Mar 17, 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 while you visit others’ blogs, right-click on a link to open it in a new tab or window.
  • No running on the deck.

Photo by t_a_i_s.

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  1. Hello all,

    I write regularly at http://www.no-sacred-cows.com . My goal is to write about topics that concern Indians living abroad and take on powerful Indian personalities who get little criticism from conventional media.

    I would love for tips and suggestions on –

    a) Marketing blog and improving traffic and
    b) suggestions for layout and visual design.

    Thanks a lot,
    Shyam

    Like

  2. I write a fashion blog and would like to gain more followers! Because I like to construct a story behind my looks, it takes me a while to post regularly (about once a week). Do people care what is written? Or should I just start posting photos on a more frequent basis?

    Like

  5. As I’m starting to write and post more short stories which I have written, I’d love some constructive feedback on them, and any general opinions on my posts an blog.

    I’m starting to enter my stories in competitions, as well, so if you know of any specifically for juniors, or for mid-teens, I would love it if you could mention them to me.

    Thankyou!!

    http://mydiffer3nce.wordpress.com/

    Like

  6. Hi! I reopened my account here a couple of months ago and I decided to post about the clothes I wear and I try to edit my photos with the best of my abilities. I would like to hear tips on:
    1. Photo-editing
    2. Fashion blogging.

    By the way, here’s a link to my blog: http://archiemaclang.wordpress.com

    Thanks a lot! I would love to hear from all of you.

    Like

  8. Looking for feed back on my travel/writing/ex-pat blog: http://jean-cientovolando.com

    Are the posts a good length?
    Should I have more/less photos?
    Is the style/tone of the writing ok? (I’m concerned it might me too “me me me”)
    What else could I do to improve the readability and increase traffic?

    Any feed back would be greatly appreciated, as I’m currently undergoing a ‘blogging crisis’, and wondering whether it’s really worth the hours I’m putting in.

    Cheers

    Like

    1. Your blog took a long time to load. I suggest you change some settings, perhaps just displaying one post so that a reader can choose how much to display. Also I found the photos changing in the middle of the text very distracting. It might be easier if you displayed them as a gallery. There are support documents to help here. But that’s just on a first impression. You have plenty of material and tweaking the presentation might increase traffic. Sue

      Like

      1. Thanks Sue, I had no idea it took a long time to load! But just displaying one or two posts at a time is something I can easily change.

        I’ll look into a less-distracting format for my photos while I’m at it.

        Cheers for your feed back

        jean

        Like

    1. I think your photos (great shots indeed) work great with those short “stories (?)”. Little story under photo is always good idea because I can see your photo in Reader and even click the like button without making any traffic on your site. Story is making me to actually visit your blog and read, hence you get traffic that way.

      I don’t know if this static, birdie background is working for me, but that may be just my opinion. I would also justify the text, but I’m more of a maniac of justified text 😉 (Shift + Alt + J after selecting all in visual mode)

      Cheers! 😀

      Like

    2. I’m agreeing with your previous commenter here. The static background slows down the computer when scrolling, although I personally think it fits with your general blogging theme. Also, how do you know so many big words? Oh dear, I must sound stupid. I mean, your posts are incredibly intelligent works, brilliantly combined with your photography. To me, your blog is very nice indeed. Keep up the good work!

      Like

    1. Hi Mike, my thoughts as someone visiting your blog for the first time:

      I’d like to see more of your images on the home page without having to scroll down through (rather long!) first post. Would you consider a layout that displays smaller excepts and perhaps one featured image from each post? That would allow me to pick and choose from a few of your more recent posts and then delve in where I choose.

      I do like the images and it’s good to read to stories behind them, as you say, but as a reader – especially one unfamiliar with your stuff, I’d prefer to get a bit of an overview first rather than just reading whatever happens to have been posted most recently.

      Hope that helps!

      Like

      1. Thank you for your thoughts. currently I host all of my images on Flickr rather than WordPress. To do as you suggested would mean changing to WordPress hosted which would allow me to show a featured image. It’s something I might consider, I know it would make sense but I have to think about it a bit more…

        Like

  12. Hi everyone,

    My wife and I have a fairly new blog where we’re watching the top 250 films on IMDb and posting our reviews.

    I’d be interested to hear any feedback on the way we’ve structured our posts. Here’s our latest one for an example, though they all follow pretty much the same pattern: http://watchingtop250.com/2013/03/18/spring-summer-autumn-winter-and-spring-2003/

    Any comments on the overall length and structure? Are the scores, best bits and IMDb info useful? Are they presented well enough? Is there any other info about the films you’d like to see that we’re not giving?

    If you can spare the time I’d love to know! Thanks!

    Like

    1. Hello Ant – First of all I like the clean look of your blog and your statement of intent. Is there a reason why you are sitting down to review all of those films.

      The reviews are clear and precise, I like that and you show the list of films you are going to review. I clicked on one of the films from the list and it took me to the IMDb database, I was expecting to see your review. Maybe consider have a page which has links to the films you have reviewed. You can use the “archive” shortcode for this, which just give a list or if you prefer you can use more powerful “display post” shortcode.

      I think the shortlink is superfluous because it only points to the post you are already on

      That’s how I see it….Mike

      Like

    1. Hello Liz – it’s a bit hard to comment as you only have one article that I could see, saying that I did enjoy reading it.

      If you are looking for articles to write you could maybe take part in the weekly photo challenge hosted by WordPress themselves. You can use any camera including the one in your phone. WordPress also have daily challenges on specific subjects.

      You can find more information here https://wordpress.com/dailypost/about-the-daily-post/

      I notice you live in Sydney, maybe you could write about living in a city,culture, travel. Do you like photography, cooking, sport? All subjects you could write about.

      Switch on Zemanta, It will give you recommended links, photos, articles that you can use. Read about Zemanta here https://wordpress.com/support/zemanta-for-recommended-links-photos-articles/

      Hope this helps

      Like

    2. Hello Liz I wrote you a reply yesterday but because I included links they made the comment awaiting moderation, so here it is again without the links

      It’s a bit hard to comment as you only have one article that I could see, saying that I did enjoy reading it.
      If you are looking for articles to write you could maybe take part in the weekly photo challenge hosted by WordPress themselves. You can use any camera including the one in your phone. WordPress also have daily challenges on specific subjects.
      I notice you live in Sydney, maybe you could write about living in a city,culture, travel. Do you like photography, cooking, sport? All subjects you could write about.
      Switch on Zemanta, It will give you recommended links, photos, articles that you can use.
      Hope this helps

      Like

      1. Thanks Mike, really appreciate the tips on direction, thanks for taking the time to give me some feedback!

        Like

    1. Overall I think it looks pretty good. A few comments, for what they’re worth (very little!)…:

      – if there is any ability in the theme to have the menu items sit on top of your blue graphic, rather than on the black bar, I’d probably give it a try to see how it looks at least.
      – thinking more about the menu bar… it appears to present your ‘categories’ in a custom fashion. I expect that will take more effort to keep up to date than simply defaulting to a categories list…? I’m not suggesting it’s a presentation issue, but might become a maintenance headache as you add posts.
      – my preference is always for a clean interface, so all the sharing icons and widgets come off a bit busy to me… and in my opinion, distract from the content. But that’s a question of taste!

      Hope this offers another view if nothing else!

      Brock

      Like

      1. Thanks!! I know what you mean about the headaches with posting links of every post in the specific category page but I’m so OCD with that lol I will definitely see if there’s an option to have the menu if not on the graphic, at least maybe in blue? And I will take away some of those sharing icons–just had a look and I agree with you. Thanks for taking a peek! It’s very much appreciated!

        Like

    1. I like the layout and some of the subjects, however I would like to see it broken up with some pictures or maybe some different formatting, perhaps a quote…

      Like

    1. I like the background of lined paper. Just a couple of suggestions. You might try single spacing poetry (shift and enter) and see if you prefer it. Also you do not seem to have linked your blog to your gravatar so that people can find your blog and the “View full profile” link does not give any more information! I hope you are still an anglophile after reading my suggesions! 🙂 Sue

      Like

  18. I am still looking for someone to review my blog and give constructive feedback. I write about art, books, fashion and music and am trying to get more followers. I know I should post once a day, but my work schedule is really hectic so I generally only get to post once a week…any tips to reach more audience members and engage readers would be greatly appreciated. I am also open to feedback regarding the layout and overall aesthetic of my blog.

    http://www.blackandwhiteaffair.wordpress.com

    Thanks!

    Like

    1. Hi, I’m fairly new to blogging, so unable to give any technical feedback. But I really liked your posts and content, I thought they were really informative. I liked your theme, but would have liked to see your categories, sorry I know you have tags but a book category in your menu would make it easier to navigate to your reviews, which I really enjoyed. Sorry I hope this was helpful. Feel free to check out my blog and give your feedback, I need as much help as I can get. Thanks.

      Like

      1. Hi Surcuria,

        Thanks so much for your review. I will look into the formatting to create tabs for the topics I write about asap! I was looking over your blog and started to follow you because I loved your photographs! I have always wanted to work as a professional photographer so I would love to know more about how you got started in the business, maybe the challenges you faced and how you found success and were able to be your own boss!?

        Like

      2. Hi Jenna, thanks, really glad you like my images. My blog is primarily about photography and Art, but I have touched on my business and how I got started. I’ve always managed other people’s business’s in the past, which gave me the confidence to go out on my own. But check out my article on start ups, I cover a few of the obstacles I had to overcome and still am really lol!

        When Start up’s stutter

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      4. I will look into your article! Thanks for your feedback – my blog now has a menu option at the top for easier navigation…any other suggestions you have would be great!

        Like

    2. I like your layout. I also liked your content. The posts themselves are well-thought out with good use of pictures. I agree with Surcuria. I also would suggest having categories since you write reviews about several subjects.

      Like

  19. I recently started up a photography blog/website on WordPress, and I think it will be the final home for my photographs. I’m working on the layout, figuring out how I want it arranged, and would like some feedback on layout and navigation, and on the photos if you feel so inclined 😛 http://sowensphotography.com

    Also, there’s always my writing blog. I just redid the theme again, and would like some feedback on the layout, look and feel, navigation ease, etc.

    Thank you!

    Like

    1. Hello Samantha, I’ve had a quick look and this is how I see it.

      At first I though you had only done one post and then I seen the recent posts widget at the bottom of the page, You could maybe consider mowing it to the side above the blogroll, after all you want people to stay on your blog, not visit others, or at least, not until they’ve had a good look round. As well as the photograph, how about saying something about it, You could also invoke the WordPress gallery feature, so instead of scrolling down the page viewers would see a grid of photographs and if they click on one it becomes a slideshow.

      Hope this helps – Mike

      Like

      1. Thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it. I’ll have to look into the WordPress gallery feature, still working my way around the controls.

        Thank you!

        Like

  20. I would like help with formatting posts. I have had the problem come up repeatedly where I would like to make an ordered list with a picture and text next to each entry. I can get it looking fine in the Visual editor, but the picture placement is changed in the actual post.

    To solve this I have tried many different work arounds, including using two column tables. All to no avail.

    For example, In the following draft post would have like to list each of the James Bond actors next to their picture. As simple as that sounds I was unable to do it and ended up inserting a slide show.

    Let me know if you have advice, or hopefully a link to a helpful how to article. Thanks!

    Which James Bond is Best in Bed?

    Like

  21. I have been swapping themes for months now, trying to find one I like and that I feel suits the requirements of my site. It’s primarily a photography-related site for friends and family, but I tend to write a bit of a story to go with most of the entries. I also include a few galleries. Since it is self-hosted, I am able to install whatever plug-in or theme I want… however I don’t want to pay for a commercial theme since this is just for fun and I can’t justify making it any more costly than it already is. It follows that the theme needs to be able to present images alone, images with a commentary and pure text entries too.

    Some things I can’t decide on include:

    – should the home page be the ‘about’ or ‘blog’ page?
    – Is it better to use a theme that allows a small highlight photo with a ‘teaser’ entry rather than the full post for the blog page? Or just have all of the full entries scrolling down the page?
    – what is a friendly way to present the galleries? There are plug-ins and of course the Jetpack tilework option now. I’d like to standardize on something simple but elegant, that I can keep using for some time into the future without reconstructing the whole gallery if something changes…

    If anyone wants to offer comments on format at http://www.nanson.org/wordpress I’d appreciate the input!

    Like

  22. OK. my wife and I have been traveling for about a year but are going to settle down. We are http://www.upscalehomeless.net , but homeless no more . . . at least not for a year while renting in Washington (I got lonely and we needed some roots to find some friends. I probably need to change my theme too. Can I do that? But we’ll sitll explore the Pacific Northwest. I barely get any comments except for about three followers. How do I get more? I don’t think the site is boring. My wife does great photos. Also, how do you get the reader pictures and like/don’t like feature? I enjoy writing, but I’m getting tired of writing for a couple of people. All my friends (all six) have abandoned us since we left Atlanta. Whew, that’s pretty much it. Any help would be appreciated.

    Like

    1. Hi Judy’s Husband… 😉

      I realize I didn’t see your name on the site now that it’s time to write this! Fair enough, I don’t think that’s really relevant to your questions and I’m not going back to search for it now…

      My impression is a very clean and simple site. That’s what I like to see. I like the car at the top, even if it isn’t the Infinity!

      You can likely change the theme very easily… however, your questions cause me to ask YOU a question… ‘Why are you writing?’

      I don’t mean that in a negative way, but rather wonder what you motivation is. You mentioned being tired of writing for a couple of people. Are you really writing for them, or are you actually documenting your travels and experiences along the way? It strikes me that you’re doing the latter… which resonates for me, because that’s what I do. I don’t care if anyone reads what I’ve written and don’t attempt to track activity. In the future you’ll look back at your posts and have a laugh at how you got over the border (by the way, the anal reaction you got is more of a response to 9-11 and how the USA pushed us to tighten the borders – it’s not really the way we are as you’ve probably deduced after living for a while on Gabriola!! However, Gabriola is probably a little to far over to the comatose end of the scale… on average!).

      In other words, I think I’m suggesting to you that marketing your site shouldn’t be your first priority.. re-skinning it isn’t as important as what you post. I enjoyed the snippets I read and will likely be back to see how it all turns out… but with the millions of pages on the web, it’s pretty hard to be a dedicated follower of *anything* out there!

      Brock

      Like

      1. Hi, Judy’s husband here. Wow. Thanks for responding so fast. As you deduced, I am writing more of a travel log of our adventures. Initially I did it for our friends back home, but they drifted off, as friends will. I get frustrated in that I’m not coming up with posts as readily as before. And yet, we do have quite a few more adventures (skiing at Mt. Washington next week). Wow #2, you actually signed up to follow me. More pressure. Kidding. That car shouldn’t be up there. My wife uploads a new photo for each posting. I see that one from my dashboard. I still have technical difficulties to learn to fix. [ Hey, after several readings, you’re Canadian.] Just caught that. I love you guys. I forget this is an international community. Thanks again for your thoughts and comments. I’m trying to let the inner me come out. I used to be weird but corporate sales beat that out of me. I certainly am getting to write more, as I write to many of the people who stop by and thank them. If I develop a dialog, cool. If not, OK. That’s it. Bottom line . . . I godda be me . . . and write for myself. There are a lot of really good writers out there. I’m glad I’m retired as this would really eat up a lot of time at work.
        Best regards, Thanks again.
        Paul

        Like

  25. Is this feature going to be available in future, or just yesterday?   Sandra           Nobody sees a flower, really – it is so small – we haven’t time, and to see takes time,                         like to have a friend takes time.  Georgia O’Keeffe

    >________________________________ > From: The Daily Post >To: san.hend@yahoo.com >Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2013 12:01 PM >Subject: [New post] Community Pool > > > WordPress.com >michelle w. posted: “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 thro” >

    Like

    1. The whole of last year, I’ve concentrated my posts on life issues such as career, getting ahead of adversities, etc. From this year on, I made a few changes by starting blogging on current business issues, from organization behavior to leadership to Education to upcoming business trends. Purpose I want to pursue through my blog is to ignite inspiration in people’s lives. Though, with current changes I’m getting a little more traffic than before, I still would like you to help me with:

      1) Marketing strategy (To get more traffic)
      2) Content quality
      3) Overall design
      4) Topics relevance
      5) Any other info, you like to add

      Thanks 😀

      Like

  27. Hi guys,
    I’ve recently started this blog just so thatI have somewhere to write something/ anything when that little urge takes over
    I’m not completely sure where I’m going with it, but as I look over it myself I wonder if its too disjointed, or is it what I write there even all that interesting.
    It would be great if I could get some feedback on what I’ve done so far 🙂
    cheers 🙂

    Like

  28. Hi guys, i’m blogging in italian about food and life , as I know it’s difficult to read in a foreign linguage I decided to use a goggle app to translate my web site. If you have time can you check If you can understand the translation provided!!!!!? Thank you a big italian Kiss and of course I will be happy to know your feedback 😉

    Like

  29. Take a look at my photography blog and let me know what you think of the photos and the layout please and of my new idea for a challenge. Thanks in advance.

    WELCOME

    Like

    1. I think i can look at the photos on your page all day long!They are so awsome and beautyful.I will be sharing your blog with my bestie who is a photo lover in every sence of the word!

      Like