American Blogger: Telling Our Story

I don't know if I should feel out of the loop...or not, but I hadn't even heard or seen anything mentioned about this upcoming feature-length documentary chronicling bloggers across the U.S. until I read about it in a post at the Pink growl. I watched the trailer and got goosies. That probably sounds a liiittle crazzzy, but I can't help it.

Here's the trailer for American Blogger.

Have you heard about it? Whatcha think?

In the scheme of things, I really just started this gig as a blogger. But it's in my blood. I can't explain it. It's like giving birth. I have all these ideas and aspirations for nurturing and growing my blog. It's personal, but it's not...if you know what I mean. I've experienced what I'd call a fair share of upheaval and uncertainty over the past year or two with a 15 year relationship finally running its course and imploding and the fact that my two sons who I've raised, for all practical purposes, on my own from the time they were 3 years and 4 weeks old have matured into young men, now ages 22 and 18. They're not my babies anymore. Well...that's what THEY say.

My blog...it's helped to fill the void.

It's exciting and stimulating! I've learned so many things I had no clue about before....like html coding, the difference between good design and something that looks like a scrapbook vomited all over my screen (doesn't mean I always do it), what makes a good giveaway, the power of a comment, what it means to find my "voice", but most of all....I love this thing called blogging!

*Thanks for dropping by!

I'm Back!!

And...plan on staying this time around. I'm not gonna lie. I'm very competitive by nature. I have been since the time I was old enough to know what "winning" meant...and not in the Charlie Sheen sense of the word. When I started my blog last Spring, I was excited about the potential following I would build as well as becoming part of the blogging community. Initially, I thought I had something to be excited about, but quickly realized that my blog traffic and stats were tainted by fake blog traffickers. These "imposters" use automated bots that visit blogs in an effort to generate traffic for their own websites. When their web addresses show up in blog stats and people click on them out of curiosity, traffic is generated for their site. I really just didn't know what to do about it. The whole thing just sort of took the wind right out from under my little blogging sails. 

I really enjoy...and missed writing my posts, tinkering with my blog design, and meeting new people through blogging, so I started looking into the situation again. For whatever reasons, I've been able to find more information about it this time around. Everything I've read says they do not pose a threat to my blog and that the best way to get rid of them is to focus on building legit followers and blog traffic. As this happens, most of the advice I read said the fake ones will go away. Well...that's what I'm counting on anyway.

Another concern I had with my blog was that I pigeon-holed myself into a teaching blog. After the fact, I realized I wasn't happy with just that. I want to blog about whatever I find interesting or inspirational. And viola...my new blog was born! It's no longer the Sweet Life of Second Grade, but Where Everyone Knows...It's Wendy. 

I hope everyone enjoys. It's good to be back!

*Thanks for dropping by!

  

Go Ahead. Grab My Button!

While writing my previous post, I was in the midst of blog button trials and tribulations. I was determined to create myself a cute little button and code for this blog. After several "How To" articles and a number of attempts over a few days at getting it just right, I did it...WooHoo! However, I don't know if I would have been successful if I hadn't stumbled across a couple of very beneficial resources to which I want to give credit. The first was Shabby Blogs where I found the image. They have lots of fabulous freebies for dressing up your blog. Look for their button over there in the sidebar - - - > under my "Button Besties". The other awesome resource I found was a really cool little web app, Grab My Button Code Generator. Here is the link:  http://64b.co/09P. All you have to do is fill-in fields for Blog Title & URL, Image URL, and a few Colors/Code Box Options. It was very easy to use, and it created the code for my button. Then, all I had to do was copy and paste it into the Button Gadget I'd added to my template. 

Now, my next endeavor is to acquire and insert the social media icons for my Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Teachers Pay Teachers accounts. These were supposed to be included with the blog template I purchased. However, I have yet to receive them. I emailed the company today and am waiting to hear back from them. I'll let you know how this goes once I see what kind of response I get from them.

So far, I've really focused on creating the face of my blog. Next, my goals are to concentrate on content, acquiring some followers/comments, and networking. If you have any suggestions, especially in the areas of acquiring followers and networking, I would sincerely appreciate your sharing them.

*Thanks for dropping by!

                  

Newbie Blogger with OCD...Uh Oh!

When I do something, I generally go "all in" which is exactly what I've ended up doing with my new blog. I contribute this to my being slightly OCD...or, at least, having a Type A personality. Ummm...have you ever wondered why so many teachers say they have ADHD or OCD? Well, that might just be a topic for future posts. Now back to the OCD, newbie blogger thing. While researching and reading up on what it takes to have a successful blog, I've realized there are a lot of ins & outs and tools of the trade to know and, at moments, have felt a little overwhelmed. I think I could read a gazillion articles and guides, but nothing will help me more than just diving in and learning as I go. So...I'm asking that you bear with me on this journey; and as we move ahead, I'll try to provide those of you out there who are considering starting up a new blog of your own or are also newbie bloggers like me with some helpful hints and useful pieces of information along the way. I hope you are as excited as I am! 

Here is my first deposit into the accounts of all aspiring bloggers. It is an interesting, useful article about 12 things that can sabotage, or kill, a blog, and we certainly don't want any of our blogs to end up in the bloggers' morgue! Here is the link to the article: 12 Things That Will Kill Your Blog Post Every Time.

 Hope you find it helpful.

Are you a newbie or aspiring blogger? If so, let me know and please share any ins & outs or tools of the trade you've discovered along the way.

*Thanks for dropping!