As in, blog shop. The boring exchange of words about boring bloggy stuff.
Sorry, it has been on my mind. It seems to be on many minds these days as I read all the blogfrog discussions about commenting on blogs. Kristi from Live and Love out Loud has an excellent discussion going on as we speak. Check it out here.
Do you? Don’t you? Do you comment on your blog and their blog? Do you do both and reply via email if possible?
Oh my. Seriously? I’m supposed to comment in 3 different ways to every visitor?
I love blogging, but I don’t get paid to do it and don’t want to ever dread it (which is happening on occasion when I can’t find a happy balance).
While I love receiving visits from my bloggy friends, I also have a family that depends on me way more than I would like some days.
And just in case you haven’t been getting my regular visits lately, know that I love you all but am burned out.
I’m tired and a little cranky.
I’ve been trying to keep fights at bay between my two spawns of satan (and by that, I mean my lovely children). They look at each other the wrong way and the fangs come out and they are overcome by anger. Yesterday Little Man pushed Pokey off her chair and tears were had by all. They fight incessantly like they are mortal enemies, except for when they like each other on rare and unexplained occasions. They are amazingly reminiscent of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Who knew that dealing with bickering children all day could be so mentally and emotionally taxing. In the last two days I’ve given myself both a timeout and a nap.
I’ve also been making more efforts with hubs while he’s home in the evening. Whether it’s Pawn Stars, Travel Channel’s Man vs Food, American Pickers, Animal Planet’s Last American Cowboys, ESPN, or some strange discovery episode- I’m gritting my teeth and bearing it- for the sake of together time.
I’ve digressed.
And back to topic at hand, commenting on blogs. I love my comments. Each and every one. And in a perfect world I would have super powers and be able to make time stand still and do the tasks of 10 women.
I personally prefer to comment in the form of emails. It’s more personable and easier from my iphone.
And for you newcomers I wanted to let you know that this is possible only if you set it up in your settings. If you have blogger I can instruct you on this. Otherwise you are on your own to figure it out. I know it is possible in WP though.
Liz from a bell, a bean, and a chicago dog wrote a guest post over in the lady blogger’s society about this very topic. You can find the article here.
To summarize, if you would like to send or receive emails from blog comments you need to change your settings so that your email is not set as a ”no reply” email address.
Make sure you have your email address “turned on” in your profile, go to “Edit Profile” and make sure you have your email address entered in the Email Address box under the “Identity” section. Also, make sure to check the box in the “Privacy” section that reads, “Show my email address.”
And if you’d like an email sent to you whenever someone comments on your blog posts, follow this step:
From your Dashboard, go to “Settings”, then “Comments”. Scroll all the way to the bottom and you’ll see a section called “Comment Notification Email”. Enter your email address there.
I also try to regularly visit my favorite blogs and will leave comments. If I get special comments it always warrants a visit to a blog, but I’m sorry to say that I am not able to return every single comment, at least through the busy summer months when I feel more like a chicken with it’s head cut off most of the time. Today was one of those days and it’s not over yet. Oh, and did I mention that we had Sonic for dinner? Healthy homemade meals seem to be going by the wayside more and more on these busy summer days. Perhaps it’s time to dig out the crock pot or stock up on grilling meats again.
I hope this information about changing your email settings will help open the lines of communication for us.
Feel free to share any pointers or tips that you have found work for you whether it be on finding balance in your life or keeping children's fights at bay or commenting to blogs… I’m a work in progress and embrace suggestions.