May 28, 2018 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Where WordPress bloggers support each other with feedback and advice.

Welcome to the final edition of the Community Pool! Whether you’ve been a regular here for years or just recently discovered the Pool: thank you for making it such a supportive, lively, and collegial place for bloggers of all stripes.

As always, feel free to share links to your latest post for feedback, or ask a question about your site’s design, publishing cadence, or any other blogging-related topic you’re looking for input on. Since this will be the last time the Pool opens its doors, you’re also welcome to chat with others about any community initiatives you’re interested in starting or share links to existing blogging events you’re part of and think others might be interested in as well.

The Community Pool is for peer feedback and advice. Looking for more specific information? Check out some of these resources:

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

  • 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, as well as for not starting numerous threads in a single Pool.
  • 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. Also note that including multiple links in your comment might automatically put it in the moderation queue, which will delay its publication.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. The idea is to have fun — it’s a pool, after all!
  • 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.
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • No running on the deck.

Looking for free, self-guided courses to help you get started with your blog (or revive a dormant one)? Check out our current offerings at Blogging U.

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    1. I loved your tips! I have be doing a feature post about self-care every Sunday to share what I do to take care of myself. It’s super important. Thank you for sharing!

      Liked by 6 people

      2. I’m hoping to. Self-care doesn’t have to cost a thing. There are so many things you can do to show that you care about yourself.

        Liked by 3 people

    5. I really liked your blog post! It was effortless to be drawn into as your writing style is really friendly, engaging and clear. Although your post reflected on something quite personal, I like how you balanced it out with being funny too! Also, its such a relatable topic! ;D

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Wow, what a compliment, thank you. I’m so happy that my writing comes across this way! That’s what I was hoping, glad I’m not the only one with these thoughts!

        Liked by 2 people

  4. Happy Monday fellow bloggers! My questions are about reblogging? I see the reblog button on so many sites and I’ve asked a few bloggers where they got the button, and they claim to not have installed themselves as a widget. Is that true? If not, where do I go to find the widget (if that’s what it is called?)? I’ve tried to reblog, and it doesn’t work for me and I don’t know where to start to figure out why it doesn’t? There are so many great bloggers out there, I’d love to participate in the reblogging. Any tips you have to share would be greatly appreciated. Here’s the link to my blog http://www.quaintrevival.com/ Thank you! And I wish you all blogging success!

    Liked by 12 people

    1. This is a great question that I came across months ago. So let me help you out. First thing… do you have a wordpress.org or wordpress.com website? Based on what I saw… it looks like a .org site. WordPress.org sites do not have a reblog ability. The sites you see with reblog are most definitely .com sites. So in essence, you can reblog them, but if you’re using .org, they cannot reblog you. Here is a useful link about reblogging (notice it’s only referring to wordpress.com sites). https://wordpress.com/support/reblogs/ Hopefully this helps.

      Liked by 11 people

      1. Jay Thomas, thank you!! Yes, that makes sense. I have both a .com and .org site, and I continue to get confused by the difference. I appreciate you sharing your insight!!

        Liked by 3 people

      2. No problem.

        To give you a little crash course, com (regular) is free, but very limited. (up to 3gb of space only unless you pay for more) .org is free and very open. You can pretty much customize your website how you want. They call .org “self hosted” because you have to pay for web hosting, and domain. However, with .org you can monetize your site as much as you want. With .com (regular) you cannot initially (you have to average 25k visitors monthly to be eligible) and WordPress advertises on your web page. (you have to pay to remove WP ads) In .org no one advertises on your webpage unless you let them. You have limited SEO control with .com… with .org you have unlimited. One of the biggest difference is, an online store. .com does not have one. .org does… and it’s very diverse in terms of which one you can choose. Basically, .org is WAY better with way more flexibility (and it’s cheaper overall).

        That being said, it really boils down to what you need. Hopefully that helps.

        Liked by 3 people

  5. I cannot begin to explain how much the community pool has meant to me! Thank you for all the fond memories 💜

    I’m Kelsey and I run a creative writing and British English blog. It’s daily, but currently on a temporary hiatus and under construction. I’m an American with a fascination about language and like spicing up the dictionary definitions. I dabble in flash fiction and poetry.

    https://britwitblog.wordpress.com

    For a final round, I’m ready to dive in and check out new blogs while swimming laps. Cheers friends and to many more blogging adventures!!

    Liked by 18 people

    2. It’s currently 10:24pm at night and I’m about to head to bed because I have to wake up early tomorrow morning (wow tmi already HAHA) but I just want to say I took a glance at some of your writing and I absolutely love it! I love the grammar (very English like) and I love the enthusiasm that you have in your posts! I understand you’re currently on hiatus but until you’re back I’m extremely excited to read your work! Thank you!

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Wow! Jeez. This has to be up there with one of the nicest comments someone has ever left me. I hope you’ll continue to enjoy it and please let me know if you’d like any recommendations! All the best! 😃

        Liked by 3 people

      3. Do you prefer poetry or flash fiction? I also have short stories series you can leaf through. Let me know and I’ll give you some more specifics! 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

      5. Hmm…okay! I’ll give you a few suggestions. Please let me know if you’d like others. I’ve been blogging for over a year so there’s lots of material to wade through lol.
        Try: “Dead”, “Whisky,” “Eejit,” “Flit,” “Spotty,” the Corner Haunting trilogy, “Bleeding,” and “Tranquillise.” Tried to cover all the bases lol. 😅

        Liked by 3 people

  7. Hi,
    There are two sides of me. The confident, driven, optimistic side and the nervous, introverted, shy and anxious side. There are very few people who get to see my both sides and even fewer who recognize it. I had written this poem some time back. Would love to know what you guys think about it.

    This Is Me

    Liked by 12 people

  11. My last Community Pool. 😦
    I visited central London on Saturday so I give you this impromptu post. I’m looking forward to going through all today’s posts and following bloggers that I might not see otherwise.

    Millicent Garrett Fawcett Lived Here

    This week ‘Pictures of History’ continued with the Tower of London as the subject. Delve into HistorianRuby for an eclecti​​c historical mix.

    Liked by 17 people

  12. Hey everyone! I’m sad this is the last community pool. I never really got to enjoy since I just launched my blog a few weeks ago. I blog about fitness, nutrition, and other related to staying healthy and fit. Here is my latest post. It’s about staying on track with your nutrition on Memorial Day. Hope you enjoy! And if you have time, tell me what you think of my blog. I’m still learning!
    https://getinshapewithshaun.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/staying-on-track-for-memorial-day/

    Liked by 18 people

      3. Ahh they were ace, think it’s the only gig I’ve been to where I’ve thought they played all my favourite songs the they crack on with another favourite I forgot amongst all the other favourites!

        Liked by 3 people

  14. Hello everyone!
    It is really heart breaking 💔 to say good bye to such a wonderful place which made us come together as community! Today is the last community pool let’s make it memorable! Please check out https://sparkklingthoughts.wordpress.com. Join me in my journey and give me an opportunity to be a part of your journey. If life is a mystery let’s discover it together, if life is a puzzle let’s solve it together and if life is a journey let’s walk together to make it joyful and memorable! Love you all and always! 💛💖

    Liked by 18 people

  15. Hi WordPress fam!
    Community Pool has been an important element of WordPress and it has helped me come out of my shell and evolve myself with every new article. This time too, I look forward to feedbacks on my blog.
    Thank you so much for visiting!
    Happy blogging to you!

    The ‘People’ Habit.

    Liked by 14 people

  16. Sad to see Community Pool most of the people I follow were found here, and many of my own followers found me here. It was a big part of this community for me. I have hope for what’s next though. My thanks to everyone involved.

    My newest post is a look at the full career of an American music legend that doesn’t get near the recognition he deserves. He’s an artist who never shied away from trying something new and different, and a virtuoso on a number of instruments. I hope you enjoy it, and find it interesting. https://thefortnightlyplaylist.wordpress.com/2018/05/25/ry-cooder/

    Liked by 16 people

    3. Ah the perils of being an opinionated reader who reviews ‘best of’ lists compiled by PBS. Try as I might though, it’s hard to begrudge ’50 Shades’ author for its appearance; the phenomenon could have created a whole crop of dedicated readers who will discover ‘Huckleberry Finn’ or ‘Catch 22.’ Fun read either way.

      Liked by 5 people

      1. Yeah, that’s the point that I make towards the end of the post. The book to win is going to be the one that makes non-readers into readers. For many, that was 50 Shades, but for even more, that’s Harry Potter

        Liked by 2 people

      2. You’re probably right. It’s probably easier to get into than ‘Lord of the Rings’ and easier to find than the book that made me into a reader: ‘Ender’s Game.’

        Liked by 2 people

  20. Happy day to all! Sharing you my latest photo essay and the last one from 2017’s travels:

    Novemburnt

    Apart from that, I also write micropoems and short stories so head on over to my blog if you’re interested!

    Please tell me what you think. And follow me if you like what you read! Thanks ☀️

    Liked by 15 people

    1. That was beautiful! I’ve reconnected a lot with my faith after a really difficult turn in health (written about in my last blog post). Followed and looking forward to seeing more from you💗

      Liked by 2 people

  29. Wow…. well this is beyond awesome… and I’m just discovering it. (sad) A way to help others? Lemme scroll down and see who has a question. While I’m “somewhat” new to WordPress blogging (1 year 4 months), I’m not new to writing. Feel free to shoot a question my way about anything writing related, ideas, or if you just want someone to give you constructive feedback about a blog you’re unsure of posting. I’m also open to anyone who has feedback on my blog https://www.relationshipsetcetera.com/ Which all about dating, love and relationships (feel free to comment or ask a question). Plenty to read and critique there. I also have a small podcast at spreaker.com/justlsn feel free to follow or share. If you want me to follow you, simply reply to this message and I’ll check you out. Happy Blogging!

    Liked by 14 people

    3. I love how profesional your blog look like 🙂
      Please come over and have look at mine, I started about 2 months ago, but last 2 weeks being extremely busy with personal life and had no time to write. If you have any sugesstion please share it with me, Im still learning, also English language is my second language (I try my best to be grammaticly correct) 🙂

      https://polishsausage82756561.wordpress.com/

      Liked by 6 people

      1. Thank you! I took a look at your blog. It looks great for someone who just started. I would only add (or should I say remove one thing)…The calendar. Calendars are typically used if you have upcoming events or promotions. Otherwise it’s just using space. Remove that and put a photo of yourself there with a link to your bio (about) page. Just use an image widget… it should let you add a hyperlink to it. Let people see you. I’d also suggest (when you have time) a section of just photos of the food and drink. Or videos of you cooking. They can be short and sweet… 1 minute – 5 minute video of You prepping, cooking and the fished product. That being said… i love what you’ve done thus far. FYI your English is better than a lot of 1st language English speakers😊

        Liked by 5 people

      2. Thank you so much for your feedback, I really appreciate your opinion and suggestions, you have a great ideas and defenetely I will do what you said in a future 😊😊 for now I will follow your advice and remove calendar, rest of the work I have to spread in time but I will do it defo! 😀 ( very busy mum) 😊
        I’m very happy to hear that you like my work, it’s very motivating!
        Thank you for complement, Im still learning the language, soon starting collage and I doing my first steps in another language too! 😊
        Thank you for reading my blog 😊😊

        Liked by 3 people

      1. Thank you! That page seems to get most people to smile. Mission accomplished.

        About the follow button.The follow button is usually at the bottom right of the page as you scroll. Temperamental and crazy WordPress.

        I’ll definitely check out your page.. Headed there now 😊

        Liked by 2 people

  30. Hello everyone! Here are some more beautiful poems from the poetry contest.
    https://writtenintheinkblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/more-beautiful-poems-and-poets/

    I’m saddened that the Community Pool is closing, but it has given me an inspiration to host my own Community Pool. It will be a page on the menu of my blog and it’s open for everyone.

    Also! I’m going to be doing Daily Inspiration posts soon (next month). So follow for those new features of my blog! 😀

    Liked by 14 people