Feb 3, 2013 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Community Pool

The Community Pool is for those of you looking for input, whether on post ideas, writing, blog design and layout, or anything else. If you have a post, page, or idea you want to bounce off someone, leave a comment. Your fellow bloggers can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

Read on for the ground rules and to leave a comment . . .

  • You’ll get the best feedback if you can be as specific as possible about what you’d like people to respond to or where you’re struggling.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. We’re here to help and support one another, not to beat anyone down.
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • To keep from losing your place in the comment thread, right-click on a link to open it in a new tab or window.
  • No running on the deck.

And a heads-up for next week: we’ll try a focused Community Pool specifically for those of you with theme-related questions (feel free to post here, though — there’s no need to wait).

Photo by t_a_i_s.

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  1. Hello everyone! SoundEagle’s blog is more or less just six months old, since there were long periods of almost total neglect before August 2012. Nevertheless, it has gradually become a reasonably fertile and multidisciplinary playground. Hopefully, it will always remain varied but consistent enough to entice and satisfy those who are artful and perceptive, those who delight in detail and texture, and those who resonate with the philosophical underpinnings and aesthetic approaches.

    As far as I know, many other bloggers have been blogging much longer and some of them have published hundreds and even thousands of posts of varying length, with hundreds or thousands of followers.

    Therefore, SoundEagle is here to learn from the veterans and seasoned blogging experts. And even if any of you lack the longevity and/or consistency of the more avid and able bloggers among us, please feel free to guide me in improving SoundEagle’s multidisciplinary blog, and to share your ideas and quirks here on the daily post, or there at http://soundeagle.wordpress.com, where Art, Science, Poetry, Music & Ideas can be free to mingle and roam . . . .

    Thank you in anticipation!

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    1. Hi Soundeagle (love your name by the way) I am definitely not a veteran or a seasoned blogging expert. If anything, I have neglected my blog for too long… but I’m here to get tips and ideas of how to change it and to look at what others do in their blogs.
      I had a look at yours because I was intrigued by the name. Each one of us has his own preferences, so, I’m sorry, but I think your blog is too busy.
      Your digital art is impressive, but needs a more neutral environment to be better presented.
      The name “Soundeagle” is repeated so often that it starts resembling an ad. This alone made me want to click away very quickly.
      I personally like to know who is writing the blog I’m reading, I like to know what kind of person he/she is, where they’re from, etc. I couldn’t find any of this in your about page, only a (long) ‘copy-paste’ of one of your blogposts and a rather lengthy, almost philosophical piece of text.
      I counted only 2 sentences in a paragraph of 15 lines!
      One sentence stretching up to 8 lines is very long; maybe it doesn’t seem so when printed on paper, but on the net you need shorter sentences…. (…if you want to keep your readers’ attention.)
      You make nice things. And when you show them, people get curious about who’s making them. So show a little bit more of yourself, the real you, not ‘Soundeagle’ as a commercial company name.
      Good luck!

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      1. Thank you for your helpful and constructive suggestions, Katerina Zisiadou, and for your compliments and observations. They are much appreciated. And there is no need to be sorry or to apologize for some of your comments or opinions, as SoundEagle knows that those were imparted by you in the caring spirit of sharing and honesty.

        Nevertheless, SoundEagle feels that had you dealt more deeply, you would have realised or discovered that SoundEagle the word “SoundEagle” is much more than just serving as a pseudonym, noun, pronoun, name, symbol, logo, emblem and/or a brand. Knowing or seeing someone’s real name, face, gender, age, race and so on not only does not necessarily guarantee or engender substantive comprehensions and communicative depths, but also can often present encumbrances, stumbling blocks, blinkers, stereotypes, assumptions and/or prejudices. Again, beyond just having a look (to use your own words), sustained interactions and reading more posts and pages will reveal more. By the way, SoundEagle’s “About” page is already quite comprehensive and rich in many kinds of useful information by any standard, whether or not a section there is duplicated in a recent post for pertinent reasons and by necessity.

        You are right about people having preferences regarding the purpose, design, layout and contents of a blog. As advised earlier, this is a multidisciplinary blog laden with multimedia and muititudinousness. It would not surprise SoundEagle that such a platform will not be everybody’s cup of tea.

        As for the two long sentences, they are not representative of all of SoundEagle’s writing, even when the “offending” sentences appear in one of the most important pages of the blog. There is no need to shunt or banish long sentences altogether. SoundEagle is quite aware of the need to write succinctly, as can be demonstrated by the ten recommendations on how to write better at http://soundeagle.wordpress.com/writing/.

        SoundEagle will take the time to visit more of your blog later.

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      2. Thank you, SoundEagle, for visiting my blog, for leaving a message and for the kind compliments you left there. They are much appreciated.
        I saw that you copy-pasted your above reaction to my feedback on my ‘About’ page on my weblog. I do not see how the above text you wrote is relevant in my weblog’s ‘About’ page. I believe that comments on comments on other people’s blogs belong here in the Community Pool.
        I sincerely regret not having more time to spend on other people’s blogs and in the Community Pool: I have a busy life and limited time and there are thousands of interesting blogs that I would like to check out here at WordPress.
        Wishing you all the best! – and thanks again for visiting!

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      3. Yes, Katz, SoundEagle did not just copy-paste but also added plentiful new-year greetings and well wishes, February greetings, and other encouragements related to you, your blog, your goals, visions and/or resolution(s), however one perceives them to be.

        Let’s add to and reflect upon what you wrote earlier, which seems to have underestimated the issue or problem. Firstly, there are not just thousands but millions of blogs. Secondly, you are not the only one and many people also “have a busy life and limited time”. These are perhaps two intractable, persisting “dilemmas”, and thus the only thing that we have in our control is how we approach other people’s blogs (beyond just taking a look), if/when we want to understand better and misunderstand less, by taking at least a good, sufficient look, as much as possible, especially when encountering a new blog, more so if/when a blog seems to be complex and/or “busy” in style and/or content.

        And yes, SoundEagle knows that the previous is another long sentence.

        The question remains: if/when/will/can/dare/should SoundEagle find the time (and motivation) to visit Katz blog and vice versa. . . . . .

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      4. Amendment: The question remains: if/when/will/can/dare/should SoundEagle find the time, reason and/or motivation to again visit Katz’s blog and vice versa in the future . . . . . .

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  2. Hi. I’ve been trying to find a “right” header for my blog, a writer’s blog. Initially, I had a tiled header of a journal with a pen, but felt that it was such a writing cliche. My current header is a photo of Vita Sackville-West’s writing tower in the Elizabethan Tower at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent. If I could, I would write in a room similar to this. What do you think of the current header? And I’m open to other comments” amirhbahati.wordpress.com. Thanks.

    Like

    1. Hi Amirh, I loved the photo. It gives the right atmosphere I think. Well chosen!
      What I didn’t like much is the combination of the photo with the irregular font of your title. I think you need a more regular, calm, straightforward font when you use such a busy photograph.
      By the way, the link doesn’t work, I found this blog through your other blog.
      Good luck!

      Like

  3. Can anyone please tell me how to pingback? I would like to be able to add a list of other people’s posts to my own posts as I see in some of the Challenges. I tried pasting the URL address but it doesn’t look the same.

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    1. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe a pingback is what you receive when someone else links to you (if you enabled them in your Settings). So you “pingback” by linking to another blog–pasting their URL–and then they will see the actually pingback on their blog. When someone links to you, you’ll see the pingback show up on your blog.

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      1. Thanks, I think I get it now 🙂
        I was just pasting the other blogger’s post URL on my post but what I need to do is add the text I want to use (post title and any other info) and then link the URL to that!

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    2. Let me correct my terminology so I don’t add more confusion:

      You “ping” someone when you link to their blog. A “pingback” is what shows up on their blog (if they have pingbacks enabled). There.

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    3. I’m curious on this one too. I understand the pingback for someone else’s URL you paste, but does it work the same when you put a link in from another post you have? I get asked to confirm the pingback on my own blog. Do I sound confusing? Probably because I am. Eek, help.

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      1. Well, I did not think you could “ping” yourself–but you’re saying this happens on your own blog? Maybe it’s something in Settings? I link to my older posts all the time, and I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a pingback for that.

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  4. Helloooo!

    So, I started my photography blog about two weeks ago, off and on. I started photography challenges with goals and such. I picked out a theme and I’ve been posted a couple of times a week. But I’m always looking to better my posts, my photos, and my blog. Opinions of my theme, layout, and general focus of it all would be awesome! I love constructive criticism and hope that I can aspire to be better.

    http://mstonephotography.wordpress.com

    Like

  5. I’m new at blogging and would appreciate feedback on two aspects of my blog.

    Both my content topics and writing format vary considerably. How do these two aspects work for you?

    How does it work that my blog without a consistent overall theme like social change or food or family etc.? I write about whatever comes up each day. Does this make my blog too thematically scattered?

    I also find myself hopping from short fiction to essays to haiku. Should I stick to one type of writing format and perhaps have a separate blog devoted to poetry or haiku or short fiction?

    Thanks.
    Alice

    alicekeysmd.wordpress.com/

    Like

  6. Hi,
    Having read through some of the comments above, this seems to be a great forum for constructive criticism, so i thought I would give it a go!
    My blog is a bit all over the place at the moment, in terms of content. I will be trying to stick to a better schedule and come up with some regular feature ideas, but in the meantime any feedback would be helpful!
    Thanks
    http://www.skullandcrosstales.wordpress.com

    Like

  7. Brownbabee #

    Hello,
    I was trying to create a new post earlier on my blog, but my server is undergoing maintenance. I wanted comments on my new post but since I can’t do that, I’ll just ask for feedback on my blog. My blog is about me talking about whatever I want to talk about whether it’s about something that I’m passionate about or a social issue I use my blog as a platform to speak on it, it’s like my diary minus the extra personal thoughts. I created the blog last month so I’m a newbie but I am already enjoying it, and with the comments and likes that I’ve been getting, I’m starting to have an idea about what I should keep writing about because it raises the awareness of people that stumble upon my blog. The link is:

    http://www.brownbabee.com

    Go ahead and comment about my blog on this post or any of the posts on my blog either way it’s greatly appreciated as I continue to learn and grow with my blog 🙂

    Like

  8. WIDGETS! Widgets, widgets, widgets, which ones do you consider to be the essentials? Now I know all blogs are different, but if you could have just 5, what 5 would they be? I’m interested in a trend of what people look for and why? I’ve been playing round but haven’t got it right just yet so thought I’d ask. Thanks!

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  9. Hi all – I’m wondering about the advantages of a small ‘about’ on the front page i.e. a photo and perhaps one line, or even a static page, versus the ‘about’ option as a separate page?
    All feedback very welcome!

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    1. Hiya–are you asking whether your “About” page should be your home/main page? I’ve seen blogs that do that, and I’m not a fan. I don’t really want to know much about a blogger until I see if I like their posts or not. I’d much rather see blog content on the main page, IMHO. 🙂

      I did see a blogger recently who includes her “About” info at the bottom of each of her posts. I’m thinking I kinda like that, and might do that myself.

      Like

  10. Hi Karen, thanks for replying and the feedback! Yes i meant my about page to be home/static page but i’ve also seen some blogs where they just have a very small photo with an ‘about’ of just one line, which i think looks good. In a way though maybe i’ve done that with my tag line of ’75 word storyteller’. Like you I quite like the idea of a little ‘About’ at the bottom of each post, which of course then i could attach a photo to. Hmmm food for thought!

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  11. I also would like to have feedbacks from this community pool.

    I started blogging on blogger.com and have moved to wordpress.com about two years ago.

    This blog is for photoblogging with photos around motor sports races in Japan. It was written in Japanese from the start and Japanese visitors was the only target in my mind. These days I wish my blog to be a little introduction of motor sports in Japan for foreigners.

    The reason I need feedbacks is that I would like to get inputs on how I can improve my blog’s readability for non-Japanese visitors.

    Adding to this, I want more non-Japanese viewers who are interested in motor sports in more broad sense. I am enjoying taking photos and participating in a few photo challenges, which bring in some visitors from other countries, but I wonder this is a right way to go. If there are some advices, I would like to know.

    http://fotodemoto.net/

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  12. Hi! I’m fairly young to have a blog, but what started out as a small project turned into something that makes me very happy and keeps me going. I want my blog to stand out and become something that I can look back at and be proud of. What do you guys think of the content that I post? Is it too cliche? I’d love feedback! Thanks!

    neverstationary.wordpress.com

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    1. If this is what “young” people are doing today… bravo! Your blog is eye-catching, the topics are age-appropriate and well-written. Without a unifying “About Me (or Us)” or Mission Statement, the reader doesn’t necessarily know what they’re diving into, but this is something to be proud of!

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  14. Hey everyone!
    I’m still quite new to the blogging world, only been here a couple of months!

    I am working and travelling my way around the world and want to share my adventures with everyone but don’t know if the length of my writing and format is quite right!?!?!?

    I would love some opinions and feedback on how to improve my blog and any help would be greatly appreciated!!

    http://janalinesworldjourney.wordpress.com/

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  16. I’m thinking of moving my current Aromatherapy Information blog to wordpress. My question is should I make it another page of my blog or start a completely new blog? I look forward to your answers and suggestion.

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