Wednesday, July 9, 2008

The Sound of Silence

Listen....Do you hear it? Me neither! It's quiet and I rejoice. Silas is gone to his grandparents for the day. SweetieDarling is out doing things I'd probably rather not know about. Sam is working. Moi? I am lounging. Relaxing, resting and recuperating. Which I intend to continue ad infinitum. Or until someone gets home.

I believe the cycle just may have broken. I've had one entire drama free day. The fates tried their best but I persevered. I may not be standing, but that's by choice. And now I shall shut up and not boast lest I tempt them to try again.

That sound you hear now? That's the sound of the biggest time suck ever invented eagerly inhaling all of my day. I have discovered (dun dun dun DUH) ...the statcounter. How cool is this thing? Did you know people come and read your blog and don't comment? Me neither! Whoda thunk? And that you can find out where these people are from? I haven't figured out how to see who they are yet, but I know where they're coming from. Much coolness.

AND, someone came to me from a weird search term! It was "22 year old hairy Christine". I wrote a post on my gray hair and Watch Me Christine commented on it, but I don't think that's what the hairy Christine searcher had in mind because they only stayed 5 seconds. Ooh, that reminds me. I need to do a "growing out the gray update". You've been dying to ask, but have just been too polite, it that it? Didn't want to be pushy? You are too sweet. Well, don't worry. Pictures tomorrow. (awkward return to original subject follows)

My bloggy mother , who took me under her wing as a newly hatched bloglet, taught me that it's good manners to respond to your commenters. So I'm hoping to use this miracle of technology to find email addresses for those who comment and don't have one listed on their blog. Of course, if commenters don't have an email listed on their blog, could that be a hint that perhaps they don't want an email? Hmmm, perhaps some advice is in order for this. What do you prefer, not as a blogger, but as a commenter? An email response? A response in the comments? To be left alone to comment in peace? Please let me know. Meanwhile I'll be hunting down the Romanian who stayed two and a half hours and still didn't have anything to say.

7 comments:

moo said...

Commenting is weird. At first, I responded to comments in the comment section. Then, I realized that now that I have google reader, I rarely go back to check and see if there's a response to my comment ... so I started emailing responses.

I like it, because I don't have to email everyone, but if there's a particular comment that grabs me, I can open a conversation and get to know my readers better.

and yes, the statcounter is VERY dangerous! ;)

Candy said...

Awww, I'm a bloggy momma. I feel so loved. Please remember me on Mother's Day.

I don't mind not getting a response to comments, if the person at least drops by my blog once in a while. But there are some people who don't respond, and don't read mine, and I wonder...why am I bothering? Are you this mean in person? I'm sure it's nothing at all like that, they just don't have time, desire, whatever, but I'm a needy person and I agonize over such stuff. It's one of the many reasons I don't sleep at night.

Anonymous said...

If Candy is your bloggy mom, does that make me your bloggy dad?
Oh, wait...never mind.

I switched over to Wordpress specifically because it captures email addresses of commenters so you can respond directly.

And statcounter can make or break your day. ;-b

Anonymous said...

I just like when my comment gets responded to, whether it's in the e-mail or on the comments themselves. If I know to check for a response on my comment, I will.

But really- I like it when the person visits my blog. You comment, I follow. My theory!

Kate said...

I don't understand how to make the stat counter work. I finally get to see how much my site is visited, but not who or where they're from. That's the dirt I want!

Anonymous said...

I do my best to email respond to every comment I receive. I read a number of blogs, use Google Reader, and comment on those posts and bloggers that I find interesting. Some of the bloggers I comment on have never read or commented on my posts, and that's ok. I blog because I enjoy sharing stories and images in print, as well as communicating about life with other bloggers. It's sort of like modern-day pen paling with people from all over the world, only it's a lot quicker. Take care!

Vanessa said...

I use the Sitemeter and love it! Instead of a time suck, I refer to it as the cheapest form of entertainment possible. The SO agrees.