I really appreciate all the questions people submitted with entries to my Blogiversary Giveaway, because you’ve helped me put together three blog posts within the past week! The first one was random, while the second was more blogging-specific; we’re wrapping up today with more random. And speaking of the giveaway, the winners are announced at the end of this post. SWG (Savvy Working Gal) couldn’t hold herself to just one question: What non-fiction book do […]
I offered a bonus entry in my Blogiversary Giveaway to anyone who asked me a question (I will be announcing the winners tomorrow!). Last week I took on a variety of queries; this post primarily but not exclusively includes the ones specific to the blogging life. Sheila from Book Journey asks: “5 years… what things have changed since you started blogging? Community? Your own style of posting?” My reflections on the five-year milestone are the long-winded answer […]
On this Bloggiesta weekend, it occurs to me that “blog improvement” certainly should include “better writing,” so it seems appropriate to share this here today. Just because today is April Fool’s Day does not mean there’s any reason to look foolish in writing! This infographic sorts out some very common grammar mix-ups and misuses, and sets them right, in a simple but memorable manner. Save it for reference–I know I will! (Thanks to my sister for […]
Good morning, Bloggiesta-ers! Who’s ready for some spring cleaning of the bloggy kind? Thanks so much to Danielle and Suey for bringing Bloggiesta back! I’ve got a few posts in draft that I want to get finished up and scheduled for next week…and since I am NOT doing NaBloPoMo for April, I only need a few posts for next week. But my primary task for Bloggiesta weekend falls into the general category of “catching up […]
If you have a smartphone, or a tablet, or both, there’s no need to be chained to your computer for blogging any more. Have you explored some of the ways you can read and write while you’re out and about? For my Bloggiesta Mini-Challenge, I thought we’d look at a few mobile apps that can benefit your blogging. (I was going to discuss reading apps here too, but the post was getting so long that […]
My first post on The 3 R’s Blog was on March 16, 2007. The second post went up on March 18–five years ago today. (And then I didn’t post a third time until April.) A few days ago, I reflected on some of the developments I’ve seen on the way to this milestone. On my blogiversary itself, I shared a snapshot of my very first post. But celebrations are best suited for weekends…welcome to my fifth […]
I can’t actually re-create my very first blog post. The original URL no longer exists, since I switched to a custom domain in 2008. I’ve changed templates a couple of times during the last five years, and Blogger doesn’t even seem to have my original “Minima” template available any more. However, using my stripped-down “test blog,” I’ve come up with a decent facsimile of what went up in this space five years ago today. Clearly, […]
This is published post #1668, dated March 15, 2012. Post #1 was published on March 16, 2007. That averages out to .91 posts per day over five years. Five years of blogging! Who saw THAT coming? Five years ago, it certainly wasn’t me. And sometimes I still feel like a newbie who’s playing catch-up, and will always be a few steps behind no matter what; the online world changes so fast. On the other hand, […]
Prompt for Friday, March 9, 2012: Would you rather lose your blog or lose your photographs? More either-or, but this one’s a pretty easy call for me: I’d handle losing the photos much better than losing the blog. That brings up another question: do you back up your blog regularly? I need to set some sort of schedule for that, because I’m quite sure that I’m overdue. I’ll do that tonight. I’m just days from […]
Prompt for Wednesday, March 7, 2012:Would you rather have more blog readers or more blog comments? The theme for NaBloPoMo this month is “Whether,” and most of the writing prompts so far have posed either-or questions. Such questions are not among my favorite things–I’ve always preferred multiple-choice to true-or-false (or the equivalent). Some people take a more black-and-white perspective on life, but I’m more into the shades of gray. Having said that, I’m taking today’s […]
Books of the Year Since I did rate so many of the books I read in 2011 at the higher end of the scale, it was especially challenging to choose the standouts. My “Books of the Year” selections are not strictly the highest-rated reads, however, although none received less than a 4/5 rating. They’re also the books that have stayed with me best, and have continued to come up in conversation. Since my nonfiction reads […]
The books of 2011 got two posts this year, but everything else on the blog goes into this great big link-a-palooza. Let’s start with more numbers! (All stats via Google Analytics unless otherwise stated) But first, speaking of stats…in case you missed them, I posted 2011 book stats yesterday. The 2011 “Books of the Year” post will be up tomorrow! By The Numbers: 5 Stats Total visitors in 2011: 15,400 Unique visitors in 2011: 9,860 […]
