

  1. Yeah, I am definitely an abuser of the 600 word guidelines 😀

    I started picking up readers/followers with Daily Prompts I haven’t done as many recently, just not feeling inspired or I have something else I want to say.

    I’m falling asleep while typing, but I will follow up with mh blog suggestions later, unless someone else beats me to it 🙂

    Like

    • But you have lots of pictures!!! Pictures subtract from your blog’s word volume — didn’t you know that, silly? 😀

      The Daily Prompts have, for lack of a better term, sucked lately. I haven’t done one in a really long time for many reasons. It would be nice if they could step that up a little. I really did like doing them!

      Like

  2. I think with everything, there is a cycle. Highs and lows, some people will comment more at some times and less during other times. Sometimes they stick around, sometimes they don’t. To truly maintain any sort of lasting friendship it takes energy, and well, no one has the energy to maintain that with everyone. (Sadly, so many blogs I would love to read). I’ve now taken to just reading blogs in my reader when I am on checking wordpress and that’s the best way I manage to at least hit a smidgeon of people I follow. Only a select few do I try and hit everything. (I am so not Superman, lol).

    Like

    • I agree, it does take a certain energy to make a friendship work, and that’s part of what makes it so worth it, when you can expend that energy. Unfortunately you can’t always, and a few blogs may fall by the wayside.

      I don’t like Reader, and maybe it’s because I don’t know how to use it properly, but I find the email notification to work really well as far as organizing what I want to read, when I want to read.

      Like

  3. You are one of the ones I always read unless I’m too sick to read anything. Every once in a while, I get worked up over a subject and write as much as 750 words (like today, because all those years of piano lessons ought to mean something), but my posts are usually fewer than 500 words.

    I used to follow and read a lot more … but I couldn’t keep it up. I always read a handful, usually read another handful, sometimes read another handful, and occasionally read another couple of dozen. Because much as I love blogging, there’s more to life than the Internet.

    My current pet peeve are bloggers who think they are the only ones with problems. They need to get over themselves.

    Like

    • You’re the same for me, even if I don’t always comment. I am ALWAYS reading.

      I loved your piano post and I like your longer posts — you really end up getting to expound upon your points.

      I’d like to follow a few more — I say that now, but watch me kick myself later when I get better and things start kicking in at work and life starts whirring again.

      Agreeing fully with the pet peeve. We’ve ALL got problems.

      Like

  4. I am new to blogging so I really don’t have a good list of blogs I like yet. Like you and most others I don’t have a lot of free time. Which means I will likely skip over long posts. Limiting them to 500 words or less is a good idea.

    Like

  5. Okay, apparently I’m a weirdo because I like long posts. There are some times when I can’t handle them because I’m too deep in brain fog, and if there are no paragraph breaks, I automatically hit that little back button. But in general, long posts make me feel more connected to the writer.

    As for how I found your blog or any others…I have no idea. My brain is Swiss cheese on a good day, and that just doesn’t rank high on the list of things I need to remember, you know? But I do wonder sometimes how people find my blog.

    If I follow a particular blog, I will read it whenever I’m scrolling through the “Blogs I Follow” list, which is generally several times a day because I have no life. If it’s someone I’ve lost interest in, I unfollow. There are probably some who’ve stopped posting that I haven’t weeded out, though. As for commenting, I’m sporadic. Some people I never leave comments for because I somehow feel like I’d be intruding–I’m not sure what it is that makes me feel that way about some people and not others. Even with people I do feel mostly comfortable commenting to, I often feel like I don’t have anything substantial or useful to say, so I just hit the “Like” button. Sometimes that means I like the actual content of the post, but it also often means, “I hear you and I recognize what you’re struggling with, but I don’t have any words to make you feel any better.”

    Like

    • I agree, longer posts do make you feel more connected to the writer and sometimes I can’t help but getting long-winded, so it can be a good thing. 😀

      I do the email method of getting blog posts, and find it is the easiest way to sort through and prioritize what I want to read and preview something that possibly looks bothersome or boring to me.

      You are a sporadic blogger, Hope, but know that I LOVE it when you do! You give the best comments, insightful, to the point, never blaming. I can understand not feeling l like you have anything substantial to say — depending on the blogger, I may just do a “like,” or I may just leave a super-short comment. It depends what color the sky is that day, I suppose.

      Like

  6. I agree with Hope about not leaving comments, I often find myself just hitting like because I would feel like I was intruding if I commented, and just want the blogger to know I have read the post and recognize their struggle or enjoyed the post in general.
    As for how I came to find your blog , I follow ” Blog for Mental Health”. I began following you after first reading the blog they posted of yours. I make a point to always read your blog posts. I follow several blogs that are Mental Health concentric , one of my favorites is Despair to Deliverance . http://wp.me/4kHrD
    That is the short link to the home page for the blog.
    I don’t know if you are familiar with my blog but I write about my struggles with chronic pain and depression at liferequireslattes.wordpress.com .

    Like

    • I know how you feel about the possible intrusion, if you are to comment — I feel that way mostly about newer blogs I am following. And I think the “like” button is there for a reason…definitely use it!

      I do appreciate you reading! I love Blog for Mental Health — it is such a great way for bloggers to connect.

      I love Despair to Deliverance, but wanted to read it in order and am soooo far behind. Maybe I’ll take my slow day today and catch up! I will also go check out your blog! Thank you for the recommendations!

      Like

  7. Thanks, Rosie Smrtie Pants for another good post and this topic. And lhill1, thanks for the suggestions (I am now following both Despair to Deliverance and your blog!) and for bringing my attention to Blog for Mental Health. Much appreciated! Andrea

    Like

  8. It would be interesting to look at who comments on the blogs that I read! I also follow over 200 blogs – thank God everybody doesn’t post every day. As for your request: I follow this blog http://thinkingaboutleaving.wordpress.com/ I was sent there once via a post a friend of mine wrote. Anyway she struggles with depression and I’ve grown to care about her quite a bit. Funny how that happens in the blogosphere.
    Diana xo

    Like

  9. I’m impressed at how you, and apparently many others, are able to follow so many blogs. I have reached the point that I’m able to read longer posts nowadays…I find I’m writing longer ones too. When it comes to reading them I still struggle once I get close to a thousand words. It has nothing to do with the writers abilities or the subject, it just becomes physically painful for me to read beyond that.

    Like

    • I can understand the physically painful part of reading over 1000 words. I usually don’t read more than 600-800 and then skim over the rest. That sounds bad, but there is very little that will hold my rapt attention for longer.

      Like

      • If a blog is well written, the reader should be able to identify the subject within the first few paragraphs, and hence reading the entire entry is unnencessary. However, what I run into most often are authors who ramble on, saying little or nothing, and not being specific enough so the reader can determine the process toward the subject.

        Like

Leave a comment