Aug 17, 2014 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Don’t forget the sunscreen: it’s time for this week’s Community Pool!

Have you just published a new post and are dying for some feedback? Did you recently start your blog and could use some layout or design advice from your more seasoned peers?

Tap into the wisdom of The Daily Post blogging community and leave your question here in the comments. Others can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

To help us make the Community Pool a productive space for discussion, here are some tips you might find useful:

TIP: 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.

  • While you’re not required to, we encourage everyone who requests feedback to also reply to at least one or two other bloggers who need some help. Spread the love!
  • The Community Pool comments section can get quite big — and starting duplicate threads doesn’t help. Thanks for not posting the same question more than once!
  • If you’re looking for quality feedback, be as specific as you can. Questions about a particular post tend to draw more comments than ones about entire blogs. Questions about specific design elements are more likely to be answered than ones asking for general layout advice.
  • We discourage leaving links without a more substantive message or question. These are often overlooked by other bloggers, and we frequently remove them to make the comment reading experience smoother.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. The idea is to have fun — it’s a pool, after all!
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • No running on the deck.

Photo by Brian Cantoni.

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  4. http://evermorechanging.wordpress.com/

    This is my blog. I am wrestling with the idea of linking it with my FB account to get more readers and to share with others who know me. I am hesitant to do so because I have shared some dark secrets from my past. My goal was to show how I overcame and was able to forgive in this situation. But, I have step-siblings that will see this written about their father (my ex-step dad) and I am afraid I will offend them. Advice?

    Like

    1. Honestly, one of the reasons that I have a blog with my real name on it is to avoid ever having to use Facebook. My friends all know that I won’t use it, under any circumstances, and they can find my blog with any google search using my name.

      I also have family issues – i.e.: someone related to me tried to kill me. If you’re worried about them finding out something they aren’t ready to hear, keeping the accounts separate is a must.

      Like

  5. I just started a blog and need advice on layout and design. Also can someone tell me if I can upload files that contain articles and books directly from my computer. Thanks

    Like

    1. I just created my WordPress site a couple of months ago. I’d recommend testing a few different themes until you find one that you are comfortable with – both the look and the format. When you are ready to go “live” – you’ll have to use special import utilities to bring in your old blogs and articles from your computer or other websites, but I found the one provided by WordPress on the Dashboard to be very intuitive. I imported 10 years worth of LJ blogs with only a few clicks!

      Like

    2. Hi your layout and design really depends on what you will be blogging about. If it’s just writing or mostly pictures there are a wide range of free layouts you can use. I tried various until I found the one I like. I picked a layout Twenty Thirteen

      http://latinspotlight.com

      I was also able to upload the various articles and videos produced for my job they all link to my YouTube channel.

      I’m still new, but I hope this helps.

      Adriana

      Like

    1. I am pretty new as well. I read part of the blog on language diversity. You sound very knowledgeable on the subject but I think you need to make the blog shorter or you could break the topic up into more than 1 blog. I want to go back and comment. Would appreciate it if you could visit my blog as well. Mine is a bit of mixed bag. But I do like discussing issues too.

      http://notestiedonthesagebrush.wordpress.com/

      Like

    1. When you get to the new editor, a banner at the top of the page allows you to switch back to the “Classic Mode” of the editor. Once you’ve clicked on this banner once, the site remembers your preference and should lead you there the next time you start a new post.

      If, for some reason, this doesn’t happen, another (hackier) solution would be to create a bookmark to the New Post page on your site — just go to your homepage, paste “wp-admin/post-new.php” at the end, and bookmark it — it’ll take you directly to the old editor.

      Like

      1. Thanks Ben. I’ll have to try the “hackier” solution, because I’ve already done the first one on two consecutive posts, and it still defaults to the new version.

        Like

  11. Hey everybody, I am a new user here (I am just treading water). I have created my first post here about the new talents of soccer and would love to get your feedback. I have plans about discussing this topic in great lengths but with others so any comment or suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and have a great day.

    Like

  13. Hi WordPressers

    This is my blog, where I am creating a soundtrack for my twenty-something life and sharing my experiences and point of view in life along with it:
    https://soundtracksfortwentysomethings.wordpress.com/

    It’s been extremely fun writing here and sharing my music and life with some of you. If you’ve never seen my blog, I would truly appreciate some new critic on the context and general style of my blog.

    Thank you!

    Like

  14. I am a beginner blogger. Any tips to help out would be great. This is a new process for me especially since I still do all my writing by hand. Crimeinvest.wordpress.com

    Like

  15. Hey everyone! I need some ideas on formatting my blog- like how do I add like pull down menus and get links to work, and categorize things? All my entries are in chronological order, as to when I wrote them…how do I separate by topics? Check out my blog- do I need to get another format or ‘theme’ supporting those drop down menus?

    Like

    1. Categories – go to Dashboard/ Posts/ Categories – there you can create your categories. Then go to Posts/ Edit – on the right hand side panel you can tick the categories that apply to your post.

      Like

  16. Hi Everyone. The passing of Robin Williams really blew us all away. How do you handle grief? I’ve been dealing with the four year anniversary of my father’s passing. This weekend reminded marked the days spent in Sag Harbor, when we spread his ashes. How do you handle grief? How do you navigate life after the loss of a loved one? Please check out my blog, and share the conversation. I’ve love some feedback, and would like to know I’m not alone in having lost a loved one:

    http://orderofthegoodwrite.wordpress.com/2014/08/14/the-end-of-whalebone-landing-road-sag-harbor-ny-august-2010/

    Like

    1. I’m not an experience writer so feel free to ignore me, but going through an publisher would provide you with the advertisement support and professional editing skills that help get books off the ground.
      I’m part way through my own novel and tend to stick to only posting a few extracts which may even be drafted out eventually and beyond that the rest of my creative writing is separate from what I intend to publish professionally. Posting your book online would mean that it would be harder to publish through traditional means because of First Publishing Rights.

      Like

  20. Hii, I just started a new blog, to help people find happiness, as I was recently suffering from depression and have overcome it. Any feedback and how to make it great would be greatly appreciated.

    Like

  21. Noticing everything is bliss and danger, distraction and- I notice everything. I see the marks on the floor from the wrong kind of training shoes, the bars on the walls and the ropes from the ceiling, the sound my footsteps make, Anthea’s footsteps though I do not see her, no, I glance at her then drop my eyes. The sports hall expands, its ceiling the sky, its walls miles away, and I sit on the floor, resigned to whatever might happen.

    Extract from my most ambitious piece, Four visits to my mother’s deathbed. At the moment, I have tacked together different drafts, and not yet done a whole rewrite. There are certain scenes which I want to emphasise.

    How does it hang together, do you think?

    Like

  22. Hi, I’m very new at this! I’ve only done a couple of posts and would love any feedback and tips. Especially on this post -https://wordpress.com/read/post/id/73078294/13/ (any photography tips particularly helpful!) thank you.

    Like

    1. The best tip that I can give is just keep posting. I would have like to read more about the photos you posted but apart from that they look great. I’m interested in the sculpture though. Do you know where it was from originally?

      Like

  24. Hello, I’m trying to find the identity of my new blog. Doesn’t make sense without writing about who and where I am, but yet unsure how personal to be. Would appreciate your thoughts on my first two posts on shamanic art & living in America in regards to the ‘voice’ and blog identity… thanks very much.

    http://dragonflydancing.wordpress.com

    Like

  26. Hello everyone!!! I really enjoy visiting some new blogs and seeing what they’re all about and comparing and contrasting since I just started up not too long ago.
    Anyways, I would love for some feedback on my blog! Currently it is a continuation piece of my trip to Australia where I flew (for the first and alone) over there for love. *cue gagging noises*
    So yeah! I’d love for yall to check it out and let me know what yall think!!

    lostinflight.wordpress.com

    Thanks everyone!!!!

    Like

    1. Hi! I like the design of your blog – I think it fits what you’re blogging about. 🙂 Your post “Landing in Oz” held my attention and was also well-written. Keep blogging! 🙂

      rachsthoughts.wordpress.com

      Like

  27. Hey everyone. I would greatly appreciate some feedback for my blog. I have been posting on and off for some time now, but don’t have any long term followers. Could really use some help! Thanks in advance!

    Like

    1. Hey there! I’m pretty new to blogging, and I will say that I’ve gotten some followers because I’ve “advertised” my blog in this community pool, which is what you’ve done. While it’s a great idea, so many people are posting that it seems like a lot of posts go unseen. That’s why I decided review the last page of this pool, because people don’t tend to get this far into it.
      But anyway, what I’ve done to advertise my blog even more is to review other peoples’ blogs on this community site. If you review them, they’re likely to review you, and even follow you. Just leave the link to your post at the bottom of your comment so it’s easy for people to visit your blog. That’s my advice, and I hope it works for you – it sure has for me! 🙂

      rachsthoughts.wordpress.com

      Like

  28. I’m an English literature student currently teaching English in Thailand and am writing a blog about my experiences. Would be great to have readers from all over the world and any feedback would be appreciated please! Charsullivanlifeclass.wordpress.com

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi! I liked reading your blog. Lots of photos too. It’s interesting to read about your experiences as a teacher and your observations on Thai culture as well. My only question would be whether you share the blog with your students – there are photos of them in your posts and it would be helpful if they knew how their photos are being used. Apologies if you had already explained this somewhere in your blog!

      Like

      1. Hello! I’m glad you are enjoying my blog. I have the schools permission to use any photographs I take as I see fit on social media outlets. Whilst the students are aware that I write a blog, they have not seen it (to my knowledge), purely due to the fact they wouldn’t actually be able to read it! I am however actively encouraged by both the school and the students to share my photos and pictures with family and friends. Hope this is satisfactory!

        Like

    2. I really like your blog! It’s informative, great pics, nice layout, and your writing style is quite clever.

      Like

    1. Hey Sean!

      The line “You just had an “oh I see” moment didn’t you?” felt too presumptuous for me. Maybe if we were more familiar it could have stuck, but it didn’t work for me as a first-time reader. Also, paragraphs will make your content much easier on the eye.

      Hope it helps. All the best!

      Like