After figuring out a theme, my biggest challenge always seems to be
the actual blog hopping part of the challenge. I write most of my
posts the weekend before they go live, but it seems like finding the
time to visit other blogs is difficult. And when I do have time, I
either stumble across blogs that have the longest posts on the
planet, or find posts that I'm not super interested in reading.
Sorry! This year I really wanted make the best use of my time so I
could find some new blogs to follow, and add to my blogging buddies
list :)
Some observations:
- I appreciate when people put their theme immediately at the top of their post. I'm still hoping for a way to categorize the challenge list, so it would be easier to find content that you connect with.
- It's annoying when I have to fill out my whole life story before I can post a comment. I'm getting so tired of this, that I started to skip commenting on pages like this (unless I was commenting back from a comment someone left on my page).
- I do, rather weirdly, enjoy checking off the “I'm not a robot” box. Gives me a chuckle every time.
- I prefer 'blogger' websites as opposed to 'wordpress'. I find it easier to comment and follow with blogger, and even navigate through older posts (assuming the blog has the proper widgets).
- I noticed that when I tag @AprilAtoZ (the A to Z Challenge twitter handle) on twitter, when I post my blog link, I get a lot more hits on that post. Thank you @AprilAtoZ!!!
- There were a handful of times that I had no way to respond back to comments that were left on my blog. Either the person didn't have any blogger profile links, or a link to their blog in their comment. :(
I am happy to say that I have found some new blogs that I look forward
to visiting after the A to Z, as well as reconnecting with some old
favorites.
Here are some stand out posts:
This one made me SMILE
This one made me CRY
These made me LAUGH
This was INSPIRING
The BRAVEST post I read:
These are just some of the ones that stood out for me, but I did come
across many great blogs.
What do you have to share? Did you enjoy this year's A to Z
Challenge? Did you find any new blogger buddies? And please share
any posts or themes that stood out to you...I'd love to visit some
more great blogs!
Katie, I like your observation points. The one thing I did this year pretty consistently was include my direct link back to my post. I have a blogger account, but I can't remember if it's visible. It was at one time. I need to check that now you got me thinking about it. It's a trick to navigate the different blog platforms and with a challenge like this then all participants need to make it easier for everyone as possible, IMO. I get new comers won't know these things, but those of us who have been around the block a few times need to lead by example. Anywho, here's to the good time with A2Z and am looking forward to next year! ;) By the way, do you have a list of all of your A2Z posts somewhere for easy access?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit Cathy! And yes, I have all my A to Z posts linked in the tabs above!
DeleteI saw a few blogs that each post had what their theme was. If I remember next year, I'd like to do that. I like commenting on blogger over WP too. Following is nicer too because I use Inoreader and for some odd reason WP blogs always show up twice on there, but blogger doesn't.
ReplyDeleteIt's easier for me to follow on blogger as well. If it means anything, I found it easy to figure out what your theme was...some don't need much of an explanation :)
DeleteI agree with your reflections! Sometimes I would get comments on my blog from people and clicking on their name took me directly to the A to Z Blog??? What's up with that? Did they not have a blog and they were just out commenting. Or were they the workers. This was my third year to participate. I think I actually made it around to more blogs but left fewer comments for some of the reasons you wrote about!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit Paula! I'm not entirely sure that some people know how to link properly. The A to Z folks should do a post a month on that...maybe then more people would actually see it and figure it out :)
DeleteThank you so much for calling my post from http://www.poojasharmarao.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteinspirational, your constant support to my blog was so inspiring too.
I really enjoyed your posts this year! Thanks for the visit!
DeleteI agree! Next year I will incorporate my theme in my blog posts. Yes, commenting is difficult. Sorry, I am from Wordpress! :)
ReplyDeleteI forgive you! ;) Yeah, I like themed blogs, especially when the theme is easy to figure out. Thanks for the visit!
DeleteOooo, I got two mentions! I had some similar experiences; I prefer blogger to wordpress, I outlined my posts the weekend before and there were some standout blogs while others were just okay. What also surprised me where that there were 2000 participants and not many added to the facebook page, less than 200 at times and many dropped out less than halfway through. Also, didn't get to do as much blog hopping as I would have liked. There were just so many to wade through. But hey, I found you and that's good enough for me. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I found you! My new blogging buddy...us New Yawka's have to stick together!
DeleteI prefer Blogger, too! If it's not Blogger, I just always make a point of putting my name and blog link as my signoff. Of course, there's no guarantee they'll find us, but it can't hurt!
ReplyDeleteI try to always leave a link to my blog during the A to Z...I wish everybody did! Thanks for the visit Stephanie!
DeleteI'm with you as well about blogger. I didn't participate this year, but I would have liked to. Life is insanity, eh? It frustrates me too when I can't find a blogger who visited--whether from the A to Z or every day blogging. Links are always appreciated. I always use one in my comment during the challenge. =)
ReplyDeleteI always feel bad when I can't comment back :( Thanks for the visit Crystal!
DeleteI'm a lot like you, I find blogger to be easier to use, I hate when I cna't reach the person who commented on my blog and I chuckle at the 'I am not a robot' box. Must be hard for Star Trek's Data or Doctor Who's K-9 to leave a comment. That box must be a nightmare for them.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed stopping by and visiting you this AtoZ. Once again, I learned a few new tricks from participating in the AtoZ and learned a few things I need to work on. I rarely utilized twitter though I can see how it might help.
Even though I tend to leave long comments from time to time, I admit the longer posts I read during April make me leery about return visits. Time is a precious commodity, especially during April.
Thanks for all the visits. And yes, I have finally left my Reflections post.
Congrats on finishing the challenge :) Those boxes always make me laugh too - if I was a robot I would still check it!
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Making it easy for others to find my blog was one of the unexpected lessons learned in my first A-Z Challenge. The first week, I was visiting other blogs and was getting frustrated that so many profiles I clicked on didn't take me to their challenge posts - I had to Google and it was getting annoying. It was very common especially with the Blogger folks. Since I am also on Blogger, I thought I better check mine also. Guess what? Same issue! I was signed in with my personal Google account, not my Google brand account. So every comment was pointing to my personal page which BTW was not connected to my blog or my challenge posts. Lesson learned!
ReplyDeleteAlso BTW could you share with me which gadget you are using at the top of your sidebar that has the multiple social media buttons within one gadget? I've been looking for something like this for my blog and have come up empty. TIA!