02 - Does a blog have to have variety of content? My blogging habit is still pretty much 'totally aimless blogging' but I guess I got into the habit of posting two things - one, whatever I'm interested in sharing (ie, books, thoughts, my artwork during the rare occasion I actually finished them) and two, is a piece of fiction writing. I don't have a variety of blog posts like I used to and I don't venture out of my comfort zone much and I'm perfectly okay with this most of the time because I'm still blogging.
03 - Even though the artwork/graphic above look pretty simple, it took two whole days to get it that way. Decisions have to be made such as what meaning should the image provoke, what to include, what colors to use, etc. Just like my artworks, I spend a lot of time and effort on making graphics for my blog. I also reuse them because it's convenient. (In case you're interested, I use Affinity apps to make them. I had used Adobe apps before but their subscriptions are way too expensive. With Affinity apps, you a make one-time purchase and that's it.)
I know not every blogger can make their own graphics. Using graphics/images/animated gifs from the web is perfectly fine. I'm always curious about them as some bloggers find the most amazingly accurate/just the right ones to use. I think any graphic/image/animated gif with a post is good to not only to add interest to a post but also to have something that attracts readers to stop and check out what is posted. If you're a blogger, how much time do you spend working on graphics/images or finding them?
04 - I've been a bit lazy in commenting on blogs. I enjoy commenting on blogs but sometimes it just seem like I have to look for things to say. I've written tons of comments over the years and even with all the practice, I still find it a bit hard to write them. I can be a bit impulsive and say a few regrettable things. Foolish thoughts and foolish impulses seems to go together along with the foolish need to sound like I know what I'm talking about. I think the best way to write a comment is to be honest and not to think too much or else what you say can become a bit like you have edited away whatever point you're making.
05 - Is Blogger outdated? I've been a Blogger user for as long as I have been blogging so if ask, I would recommend Blogger but people will probably tell me I should update to Wordpress or some other platform. It's true Blogger is old technology when compared to Wordpress and other platforms. Google who owns Blogger have not been updating Blogger at all. The most recent update was years ago (don't remember the exact year) but it feels quite a long time. And they took away the subscription by email option and a couple of other useful features so it seems like they really don't care to get new users. I haven't come across any new blogger using Blogger in years.
I guess I want Google to update Blogger but at the same time, I don't. I'm skeptic about changes especially when it comes to technology. Change always means more changes. That's the reality. I'm willing to embrace change if it means Blogger can be better. But the chances of an update is quite slim.
Got any blogging thoughts to share?
Blogger is the backwater of the internet. All the cool kids long ago went to whatever the current, ever-changing cool, hip platform is. In order (as I recall), those were FB, Twitter, Wordpress, Tumblr, YouTube, Instagram, and now Tik-Tok. I stay on Blogger because I don't want to learn a new platform and essentially start from scratch repeatedly. Some day though, once the Boomers all quit or die off, Blogger will be a ghost town.
ReplyDeleteI envy your skills at making graphics! Apart from the occasional photo of original art or an image or post banner I make with a free meme-generator, I use only memes, images and gifs I find elsewhere in the blogosphere or on the internet. Yes, it's time-consuming, but I'm making the round reading other people's blogs at the same time anyway. And I enjoy "the hunt" for the perfect accompaniment to my posts! So I don't resent the time it takes.
Debra: I'm not hanging out anywhere the cool kids, sad but true. There will always be new platforms so no way of really keeping up. Like you, I don't want to learn a new platform. I would be sad if Blogger ever stopped.
DeleteI appreciate you and everyone for taking the time to search for that perfect image/gif for your posts. It is time consuming but I think it's worth it.
Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
Your blog, your decisions. I love the art work you share and am in awe.
ReplyDeleteI mostly blog same old, same old.
I do try and comment though. It feels like a courtesy to the bloggers who are kind enough to visit me and comment.
Elephant's Child: I like that I get to make the decisions and shared my art/creations at the same time. I do like to try to comment more often but I don't know. I guess I'm just lazy but I try to do better here and there when I could.
DeleteThank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
Blogger has its problems for sure
ReplyDeleteChristine: It's true. Blogger has its problems but we sort of love it or perhaps we tolerate it. I certainly am willing to put up with the problems if I can continue to blog freely.
DeleteThank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
Blogger sure has its problems, but every other platform I ever tried, was worse. I'll just stay and complain!
ReplyDeleteCharlotte: I agreed with you, every platform has its downside so no perfect ones. I'll also stay and complain because now part of using Blogger is also in the joy of complaining about it.
DeleteThank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
"why do I still bother blogging?"
ReplyDeleteBecause it makes me feel alive...seriously, it gives me a voice and an outlet for my creativity (not art in my case, but the review-writing part) that I lack in real life, and puts me in contact with like-minded people...
"Does a blog have to have variety of content?"
I'm like you - I stick with my niche and I'm happy this way. I don't care about other blogs having variety of content either, though if they do, I appreciate it.
"If you're a blogger, how much time do you spend working on graphics/images or finding them?"
When I put my header and graphics together, it took a while (I scouted the net for free vectors and edited them using free Photofiltre. All free LOL). Finding the right gif is easier than you would think. I'm not surprised to hear the image above took two days...the level of detail in your pieces is always amazing. I love the hours falling from the clock. It suggests the idea of rebelling against time, or even breaking it...anyhow, it's an element of chaos that I like.
"I think the best way to write a comment is to be honest and not to think too much or else what you say can become a bit like you have edited away whatever point you're making."
On one hand, I agree - on the other, I tend to obsess about comments now and then...
"Is Blogger outdated?"
Goodness, yes. But on a level, I think that's not the real reason why it's less popular these days. In my opinion, most people choose Wordpress because it's trendy, and because there's this skewed perception that it's more "professional looking" (especially if you want to get serious about blogging), while in reality, there's nothing you can do with a WP template that you couldn't do with a Blogger one as well (except adding certain widgets that Blogger doesn't offer, but what I mean is, you can customise Blogger just the same as WP if you want/know how...).
Roberta: Like you, blogging gives me an outlet, a voice and meet people who shared the same passion for everything.
DeleteThere's nothing wrong with sticking to the same things to blog. Lots of bloggers does it but I also appreciate those who have more a a variety. You'll never know what interest you until someone blog about it.
This particular artwork is about time so there's the falling numbers off the clock.
Comments are very interesting in that, sometimes you say things you don't even think you want to say. Thoughts come out when reading certain things.
Wordpress does have this impression of being trendy and professional looking, maybe even slick and have new widgets that Blogger will never have and it is considered newer compared to Blogger. We are kind of slaves to new things sometimes.
Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.