Poll: Help improve this blog!
nekosasu | May 6, 2007 | 5:08 pm
I’d really like you to read this post before casting your vote on the poll, and eventually specify in a comment to this thread what you mean with that. Since my last post about this issue was taken care of quite sporadically (while most people only noticed it by chance), I decided to try again, this time in a more aggressive approach. I gave you a few answers, however you can add your own option to it if your advice doesn’t fit in any of those categories.
I don’t know if I should prod the huge blogs who always seem to concerned about this issue as well, it sure might be annoying to hear the small blogs complain (especially if it’s the same idiot (read: neko) again and again). I don’t want to knock on everyone’s door, and honestly, I don’t have the time for that right now. So if anyone with better relations could take care of spreading the word, it would be very appreciated. Else, I’ll have to rely on the antenna again. Anyway, please, read on.
Rest assured, this is in no way an act of despair (which doesn’t mean you should stop reading this though). It’s just that I’m trying to find out some ways to make this blog more appealing *cough*. Well, I have received some hints on what to do (and I will once again link back to my old post here where I tried to trigger some discussion *cough*), and I’ve been trying to follow them as much as I could, even if I still am clueless on what to change exactly. Anyway now I want to know if indeed I am on the right way or if I’m still utterly wrong, and getting worse. Where and what I can improve on this blog, that is what I want you to tell me.
I have to admit, this comes way too soon. My finals are starting about next week (right now I’m struggling to study physics for my very last test tomorrow), which barely leaves me the time to do anything valuable for this blog. Yet, my patience is slowly running out, most probably due to all the stress factors building up around me. Yes, I complain far too much, and I ask much more than I’m actually giving out - yes, I’m greedy. And yes, I can’t hide my bitterness. I know am expecting way too much from the community - If I assume that most of the bloggers are like me, they’ll think of me as an attention whore and either ignore me, complain about my hypocrite attitude or offer yet again some sugar-coated words to shut me up for a while. Oh wait, they don’t even know me, so why should they complain? “Let the little dogs bark”, they say. That’s what I deserve alright, and given the circumstances, I have to accept that sad reality. Sadly, I see the same phenomenon in the walling scene - if you’re a no-namer, people might stumble across your wallpaper by chance. Replace the name with one of those big ‘uns, holy shit what a success! You’re really a talent! Ding. Getting the same reaction from both sides, either I’m biased as hell and I’m doing something wrong or I don’t know what.
However, once my finals are over, I could finally dedicate myself a bit more to blogging (and to establishing ’something’ that might resemble a ‘readership’, if ever). Omitting my unreasonable request for instant famousness, what I do want right now is something like a moral boost, something that shows me that people at least give some thought to this old issue, every noob blogger’s issue. Instead of adding another layer of sugar-coating, I’d rather have straightforward answers, and concrete advice, so I know what to improve. As in, “be less formal, be less informal, keep your damned personal remarks for yourself, I don’t want to know about your personal life, etc”. I need your advice right now so I can plan ahead to get the improvements done much quicker after my finals, and FINALLY get this thing rolling as it should. The reason why I want people to comment here is to know where the advice all comes from, because polls are so impersonal, anyone could vote in a poll. Thank you for your time.
~neko *hiding behind the anti-flame shield…*
ramble mode on
anyways … looks like i’m reading another desperation post again … does that mean that is the only thing I find interseting? … well actually … maybe …
site design doesn’t matter … people look for content … now it’s pretty silly for me to force you to write in a certain style and what not … its not like you’re gonna get paid right? let alone make you blog things you do not feel like blogging … just a quick view of your site i really did not get what the focus was … a few summaries here … a few life posts there … and a couple of wallpapers and random thing every now and then ….. what am i saying? i dunno … what’s the focus of your site cause i can’t really tell right now ….
judging from you calendar mod .. it seems like you’ve taken to posting … something … at least once a day …. so that’s good … keep it up …
oh .. if you’ve noticed by now .. you’re not getting any concrete advice … unless you want instant hits you can blog narutard / bleach all day long and get 1000 hits a day! no really it works …
and your poll … i just hit the more interesting topic button =) …. content over style … post structure? i have no idea what that even means … update freq .. looks like you’re doing it … blogrolling … somewhat helps .. but you don’t use blogrolling for hits on other peoples blogs … its for SOE / google rankings … another writer? … maybe …. stop blogging? … lol … that’s whats gonna happen if you look at your counter all day long … =(
anyways i filled the posts with “…….” to make it seem like i have alot to say
i’ll check back later cause i have no idea how that trackback nonsense works …
Trackback? Haven’t used that either yet, lol. Anyway thank you Rednights, at least you’re taking your time to reply.
On a side note… I did write that during this afteroon’s studying session, exactly as my mind was messy and stuff. After I wrote that post, I kept thinking about it. I think I should have used a different approach (once again). But I don’t think I’ve missed the spot, unless someone calls bias and I’ll shut up.
Yes, you’re right, Rednights, many of the points I presented might not matter to some people, but to others. Some might find this blog unreadable, the colors too ugly, the pictures too messy, etc. Lack of functionalities, lack of orientation, or the opposite, oversaturation of (x), whatever, sure, some might care. I merely edited (after long hours) the theme that looked the most appealing to me, but how many ppl will agree? There’s no use trying to tell people something if they’re immediately chased away.
As I said, it wasn’t a desperate act, although… the way I wrote it really did make it look like I was desperate on getting the HITS and the VISITS. In one of my earlier posts, I said I only cared about comments and stuff, but forcing everyone to comment is a no go, unless the content is interesting enough.
I will not get paid for what I am writing (yet, lol ^^), indeed, yet I think that many people start rolling their eyes when they see some random aspiring anime blogger write in a bad style, or structure their summaries/posts so badly that the story gets spoiled right on, or whatever. I’m fine with that, English is NOT my mother tongue but still I’d like to write in a way that everyone could find enjoyable and easy to follow. I cannot judge that myself because I very honestly think my writing sucks so yeah.
The focus of this blog used to be mainly (and I think it still is) anime, and random things, in short. I know, anime coverage has been quite short as of recently, and my current selection is probably one of the least appealing, so I had to fill in some sort or another. People kept telling me to post daily, and yeah so I did, even it it had been totally random. Maybe I should omit posting personal posts, since it seems like it’s not interesting enough or people cannot identify them to similar situations that happened in their life. It doesn’t work half as well as on other sites ^^;
The blogroll, I know that. Just added that as a sarcastic option as a reference to what some people told me in the past ^^ The “stop blogging” option also was somewhat of a joke, which someone jokingly voted for (I hope!). Although, since they won’t justify why, I don’t think I should take that seriously.
This blog is not endangered yet (go away you demons!), but I already mentioned the factors that might play a role in that beforehand: studies, writing in the void, lack of attention/acknowledgement, etc. Maybe this issue might be lifted in June or so, who knows. If I fail my finals, yeah I guess I’d have a LOT of time then.
I think there is some misunderstanding. I’m not calling out to say “oh hey I’m going through all this trouble during my finals to write some uninteresting posts!! Can’t you see I’m ignored!! So comment all you can!!one”, but rather “I feel like a part of this community, it would be great getting some attention”. So contradictory… uhh… I mean, The question is not to become a huge anime blog like the big ‘uns out there, it’s about trying to establish myself in this community, even as a small blogger, to be know at least in some parts of the interwebz. Yet, I guess I’d have a great share of the more known people if I was more often in IRC, making people more interested in what I have to say, lol. There I go again trying to be an attention whore.
I like to write, I love to write, and I want to improve my English even better. But noone likes to write something without being noticed at all. Without critics, book writers wouldn’t exist - as I said many times, if noone tells me to improve in this or that area, it might only be a waste of time then, and I’d rather write in notepad or so and keep my own texts, for the hackers to enjoy. lol, that’s so contradictory with my first point. But that’s what it boils down to in the long run… Geez, I don’t make sense, do I?
I can guess the one or another advice from your post, and you casting your vote in the poll sure shows me that you care at least that much =) only 5 votes for now, I guess I ramble too much. Compared to many blogs who don’t get much attention either but who don’t complain (although they’re much longer in the business), I sure am a noisy one. :D
I think I write too many run-on sentences. and 2:30 AM, I should revise one last time my physics, and wake up in less than 5 hours. If I ever can think of something else, I’ll make sure to post. Jaa.