Mar 30, 2014 / 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. If you simply leave a link to your blog, it’s likely to be overlooked.
  • 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. What awesome posts–incredibly easy to follow and the subject matter is incredibly engaging! Wonderful blog!

      Like

    2. Your content is great and I love the creative use of white space to support minimalism. That said, sometimes your posts are long, which isn’t usually a problem but seems a little out of sync with your subject matter. Maybe tighten them up a bit. I like the minimal use of photography, though. It’s perfect.

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  2. Hi everyone. I would like to discover new blogs similar to mine. However, if you could visit mine , which is thehighheeledpapergirl.wordpress.com , to tell me what’s you think of it, it would be great. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. For Ngoctantrinh I really like your blog so far. It’s easily navigable & the imagery is good, though I don’t understand oriental characters. There’s one very slight problem though: On one page you say “I will blogging my experience”. That’s a bit of a typographical error. Maybe you should have said “I shall be blogging about my experiences”?

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  5. I want comments on my writings, regarding its quality and what more things to improve on. My articles need more viewers and comments for further improvements.

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    1. Interesting. I first landed on your wordpress page and then it sent me to another wordpress page. We’re confused.

      Here’s a tip: WordPress every week releases tips on how to increase your viewer audience. Go to the The Daily Post and look for the post using the search their engine. Also, if you google “how to increase your website viewer count” “How to get traffic to your personal website” this will help you with further tips.

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    1. Love the blog look, particularly the custom header. You have great content, well-presented. Nothing but positive stuff to say…it looks great!

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    3. Hi, thought it worth mentioning that when viewing your blog on my iPad (in safari and in the app) your custom header doesn’t fit the screen. I see “Valley Girl Gone Co”.

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      1. Thank you….I’ve noticed that too and have to rotate my screen (which I shouldn’t have to) to get the full view. I will have to contact the lady that designed my blog to see if she can help me with that.

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    1. I think your writing is great, and your point of view is interesting. I don’t even mind all the pink. 🙂 I would say that – based on your title – I was expecting more of your sketches. But overall, it looks great.

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    2. I like the lay-out of your blog and the design, definitely attributes to your character. You have some really interesting posts, very detailed, at moments making me feel like i’m talking to you in person. I also like your consistency, good work, keep it up.

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  10. Hi everyone my blog is sortve new and I would really like some feedback to know if my recents posts are engaging and well written. One main thing I wanted to know is if my blog/posts are easy to understand the theme/purpose of my blog

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    2. I love your posts; very well written and easily readable. It’s perfectly clear what you’re going for. The one nitpick is that the theme – the way it pulls out the first letter of the first sentence into a HUGE red circle – is very distracting and hard to read. Otherwise, this looks great.

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      1. Thanks so much for the feedback I really appreciate it I plan on changing it once I get I get some money 🙂

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  11. Happy Sunday 🙂

    I’d like for you all to read my latest short stories:

    What He Did: http://bunehill.com/2014/03/25/what-he-did/

    A Lifeless Doll: http://bunehill.com/2014/03/28/a-lifeless-doll/

    If fiction isn’t your thing, how about listening to the latest music in my Music Appreciation series:

    Rise by Origa: http://bunehill.com/2014/03/28/music-appreciation-8-rise-by-origa/

    So Magical by ATC: http://bunehill.com/2014/03/29/music-appreciation-9-so-magical-by-atc/

    Thank you!
    Lysa Taylor

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  12. Hello. I am a new blogger and still learning everyday. I would like some feedback about my blog and suggestions on how I could grow my readers. My blog is fashion centered and little in between.

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    2. I like your point of view and your balance of content. One piece of advice I have: In the post where you showed your outfit, I’d want a little more content. I’d love to know what those pieces are and why you chose them. But otherwise I think you’re heading in the right direction.

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      3. You’re fourteen? I agree with Jenna, I’d have never known that if you hadn’t said as such. Your posts are all so well-writ, no one could’ve known if you hadn’t told them! Great job! 🙂

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    1. I think your post is really lovely, Jill. You’re a good writer, and you have a very unique voice that comes through quite clearly. I wish you luck. Keep writing.

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    1. So, I don’t usually give fiction writing advice here (cause I kind of get paid to do that ;>). BUT, I liked your ideas, so here we go. Remember that character profiles are about CHARACTERS. What do they like, what do they dislike? Strengths? Weaknesses? Fatal flaws? How do they differ from each other? In these profiles, you start talking about the character, but then you veer into plot lines and it’s more about how he was rescued or what happened to her than about who the character is. You have one paragraph to convince me (as an editor) that I want to read more about your character. Keep it tight on them instead of on their backstory. Does that make sense?

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      1. It does make sense yes, thank you so much! I completely agree with what you said, have taken it on board and will have a go at re-writing in the near future. Again, thank you for the feedback!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Your point of view is great and I like your voice and writing style for this type of content. I think the theme is pretty good for now; I get the sense you may outgrow it as your content evolves. Overall, good job.

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  18. Mind of a Lunatic: http://mindsplatterings.wordpress.com/
    I’m totally new to participating in the ‘community pool’ posts, but I thought I would go ahead and try it out. I’ve been nominated for a few blogger awards recently, and I guess I wouldn’t mind hearing about what people think of adding an “Awards” page to link to each acceptance post once it’s written. Kind of like an index of awards I’ve been nominated for (and accepted). I’m also not sure yet whether I want to attach it to a parent page; I’ve got an about page and a “Lest We Forget” index page (with subpages organized by year) and I can see it fitting either one, so any thoughts on that could be helpful. I might do the opposite of what’s suggested when all is said and done, but at the moment I’m undecided and wouldn’t mind a little input 🙂 .

    (I’d prefer input in reply to this comment, but I won’t hate you for the rest of my life if you would rather find a somewhat appropriate spot to comment on at my blog 😉 )

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    1. I actually think having a place to put these award posts – if they’re important to you – is a good idea. It also gives people another landing place on your blog, which keeps them in your content. That said, you have such fiery, well-written content with such interesting subject matter. I would love to see you in something other than a plain grey theme. 🙂

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      1. “It also gives people another landing place on your blog, which keeps them in your content.”

        I hadn’t considered that, but it’s definitely worth keeping in mind.

        I might change the theme at some point, but I’ve tried a few and I’ve kind of setlled on this one for now. I kind of like the contrast between how you describe my writing and the plainness of the theme itself. Seems like a proper polarity, like mind and heart, hot and cold. I like the symmetry of it. And just so you know, I really appreciate the way you describe my writing… infusing what I say with what I feel (i.e. my heart) is something I try for, so it means a lot that it actually comes across that way 😀 .

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    2. I think creating an Awards page would do, that was my choice. I think your grey theme works well with your content — I love the grungy feel of it 😉

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      1. Haha, thanks 🙂 . Yeah, I think I’ll probably try to figure it into the scheme of things; I think I just need to mull over where it fits best first.

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  19. Hey everyone! I am a music blogger largely, and have been blogging since the beginning of the year! I would love to enlarge my blogging circle and meet some new bloggers, as I would also like to welcome some guest bloggers to write about music! If you’re interested in music, I would love some more feedback on my writing style and content! Suggestions are more than welcome!
    http://www.incidentsofadysfunctionalspraffer.wordpress.com

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    1. I actually really like the way you structure your posts with the playlists. Your theme isn’t overwhelming or underwhelming. Just enough color. Great job!

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  20. Hey guys! So I really want to get into answering questions/giving advice/thought starting through answering questions. I want to get to know people and help them or simply just allow each other to get to know each other. Please don’t hesitate to ask any question that pops into your mind about society, politics, relationships, food, myself, yourself, or anything that comes to mind. You can ask here: http://melissuhhsmiles.wordpress.com/request-questions/ I’d really appreciate if many of you were involved, it’s a great way to meet others and begin thought/opinion conversations with each other.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think with any niche blog (and that’s what yours is, since your point of view is much narrower than just ‘music’) you need to find your audience. I would follow you if I had passion about the same thing you did. I run a niche blog as well – football referees – and I’m slowly building an audience. You just have to have real passion for your subject, write well and write a lot. Then people will follow.

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    2. One of the things that make me decide whether to follow a blog is the overall look and feel of the blog (besides its content, of course), and your blog looks very professional to me 🙂

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  23. Never ever had any thought to make a blog, but yes i made it. Not just for me, but for everyone else. I want to help people and push them to find their happiness as i’ve found mine. My post : sometimes bahasa sometimes english. | blessed to you michelle… As always 🙂

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  24. I’m starting to get into the swing of things a bit, but is it considered bad practice to have a blog about several topics? So far I’ve written about sports, music, marketing, some self-deprecating insight, and a couple random posts via prompts. Is it ok to cover multiple subjects like this? Or is it considered better to write about just one topic?

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    2. Your point of view – what pulls all those things together – is YOU. You have a very strong voice, and you stick with your point of you, so I think it’s just fine to write about multiple things. You’re essentially writing about you and everything you like…

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      1. Hadn’t quite looked at it that way, thank you! This approach would coincide with my “Jack of all trades” position in many things 🙂

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    1. First Impressions:
      1. There’s a lot of white space. A LOT of it. Will you consider a different theme/background?
      2. This is just a pet peeve of mine, but do the titles need periods at the end of them?
      3. I love, love, love your pictures! Keep that part up!
      Good luck!
      –TheAnsible
      http://jperez600aday.wordpress.com/

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      1. Thank you for this.
        The theme was the first one I settled on when I first signed up so that could certainly be looked at.

        Periods and other punctuation is not something I have feelings about and could certainly come out.

        Thank you for taking the time and thank you for being honest and encouraging.
        J

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    2. Agree with Ansible; fully half your screen is taken up by white space, and your great content gets squeezed out. I’d find a theme that let your content breathe a bit more.

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      1. I have been trying out other themes but a slow wifi is making it a bit frustrating.

        It nearly ended up with a similar layout to yours (nice blog btw) but it kept doing weird crops on images .

        Something I will think about and come back to I think.

        Thanks of this.
        J

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    1. The few posts that you have are interesting, your ‘about me’ section is great. but if I were you I would put a picture up there so the readers get a better idea of who you are. And more widgets wouldn’t hurt either.

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  28. Hi,

    I’m hoping to get a bit of feedback on my widgets and sidebars at http://backyarddiy.wordpress.com – I’ve recently added a Twitter widget which, along with the Instagram widget, I’m hoping will compliment my blog. How does it look to visitors? Are my sidebars too crowded? Does the order of the widgets work well? Any other feedback that springs to mind will also be most welcome.

    Thank you! Joe

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    1. Hmm… I am accessing your blog through the WordPress app, so I might not be able to critique it the way someone on a computer can, but I will tell you what I think from here. Okay: I think it’s very well-organized. It was easy to access all the links, and did not take to long loading-wise. I also like the layout of your blog. I really don’t have any criticism to give. Your sidebars were fine as well, but as I stated earlier, I am on the app, so my view may be different. Nice job from my end, though. 🙂

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      1. Thanks for taking a look 🙂 WP is accessible on so many platforms that it’s really useful to know the impression different visitors get when on different platforms, so your feedback is very valuable. Thanks again!

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    2. I actually think you’ve done a great job here. First of all, the widgets you’ve chosen are useful and add interest – both from a content standpoint on a color standpoint. Using the two sidebars lets you put a lot of colorful widgets in without overwhelming readers (as you scroll down, the focus moves to the right one and the left one goes dark). Unlike some other themes with two sidebars, your content is still featured and has room to breathe. Great job.

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      1. Thanks Jenna, I tend to view my blog through a tablet or mobile and the theme removes the left-hand sidebar for mobile users. Because I know the theme does this I’ve tried to keep that sidebar to a minimum and populated with non-essential widgets. However, it also means I’ve very little insight into how the full site actually looks so it’ really useful to get your feedback and great to know the impression you got was positive! Thanks again 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I like your layout, your header photo is beautiful. I would be interested to know more about what makes you tick, what do you find fascinating, what is it you like about Washington vs Nebraska? I didn’t read every post so I may have missed these things, just trying to give you ideas!

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