Back before the whole "Blogs of Note" affair, my dashboard indicated that I had 9 followers. As of this writing, the number is 186. I'm not entirely certain what to make of that.
Glass half full, or half empty. We'll start out on the positive, just because. I have nearly doubled the number of blogs I am following. If a blog stands the test of time, I will add it to my blog list on the right side of this page. Initially, I was going to post endorsements of those who make my list, but in order to spare them the spam barrage currently inundating my comments, I will just quietly add them to the list. BTW, there are two new ones already. For my new readers, if your blog doesn't make the list, please don't be offended. It may just not be my cup of tea.
The downside has been the increase in spam. Word verification, apparently, is not foolproof. At this point, I'm keeping up by simply deleting it. I have no desire to implement comment moderation, as it isn't fair to my faithful readers, and it would likely become one more thing I do not have time for.
I'll take the good with the bad, because the infusion of new readers has provided some fresh motivation for blogging. I think many of go through the "should I close this thing down" phase from time to time. Guess I'll be sticking around.
In the meantime, what do you do with a geriatric Alaskan Malamute who has lost much of her coat? DN3 has a good solution:
8 comments:
Like the dog-in-sweatshirt look! Very glad you were afflicted with blogs-of-note rather than me - very selfish of me but there you go!
Is the whole "Blog of Note" thing really so bad? But I guess it is a lot of un-asked for attention. And here I was sort of wishing I could get on the list. Maybe I should reconsider. Hmm.
Kate & Kat: I take the bad with the good, and rate the experience as positive, simply for the new (to me) blogs I've found. Or, should I say, for the bloggers who found me.
Dave, I love the coat! Seriously, that made me chuckle...
You know that spammers actually hire live humans to sit down and fill in word verifications. Blogger's new spam filter is VERY good. I've only had one spam comment slip through of over a hundred since they installed it.
But, the spammers change their Google Accounts often, and it takes a while for the filter to recognize it, I guess.
You could just block all "Anonymous" comments, and that would help. I did that for a while, but I've got several visitors without Google accounts, and it wouldn't let them comment, so I went back to allowing all.
186 followers? Shazzzzzaaaaam! Google is powerful, and that "blogs of note" thing proves it. Of course, I don't publicly follow any blogs (well, I think maybe four or five that I did right when I started blogging). I like the GoobleReader better than the Blogger dashboard...can incorporate news sites, sports sites, and see it all in one view.
Man...that was a long comment just to brag on the Malamute's new coat...and your clever DN3!
Cool pic! I hate moderation, too... but sometimes ya gotta do it. I can't mind the store 7x24...
And what Andy sez about the Google spam filter. But they seem to be taking their sweet time about rolling it out across the Blogger Universe. You'd THINK Blogs of Note would be among the first to get it, tho.
Love the sweater :) Looking forward to your posts.
hi!
I'm one of those that stumbled across your blog after it got the BON attention, figured I should de-lurk for long enough to say that we aren't all spammers ;) Your animals are beautiful, how old is the Malamute? She looks like a lovely lady! Which reminds me, I have some dog pictures I've been meaning to upload...maybe one of these days, eh? Anyways, keep up the writing, it' s fun to read!
Andy & Buck: I have the spam filter enabled, but apparently it is not impenetrable.
Kat: Welcome! Being anonymous doesn't make one a spammer, it's the content let behind. The Malamutant is somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-16 years old, which is darn near ancient for the breed. Lovely lady? She's a cantankerous and baggage ridden. She is also fortunate enough to have been rescued five years ago by a family who loves her, and is willing to tolerate her faults.
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