NeoBluePanther

Writing, Among Other Things

Category: Writing (Page 16 of 19)

What is your Comment Policy?

April 9, 2008 / / 17 Comments

Comments are one of the most important part of any blog. For a growing blog, comments are like water that helps a sapling to grow into a majestic tree. Comments are also a unique feature of the blogs, and the real time interaction, between the blogger and the visitor, that comments facilitate, I think, is one of the major reasons for the popularity of the blogs.

How a blogger manages the comments can either encourage, or discourage, a visitor to leave a comment or not. 

The first question, then, is : Is it a good idea to moderate comments?

I don’t think it is, because when I comment on a blog it satisfies me immensely to see my comment get posted immediately. But, then, as experience has taught me, there are a few people out there who can leave comments that you would rather not have on your blog. So, choosing to moderate comments is like choosing the lesser of the two evils.

The next question: How do you respond to a comment?

The easiest and the best way, they tell me,  is to respond to it in your comment section and to go back to the commenter’s blog and leave a comment there. But, for some reason, I feel that commenting in my own comment section may seem to some as an attempt to artificially inflate the comment count. It is dificult to please all, isn’t it?

But, from now, I have decided to change that, and I am going to be responding to the comments in the comment section itself. And, I am going to try and comment on most blogs that comment here.

That last part raises a question in my mind that I hope some of you can answer for me. When you leave a comment on someone’s blog, do you check back to see if the blogger has responded to it?

Also, do you have a comment policy? If yes, what is it?

Is a blog that doesn't update still a blog?

March 27, 2008 / / 12 Comments

The definition of a blog has changed quite dramatically over the last few years. From being an amateur, the blog has come a long way, and it is now impossible to differentiate a website from a blog.

A criteria often used to separate the blogs from the websites is the frequency of updation. A website, they say, is more static in nature as compared to a blog.

For example, a company’s website could talk about  its area of operations, client-base,  employees etc. The website would only need to be updated when there has been some major development in the company. A blog, by the very same company, could talk about something like the new coffee machine, boss’s new tie, the new pizza place near the company’s premises. In short, it would be dealing with the interesting things (or not so interesting things) that happen on any average day in the company.

So, if frequency of updation is the criteria by which you judge a blog, how often should a blog be updated? How often do you update yours? And if a blog hasn’t updated for a long time (the definition of a long time is again subjective), do you call it a website, or a dead blog?

Not Another Upgrade!!!

March 21, 2008 / / 9 Comments

WordPress is a great thing. It is perhaps one of the best things to have happened in the cyberspace. It has enabled many people – like me – who were not very familiar with html and other web site building languages, to set up, run and maintain good looking sites.

Going by the number of upgrades that have been made to WordPress,  the people behind WordPress seem to be working quite hard. Usually, by the time I have  one version of WordPress set up and running, they release a new one. Not being very tech -savy, I ususally stick to one version of WordPress (or any software for that matter), till it becomes absolutely necessary to upgrade.

As of now, I am using WordPress 2.3.1 and even though everytime I log in, my dashboard tells me that my  “WordPress 2.3.1 is out of date,” I still have not felt the need to upgrade. It is pertinent, I think, to mention here that the last time I tried to upgrade WordPress, I did something wrong and was forced to resort to a fresh install.

It appears that WordPress is now almost ready with WordPress 2.5, and from the sneek peek provided by the WordPress team it seems that upgrading to 2.5 will not only be necessary, but will also make using WordPress a better experience. So, I am waiting for the new version of WordPress with great eagerness, and a little anxiety.

What do you feel about WordPress upgrades?

Apologies!

March 18, 2008 / / 0 Comments

The site is backIf you visited the site in the last 24 hours, you might have seen some unexpected things on here.

There was some site maintenance being carried out by  the hosting service providers, and it went on for longer than expected.

But, when I woke up this morning and the site was still not working I mailed the hosting provider to ask them about it. It turned out that they were thinking that everything was working all right.

So, after getting my mail they quickly fixed the problem, and consequently the site is up and working now.

I would like to offer my apologies for any inconvenience caused to any of you who visited the site during the  time the site was offline.

Social Networking and Blogging!

March 14, 2008 / / 5 Comments

Did Blogging come first, or did Social Networking?

If you think about it, social networking, in one form or another has existed since time immemorial. So, the better question would be : did YOU start blogging first, or were YOU social networking even before you were blogging?

And, how is social networking affecting your blogging?

It is often said that social networking can be a powerful tool for bloggers; that it is a good way to get the word about your blog out there, and to get people to visit your blog!

But I don’t agree with that. Social Networking CAN be a powerful tool for bloggers but, before it can be  that, a blogger has to make sure that he is doing the other things right. One can not have a good, or even a popular blog, solely on  the basis of social networking. A good blog has to have  good content, a good layout and regular posts (it goes without saying t hat the quality of the posts has to be good). And if you have a good blog, you stand a better chance of having a popular blog!

Social Networking is good for making friends, but if you want  to be a better blogger (the definition of a better blogger is again subjective), just work harder on your blog!

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