One of my more annoying fears (to me) is writing blog posts and thinking no one is reading them. I suppose that's why all bloggers love getting comments; even if people don't agree with what you wrote, at least you know they are reading it. Comments on Facebook are great but my heart still falls a bit when I see "0 Comments" under a blog post. It almost seems to get larger, bolder and pulsate a bit as if to mock me. Ok, it's not that bad but you get my point.
To perpetuate this anxiety, there are all sorts of gadgets you can add to a blog in order to track traffic. Plenty of people might be reading the blog but don't sign up to become a "Follower" so then you can agonize over having only 12 people officially following your blog. Visitor counters tell you how many "hits" the site has gotten so then you watch that: it's only 25, ooh it's almost at 1000, none since yesterday, and how many of those are actually just me coming back to check the number?? There are statistical analysis gadgets that will tell me which blog post is most popular (I'm guessing the jalapeno poppers) and what days and times people are reading the posts but that just breeds more anxiety in people like me. Why is no one reading my soup recipes? Why doesn't anyone read my blog on Saturdays? I just don't have the self-esteem for these things.
One gadget I do love is my Live Activity Feed from Wowzio. I get to see a live scroll of people reading my blog. It tells me where the reader is, where they linked to my blog from and which post they are reading. It's cool to see people from all over the country and the world reading my recipes and essays. I have even gotten to recognize some regulars. And because I can see where they linked from, I sometimes find out that my blog has been recommended on someone else's blog. That's always a great compliment and confidence booster!
It's because of that gadget that I noticed a reader had logged on from another blog so I checked it out. I not only saw that my blog was included in a favorites list but that it's a Greyt Vegan Life had given me a “One Lovely Blog” award. What a beautiful, sweet surprise! It feels so wonderful to be appreciated and know I'm on people's radar (but I'm still keeping some of the gadgets). So thank you, it's a Greyt Vegan Life. You have a Greyt blog and you made my day. Now it's time to pay it forward :)
By accepting this award, I agree to link back to the award-giver (check her out!), share 7 things about myself and pass the award on to 15 newly discovered bloggers. I don't which part is tougher - the 7 things about me or choosing 15 award-winners. I'm pretty open about me on this blog so I'll just list 7 quick trivia facts:
1. My favorite color is purple.
2. My first concert was Shaun Cassidy (Hey! I was 11 years old! And I still like him Da Doo Ron Ron).
3. My fantasy career was to be Julie, the activities director, on The Love Boat.
4. I was a pain in grade school because I challenged the teachers on everything with a gazillion questions.
5. I am a survivor of severe child abuse.
6. Culture is everything. I grew up in the South Bronx which shaped my interests. I only wanted African-American dolls as a child and my friends made me an "honorary Black person" in High School, a title I still hold proudly to this day.
7. I found both my husband and my dog online. Not from the same site :)
And on to the blogs - ok, to be perfectly honest, not all of these blogs are new to me. Some are and some just deserve to be recognized. They are not all about food, per se, but they are all Vegan-related. Some will give you great recipes, some will make you laugh and others will make you think. Hopefully, they will all make you want to become or even more proud to already be Vegan.
Here are the "One Lovely Blog" winners, according to me, and in no particular order:
1. Veganize It, Don't Criticize It
2. Vegan Piggy
3. Vegan Neophyte
4. Vegan Feminist Agitator
5. Vegan Tickles
6. The Vegan R.D.
7. Suicide Food
8. So I'm Thinking of Going Vegan
9. My Vegan Weight Loss Journey
10. By Any Greens Necessary
11. Finding Vegan
12. Gluten-Free Vegan Family
13. Happy Vegan Face
14. Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan
15. Soul Veggie
I hope people will check out these great blogs and when you do, please follow them and leave comments!
You are such a lovely person, Rhea. Every day, I am grateful for the ways and means people who don't live near one another can unite over distance and form friendships. I am very grateful to have met you and proud to call you my friend!
ReplyDeleteI certainly know what you mean about anxiety around comments, or rather, the lack thereof. Well, any time you have a day where you don't get any comments or you fear you won't, please insert my comment, Rhea: You rock my socks off!
this is so cute. Love purple 2! I don't think many read my blog, but I do appreciate the award. And I will make comments on your blog on occasion as I also think no one reads my fb or blog :) It does feel kind of like neglection, doesn't it (ha)
ReplyDeleteMarla, thank you so much for the kind words. I am also grateful for our friendship and all the people I value whom I have never met.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the permission to insert your comment but it would show up with my pic :) :)
purplelady - well, more people will read your blog now :)
Hi Rhea, this post made me laugh, you're so funny. I don't often post comments due to lack of time. I try to make one or two comments a day and share them around! I spend SO much time reading blogs when I should be working. But I just had to comment today! Take care.
ReplyDeleteHi Rhea,
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog recently as a result of being in Will's class with you. You have done such a beautiful job and presented veganism in such a sweet and gentle light. Plus, your recipes and the accompanying pictures make my mouth water! Keep up the great work. I signed up to get your blog by email and I'll always be reading! :-)
Peace...
Micky
Hi Carol, I am guilty myself of not commenting enough on blogs I read and I've been trying to change that since I know what it means. FB has made it so easy for us to just "like" something but I appreciate your comment and knowing I made you laugh. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Micky, Will's class was so great, wasn't it? And what a nice way to make new friends. I'm so glad you came by the blog!! Thank you.
Hey Rhea, thanks again for the "One Lovely Blog" award -- how sweet! And I'll definitely have to check out the award winners I'm not familiar with.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I so know what you mean about the dreaded 0 comments, snort. So it was neat to come across this in my Google Reader the other day:
Build Community, Not Traffic
Quality beats quantity. It is more important to have the attention of a few who are truly interested in what you are doing, than to have the momentary interest of thousands who will forget you tomorrow. Focus on being helpful and sincere, and grow your community one relationship at a time.
That, however, didn't diminish my momentary dismay when upon activating domain mapping (yay, I bought my own and much less cumbersome domain!) I discovered that ALL my Facebook likes on past posts had disappeared. Noooooo, I exclaimed! Ah well, that'll teach me. ;)
Rhea, you illustrate beautifully how veganism should be represented! This indeed is one lovely blog full of gentle guidance and optimistic spunk! Although I don't comment often, I still love your recipes and sensitive approach to winning others over!
ReplyDeleteRecent events have shown me that many times there isn't the "tomorrow" left to say what needs to be said... You are a true inspiration Rhea! Just thought I'd poke my head in, here and now, to take care of that uncertain "tomorrow"- today!
Have Gone Vegan, thank you for those words of wisdom. I do worry about the numbers way too much. But I do know that I have loyal followers and you're right, that matters so much more. Love, Rhea
ReplyDeleteBea, thank you for the beautiful words. That is one thing I'm sure that Shirley did - she told people she loved them everyday. Her FB page and her husband's are like reading love letters.
It is high praise coming from you that you like my blog and think I have something to offer the world. I am honored and know that I feel the same way about you too. xoxo
Thank you so much for adding us to your "One Lovely Blog Award" list. I am honored to be in such great company.
ReplyDeleteFayinagirl, what a beautiful name! You are welcome. The honor is all mine.
ReplyDeletethis post and all the comments brought tears to my eyes. will make a commitment to comment much more often. i have learned, laughed and cried with so much you have written in the past. shame on me for not making more of an effort to let you know that. i have vegan family that mean such a great deal to me and most i have never met or only once a year or every few years. thank you for all the great ways you and others that won, (that i can't wait to go check out!help make living a less insane place to be. your pal, lisa
ReplyDeleteDear Lisa, thank you. I didn't mean to guilt anyone into commenting by talking about my insecurity :) Getting that peer award was such a beautiful gesture and passing it forward was fun.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many blogs, it's hard to post comments on many of them. I try to do a couple a day and I rotate. Especally if I see no one else has commented, I want the person to know they have been heard. Same for "liking" things on FB.
We do have Vegan family. Even those of us (like me) who have no family or no veg family know we have each other in the community and I'm grateful for that. And for you xoxo