Hi everyone! Thanks so much for filling out the survey! It will really help me out with the direction of this site and things I would like to add or change. Unfortunately, because it was anonymous, I cannot respond to each person's individual comments. If you have a comment or concern you would like me to address please feel free to email me!
Now, let's talk blogging. I realize not everyone is the same "type" of blogger. Some people write personal blogs, some have niche blogs, some are for their business. Not everyone has the same goals for blogging. Therefore, coming from different blogging backgrounds and experiences, there are things going on with North East Bloggers that might be confusing to some. I want to clarify these things so everyone is on the same page and our members can get the most out of our community!
What is a link up?
A link up (or blog hop) is a place on the host's blog in which you can link up your own. In the link up you would be asked to supply the URL of your post, name and email. The emails are not displayed publicly. Only the host can see your email. Link-ups (or blog hops) often have a theme or a set of questions to answer. For example, on Monday we had a "getting to know you link up" in which everyone could link up their post about themselves. Link ups can also be used for other forms of social media, such as Twitter, Facebook etc. In these cases you can link up your account to those social media sites and the participants of the link would then, ideally, go follow each other on their various social media platforms.
What is the purpose of these link ups?
Link ups can have different purposes. Sometimes they are simply to gain more followers, for example on your twitter. Another purpose might be to visit different blogs and comment on their post for that link up. It is always nice to make sure if you participate in a link up that you go and visit some of the other participants and leave them a comment!
Are link ups/hops mandatory for members of North East Bloggers?
No, none of the activities we do on this blog are mandatory! They are posted in order to provide opportunities for us to network, get to know our fellow bloggers and create community. They are for fun!
No, none of the activities we do on this blog are mandatory! They are posted in order to provide opportunities for us to network, get to know our fellow bloggers and create community. They are for fun!
What is a meet-up?
A meet up is a live, in person, event where bloggers can meet each other in real life.
What is "blog of the week"?
Blog of the week is a weekly feature to introduce a different blogger each week. Blog of the week can be any North East blogger member. To become the blog of the week simply email me your blog of the week post! Typically this post would include: a little bit of information about you and your blog, a picture or two and the links to your social media networks, if you choose to share those. Blog of the week blogs are posted on a first come, first serve basis.
What is a "guest post"?
A guest post is a post on a blog that is written by someone other than the blog owner or owners. This is a great way to share your writing and spread the word about your blog because more often than not, people will click through to your blog from the guest post.
I hope this helps clarify some of the questions people may have had! I am very excited about the direction of North East Bloggers and some of the changes I hope to implement soon!
Here is a little bit of a schedule for the network:
Tuesdays will be reserved for various social media link ups.
Wednesdays will be reserved for our Blog of the Week feature.
Weekends will be reserved for our Weekend Wander hop.
This leaves: Monday, Thursday and Friday for other various post! These are open for guest post, blogging tips, Network news (such as this post), and blogging link ups (link ups with prompts or questions like we did on Monday, April 8th). Blogging link ups will be advertised in advance so everyone has a chance to prepare their posts!
If you are interested in guest posting please let me know! Guest post can be anything you are interested in but I am especially looking for post about your city/area and travel to those areas as well! I'd love to have some City Spotlights and continue our feature on Northeast Life with post from various bloggers!
Here is a little bit of a schedule for the network:
Tuesdays will be reserved for various social media link ups.
Wednesdays will be reserved for our Blog of the Week feature.
Weekends will be reserved for our Weekend Wander hop.
This leaves: Monday, Thursday and Friday for other various post! These are open for guest post, blogging tips, Network news (such as this post), and blogging link ups (link ups with prompts or questions like we did on Monday, April 8th). Blogging link ups will be advertised in advance so everyone has a chance to prepare their posts!
If you are interested in guest posting please let me know! Guest post can be anything you are interested in but I am especially looking for post about your city/area and travel to those areas as well! I'd love to have some City Spotlights and continue our feature on Northeast Life with post from various bloggers!
Happy Friday.
ReplyDeletevisit from Friday blog hop.
would be nice if you can visit and link up my blog Friday blog hop too.
Have a great weekend.
Nan
http://www.blogshe.net
Theoretically, I think it's all great. And I've really liked this group so far. But the linkups have me confused. I thought the idea was to link up to certain posts -- such as the themed thing. Half of the ones from Monday went to just their blog and I think a couple weren't even Northeast. I looked for a little, but didn't see a post that seemed to go with the linkup, so I left. I commented on the ones that were for the linkup, too, and enjoyed reading about people.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I thought would be good about these would be the interaction. Learning about new people, commenting on each other's blogs and maybe finding some new blogs to read. But I don't even know if people read mine or if they just link up and move along.
I do like the group but if there is limited interaction, it's hard to stick with linkups and blog hops because it seems like it's not doing what the intention should be.
Sorry for the rant. But it's just something I've noticed with blog hops (not just here) and it seems like people might be missing out on some cool things.
PJ- I totally agree with you, some people link up and then move on when the point is to interact! Hopefully in the future more people wont just link and run!
DeleteI did notice some of the links to the "getting to know you" post were just to the blog and not the "about myself" section or post! I felt bad deleting them because I thought maybe people were confused about what to do. In the future I will do a better job of moderating the link ups to make sure everyone is linking up the post they are supposed to!
Rachel -- I think you are doing a great job with this group and I really like it so far. That's why I mentioned these things. Being in the Northeast, I like seeing others from the region. But linking and running makes it disheartening. Hopefully that will change. I'll keep looking at and commenting on people's blogs because I enjoy doing it. :)
Delete(Also, any way of making it so people, when they comment here, can leave name/URL? I hate using my Google account because I'm not really attached to it).
Keep up the good work!
I did get your suggestion about the comments before so I actually had set it yesterday to allow any user to comment... and then I got spam. TONS of spam comments, some which posted, some which went to my spam comment section on blogger...I don't know the best solution? I want it to be open but I hate having to go through every day and delete spam...
DeleteCan something be done with approval or the captcha? Does blogger have some sort of spam catcher? Crazy that it doesn't if not. I know with WordPress, there's a spam setup that is really solid.
DeleteI'll just allow it and delete the spam, it'll be fine! :) There is a spam catcher, it goes to a separate section in the blogger dashboard.
Delete