Sunday Surf: Reposting old posts & Facebook giveaways update

Links to share, from Writing Tidbits:

Blogging Basics: How to Revive Old Blog Posts

Check your analytics & follow a few simple steps to boost your archive views.

2 MONTHS AGO

blogging blogging tips

Blogging Workflow (Photo credit: cambodia4kidsorg)

Facebook Promotion Guidelines Update: What You Need To Know

It’s less restrictive now if you want to host or promote a giveaway on Facebook.

2 MONTHS AGO

facebook giveaways

The Other Side of the Story: How Do You Feel About Re-Posting Old Blog Posts?

Rules on reruns

3 MONTHS AGO -  1

blogging tutorials writing 1 note

Why monetizing a mom blog is ok

I started writing this post two years into blogging on Hobo Mama and here. I think I let it falter in drafts because it was kind of a big topic and because it felt controversial to me. But I've finally edited it to be current and pulled it together, and here are my thoughts.

I've been thinking a lot about the subject of monetizing a blog in my six-plus years of "mommy blogging." I want to gag on that term, but it's one that's familiar to people and let's be honest — that's what my blog Hobo Mama is.

When I redesigned my site two years in, I started selling advertising space. I had (affiliate) ads on Hobo Mama since its inception, quite purposely, since I didn't want it to be something I transitioned into with my readers wincing at the change. I wanted it to be noted, right away: This is a blog whose purpose is to make money.

How have I done with that goal? Meh.

Some years I've lost money. Mostly I haven't earned a whole lot.

But somewhere around my third year, I tried to step it up. I love writing. I love writing about my mommy-blogging topics. But I don't want this to be a hobby. I want it to be a business.

I feel like a mommy blog traitor even saying that out loud.

Why does monetizing a mom blog get such a bad rap?

I think the backlashing against advertisements, sponsorship, and affiliate connections on mom blogs comes down to three aspects (deep breath):

• Sexism
• Classism
• Elitism

Ready for me to break it down?

(By the way, remind me some time to point out that these are the same points of contention against romance novels. Really.)

SEXISM

This is the crux of the matter, as far as I'm concerned, so I'll start with it. Obviously it has to do with mommy blogging in particular, since most (not all) parent bloggers tend to be women. Even blogs that are not about parenting but are by women about personal topics are often lumped into the category of mommy blogging (and those bloggers can get pretty — justifiably — upset at the misassociation).

By and large, I read two types of blogs: parenting blogs and — well, I'm stumbling around for a term here. Just, regular blogs. Big blogs. Professional blogs. The second category tend to be run by either companies or men. The first category tend to be run by women, as noted above. The second category? No hesitation about monetizing out the wazoo. They're in this for cash and aren't afraid to let you know it. Whereas the women-run blogs? They tiptoe around the subject. They declare their allegiance to being ad-free with cute little pretentious buttons. They call out other women bloggers for daring to put ads on their blog, or for having them be too prominent, or for accepting paid posts or giveaway products. The disclosures women bloggers write are apologetic, defensive: I didn't get paid for this! I swear! I got a free product, is all — I wouldn't do this for money!

Allow me to point the finger back at myself a tick, will you?

I married at 22, fresh out of college. I took a contract job at the same nonprofit company where my husband worked. They wouldn't hire me full time because they made up had a rule about spouses not being able to work together. Of course, um, we still were working together, and from a home office to boot. We could get up to all sorts of mischief (and did! ha!).

I didn't challenge the rule because — well, it was a rule. My husband had found the job first, because he had graduated a year before I did. I could have tried to find a better, "real" job, but what I really wanted to do was start my own editing business and write novels on the side.

I never did get around to writing the novels on the side, but I did start the freelance editing business. I looked at what the going rates were at the time, and I made a bold and/or stupid strategic move: I would price myself below everyone else.

I was young, after all! I was just starting out! Who would pay me the going rate when they could get better quality for the same price?

So I would be the cut-rate editing service, doing it all for cheap.

You know what? I worked my butt off editing. I was good. I was conscientious. I caught mistakes. I memorized APA styling. I did all the tedious crap no one else wanted to do.

And I earned bubkes.

I tried half-heartedly to increase my rates, both in my contracting work for the nonprofit and in my editing, but I felt guilty about it, every time. I didn't feel like I deserved to make a lot of money.

I was a woman, after all, and a good Christian girl at that. It was allowed, if still a little embarrassing, that my husband made more than I did. It would have been more shocking the other way around.

I think as women we're constantly selling ourselves short. We believe the lies told about our worth. I want this to stop, and I want it to stop with me, in me. I deserve to make good money, dangit. My husband could (and would) enjoy being a kept man. It's totally valid for women to earn money, and decent money at that.

CLASSISM

There's also a taint against mommy bloggers who dare to blog beyond hobby status. Blogging as a hobby is something a financially stable person can do. Blogging as a business, if you're a woman (see above), must mean you need the money. And if you need the money…shame on you for not being well-off! How sad that you don't have a husband keeping you in the style you deserve.

There's a lot of snobbery toward filthy lucre. You can almost hear Miss Bingley's snide voice: "Oh…they blog for money? They must live in Cheapside…." There's something untoward about being in trade that still permeates our culture, even though most of us are. There are still these unspoken rules that we shouldn't talk about money out loud. There are hierarchies of what jobs are valuable and which are demeaning.

And for whatever reason, writing — by women, especially — is deemed one of those jobs people should do for fun. On the side. Like amateur sleuthing when you have a family fortune to back you up. Being a policeman? Too obviously blue collar. But being a consulting detective for no monetary reward? Now, that's a (literally) noble calling.

So women can write, and they can blog, but when they try to make money, it had better be as a hobby, for a little spending money, not to buy groceries for their kids or pay for the repairs on the washing machine or fund the family vacation. It should be the amount of money you could blow on hats. If it's your livelihood, well…that's just a little cheap, isn't it?

I'm done with this point of view. I'm finished with people telling other people the way they earn their money is less valuable than the way someone else does, or that earning money at all is less valuable than simply having and spending it. As another independent but well-paid detective would say, "Phooey."

ELITISM

Then there's writing as art. Ah, my words are so precious that no monetary value could possibly be attached! That's why Michelangelo agreed to paint the Sistine Chapel for free. Oh…wait…he didn't? That can't be right.

Now, I get that there are concerns with ethics whenever words (=influence) and money (=influence) decide to hop into bed together. But that just requires strong ethics on the part of the writers (and the brands, but I can't hope too hard for that). It's one thing to deride certain writers or sources for being unethical; it's another to suggest that no writers ever should be paid because to do so soils the art. If you want to believe that, fine. But for those of us for whom writing is our job, the money part is sorta indispensable.

I don't think most of us look at authors we admire — particularly from times past — and thing badly of them for being professionals. Charles Dickens was a total sellout. Mark Twain got wealthy off his writing. Louisa May Alcott supported her head-in-the-clouds transcendental family. We admire them all, and we don't fault them for writing what sells, or for selling what they wrote.

I can have my artistic flourishes and my ads, too. I might not have the most easily monetized blogs in town, but I have the right to pursue that goal.


So that's my conclusion. If people talk down to you about monetizing your blog, ask them which of sexism, classism, or elitism they support. That'll stop 'em.

Best of luck to you with writing well, monetizing effectively, and earning some money for your art!

The most important tasks for bloggers — and what to skip: Survey results

A million two years ago, I sent out a survey asking blog readers what were the most significant elements of blogs they loved to visit, and what was by contrast less important.

I'm not sure why I didn't post the results except that a month later, I had a baby. But other than that.

I got just seventeen responses, so that might have been part of it. But I think the seventeen responses were useful ones, so I'm going to go ahead and post the results now. Here's hoping it helps us all as we prioritize our limited blogging time!

The most important elements, ranked

Click any image to embiggen.

Allow people to message you from Google Plus

If you've connected your Google presence to your Google+ profile, as is now the default, there's no standard way for people outside your circles to contact you if they want to drop you a line. There's a feature on the old Blogger profiles to make your email address visible, but if you've upgraded to G+, that profile is history (or soon will be, as I imagine they'll be phased out shortly).

You can't post on someone's wall outside your circles or view their email address without that person making a settings change. You can't even easily tell whether someone comes from a blog or what blog that is unless the profile is set up to loudly display that information.

What's the big deal? Well, for me personally, I run into all sorts of problems when I'm trying to contact winners for my giveaways on Blogger. People comment from their Google accounts on Blogger blogs without necessarily considering the lack of email-ability they're leaving behind. I also can't email someone to follow up on a question or comment.

It's up to you to decide how reachable you want to be on G+ and increase your visibility if that's your goal. (Obviously, if you want to remain entirely private, then that's your call.)

Fortunately, there's an easy fix to make in your settings to allow messages and emails to be sent to you without revealing your email address. To me, this is a commonsense balance between privacy and reachability.

(Now, another irritation I have with Google+ is how small and hidden the links are for emailing people even if they've set up public messaging capabilities, but this tutorial will at least also show you where to look!)

Click any images to embiggen.


See that teensy-weensy line way down there on your right sidebar? For me, it says "Send Lauren an email." That's where, if you have the email function enabled, users can click on it to send you an email. This happens without revealing your email address, so I think it's a good call to enable (unless you're trying really hard to avoid being contacted by [certain] people).

Natural Parents Network Holiday Gift Guide

Welcome to the Natural Parents Network Holiday Gift Guide!

If you need to complete your holiday shopping, find a birthday present for a friend, or just treat yourself to something special, the NPN Holiday Gift Guide has something for everyone. But what's even better, the NPN Holiday Gift Guide is a great opportunity to shop consciously and to support many naturally minded small businesses. The companies that have provided items for review and giveaway are almost exclusively made up of small businesses or work-at-home families.

Below you will find information on 74 companies from 25 of our NPN volunteers. The companies are giving away 89 products and gift certificates, for a total combined value of $2,550. I am one of the participating businesses, offering for giveaway TWO copies of my book, Poetry of a Hobo Mama.

As you scroll through the Gift Guide, we encourage you to click on the links for each of the reviews — look for the links to our volunteers' blogs in each heading (i.e., "From ABC Company via Blog Name" — the "Blog Name" has the link to the review). Our volunteers have crafted thoughtful posts on each participating company with pictures of and links to products that are simply perfect for our natural parenting families. And while we've split our Gift Guide into sections ("Perfect for Kids" and "Family and Home"), you'll discover that many of the stores offer goodies that people of all ages will enjoy.

You can enter to win every giveaway by using the Rafflecopter system below. Please note that every review post has the same Rafflecopter script, but you may enter only one time, at one site.

Even if you don't win one of our fabulous prizes, please consider spending part of your gift-giving budget at one of these small businesses. By supporting small businesses, you are helping families, boosting local economies, and supporting ethical practices of manufacturing, production and selling. We know that budgets are tighter and finances may be difficult, but by purchasing from small, family-owned businesses, you know you will be receiving quality items made with appropriate business practices and personal customer service, all while supporting another family's endeavors.

Many of the companies have included coupon codes — take advantage of them! You can find the coupon codes in the heading of each company/giveaway listing. (Please note that coupons are not good on shipping fees unless otherwise stated.)

Without further ado, here is the NPN Holiday Gift Guide. We've broken the Gift Guide down into two sections (click the links below to jump to either section):

Perfect For Kids

Family and Home

 

Perfect For Kids

From Earthslings via Code Name: Mama — Win a $35 Gift Certificate toward pouch slings, dolls, dress-up costumes, and more
Shop now with coupon code KIDS2012 and get 10% off through December 31, 2012!

Earthslings began as a pouch sling company; Sam has since expanded to make pouch slings for you and your child, dolls, children's dress-up goodies, and much more! All of Sam's products are handcrafted from eco-friendly 100% natural fabrics, and where possible, she upcycles vintage fabrics into her creations. Our "attached family doll set" is soft, sweet, and just right for little hands. If your holiday shopping list includes mamas of little ones, be sure to take a look at the many pouch sling patterns and colors for mama and child, the sweet selection of dolls, and the other toys and accessories Sam creates. Then swing by Code Name: Mama and read how to wear your little one in a hip carry in your brand new pouch sling.

Be sure to like Earthslings on Facebook and comment on 30+ Ideas for Activities Advent Calendars, one of the informative posts at Code Name: Mama!

 

---

 

From Pip & Bean via Hobo Mama — Win a Superhero Kit: Reversible Cape, Mask, and Arm Bands (ARV $25)

Visit Pip & Bean for customized capes and adorable dress-up costumes. You can buy birthday party kits or sets just right for siblings — or even weddings! My five-year-old put on his cape, mask, and armbands — and then would not take them off, even to sleep. He loves flying around like the mini superhero he is! Stop by Hobo Mama to learn more about daily life with a superhero.

Be sure to like Pip & Bean on Facebook and follow Hobo Mama on Pinterest!

 

---

 

From Wild Arbutus via Anktangle — Win a Handmade Baby Hat or Plush Crocheted Toy (ARV $25)
Shop now with coupon code NPNGIFTS10 and get 10% off all orders through December 31, 2012!

Visit Wild Arbutus for handcrafted crochet children's toys and knit baby and children's hats and headbands. Daniel and I love the knit hat Melissa custom created for him; it's adorable, functional, and fun and whimsical to boot! I keep eyeing the growing selection of toys in this shop, and I just know Daniel would love to play with his very own snuggly nudibranch. Stop by Anktangle for gluten-free recipes to keep you going through the holiday season.

Be sure to like both Wild Arbutus and Anktangle on Facebook!

 

---

 

Giveaway: ourfeminist{play}school review of Poetry of a Hobo Mama

I'm so happy to have a giveaway at ourfeminist{play}school for TWO ebook copies of Poetry of a Hobo Mama. From the lovely review:

Lauren’s ability to capture the reality and heart-galloping love of parenting is unique in its honesty and breadth. Through the flow of her concise language a reader is taken into bedrooms, hospitals, and the intimacy of a nursing moment; the depth that this poet is able to extract from a single stanza is not to go unnoticed.

Too often when parenting we are reminded by those who have taken the journey ahead of us to snap photos, to write it all down. […] Lauren Wayne’s poetry gives parents the gift of retracing their own steps through their own winding road of parenting by sharing what is most intimate and paradoxically the most commonly shared among us. A gem in the parenting poetry genre.

Aw! I'm so honored and touched by her words.

Read the full review and enter the giveaway by November 25 over at ourfeminist{play}school. This would make a lovely holiday gift for a parent in your life who could use some poetry!

Sunday Surf: Responsible blogging & parental dilemmas

Links to share, from Writing Tidbits:

The Panic of Never

Right there, the title, isn’t it the perfect phrase for a parent and a writer? The panic of never, the panic of never finishing a project, of never starting one, of never again having time to write, or never having the time you need.

I love Rachael’s follow-up suggestions as well:

Some Answers to My Own Question {Plus Some Friday Reads}

Which also includes this rad excerpt by Dean Young from “Selected Recent and New Errors”:

Do you think the dictionary ever says to itself
I’ve got these words that mean completely
different things inside myself
and it’s tearing me apart?
My errors are even bigger than that.

33 SECONDS AGO

writing pressure scheduling parenting poetry publishing failure

Walking On Egg Shells | The Path Less Taken

On writing authentically instead of pre-censoring our words.

22 HOURS AGO

blogging writing censorship judgment negative comments

Skitch - Annotate, edit and share your screenshots and images...fast.

Wanna write on top of photos? Annotate, edit & share screenshots & images.

1 DAY AGO

photos photo editing software apps

Facebook page admins beware! What you CANNOT do on Facebook | MarketingGum.com

Rules about cover photos and giveaways as they relate to Facebook.

1 WEEK AGO

facebook giveaways timeline cover photos

- Navelgazing Midwife Blog - Responsible Blogging

What responsibility do you have toward readers as a blogger when it comes to giving advice (parenting, birth, health…)? If someone takes your advice and has a bad outcome, are you liable?

I think about this a lot since I blog about hot-button issues like homebirth and alternative healthcare and unschooling. I keep wanting people to know it’s just my opinion — but at the same time, I can’t stop myself from writing from the perspective of an advice-giver. I’ve tried, and I can’t do it! I love giving advice.

But when it comes right down to it, I’m not an expert in any of the subjects I write about (or, I don’t consider myself one). This quote kind of sums it up:

… all we bloggers really are are darn good writers (for the most part). We don’t necessarily know any more than anyone else, we’re just good at getting the information out there.

4 WEEKS AGO

blogging ethics liability

Giveaway: Poetry of a Hobo Mama at Hybrid Rasta Mama {5.9; Worldwide}

I'm giving away a copy of my book, Poetry of a Hobo Mama, over at the fabulous blog Hybrid Rasta Mama.

Please read Jennifer's honest review, enter the giveaway, and enjoy the parenting-inspired poetry!

Lauren Wayne of Hobo Mama fame, one of the two lovely mamas who founded and run the Natural Parents Network, is both an author and a poet in her own right. I had known for some time that she had a collection of poetry but had kind of ignored it. I always felt bad because I love supporting other mamas in their creative endeavors but truth be told, I was worried if I read it I would not like it. This would not be a function of Lauren or her poetic skills, but instead a function of my indifference to poetry.

Did you know that April is Poetry Month? Well it is and I decided what better way to support Lauren than to sit down, read Poetry of a Hobo Mama from start to finish, then share my impressions with you. I took off my “aversion to poetry glasses” and put on my “let’s see what Hobo Mama brings to the table glasses.” You know what? I am really, really glad that I did.

Enter now on the giveaway post at Hybrid Rasta Mama! Giveaway ends May 9 (date extended due to technical difficulties) and is open worldwide.

Choosing who can comment in Blogger: Allowing the option of name and URL

Dionna of Code Name: Mama and I are writing a few blogging tutorials of particular use for our Carnival of Natural Parenting participants. This topic is loosely related to the carnival, because certain options allow for easier commenting on Blogger blogs.

Do you want to adjust your comment settings in Blogger to determine which readers can comment?

Choosing what permissions to grant commenters (from requiring registration to allowing anonymous commenters) can affect how easy it is for people to comment — and, therefore, how likely readers will be to convert to commenters. Specifically, you might receive more comments if you allow commenters to type in their own name and URL or comment anonymously, because it can be appealing for certain commenters.

Everything has its pros and cons, of course, which we'll cover in a bit. For now, here's where you find the options, what they mean, and what they look like in action.

The four commenting permission options in Blogger

Blogger has four permissions options for its commenting system. Go to your Dashboard, then choose the Settings tab, then Comments. (There's a main tab labeled "Comments," as well, but we want the sub-tab under Settings.)




Look for "Who Can Comment?"

Here are the options. Start from the bottom up to go from most restrictive to least:

1. "Only members of this blog" — Commenters have to be contributors or administrators of the blog and must be logged in to Blogger to comment.
2. "Users with Google Accounts" — This is the default for Blogger. Anyone commenting must have a Google account and sign in to Google.
3. "Registered Users  - Includes OpenID" — This opens up commenting to people who don't have a Google/Blogger account but still requires that they identify themselves in some way by logging in with an outside account. This expands the accounts commenters can sign in, in addition to Google, with LiveJournal, WordPress, TypePad, and AIM. Commenters choose their preferred account, enter their URL or username, and then OpenID takes them to a separate page to authorize with their password.
4. "Anyone - Includes Anonymous Users" — This is the most open of all the commenting options, and is the only one that allows for Name and URL entry. It also is the only one that allows anonymous commenters.

Once you decide which option you prefer, select the little circle next to your choice. Then scroll to the end of the page and make sure to click Save Settings.

Here's what they look like in action, both from the perspective of the commenter, and what a comment looks like live when it's published. Then we'll talk a little bit more about why you might choose each of the four options.

What the commenting options look like

Here is what each option looks like, first from the commenter's perspective on the comment form, and then live once published. (Your comment form might look different, depending on which form option you chose, but the permissions options will be the same.) In these examples with the comment form, I've selected option #4 up above, allowing all users, including name/URL and anonymous. If you've selected a more limited option, you simply won't see the extra options on the comment form, and Blogger will give a special message if only Google accounts are permitted to let commenters know that anonymous comments are not allowed.



The first option is to use a Blogger/Google account. (This is the only option you'll see for #1 and #2 in the permissions options above, and this option will remain visible for #3 and #4.) Commenters can sign in on the comment form; if they're already signed in, their Google profile name will already show up in place of the username/password sign-in section and they can opt to sign out if desired.

Live, the comment will show the display name they chose for their Google/Blogger profile, as well as any avatar they uploaded, and it will link to the profile. The profile can then direct a reader to the commenter's blog and other information. Here's what it looks like in action:


I was hovering my mouse over the link, so the linked profile is shown in the bar along the bottom.



As mentioned before, OpenID allows commenters to sign in with LiveJournal, WordPress, TypePad, or AIM. (This corresponds to permissions option #3 as well as #4 from above.)

Here's what an OpenID comment looks like online:


You can see the OpenID icon next to the person's name, and that their registered website is linked up.



This is the Name/URL option. Entering a URL is optional. Therefore, a person can comment, for all intents and purposes, anonymously using this option by entering a name (or pseudonym) in the Name field but no URL below. (This you will see only with permissions option #4 above.)



This is what name and URL look like published. The name for the commenter shows whatever the commenter has entered in the Name field, there's no avatar associated, and the linked site is whatever was entered into the URL field. Again, commenters can choose not to enter a URL, in which case the name would show up without any link, similar to Anonymous below.



This is the completely Anonymous option. No information is taken from the commenter at all. (This also you will see only with permissions option #4.)



This is what an anonymous comment looks like. As you can see, there's no linking at all, and it's fully anonymous. Name/URL comments without a URL will look the same, with whatever name was entered into the Name field in place of "Anonymous."

Pros and cons of the four options

You have to consider your own comment policy when choosing your permissions options. How open or restricted do you want your blog to be to commenters?

I'll go through each of the four options and describe why you might choose each.

1. "Only members of this blog" — This would be useful, as far as I can see, only on a private or semi-private group blog — for instance, if you started a blog so that a group could share ideas with each other, or if your family had a blog where each member could post pictures and updates but you weren't inviting public exposure. You will obviously limit the comments you receive, because no uninvited outsiders can comment at all. This can be useful if you want to keep discussion limited to team members.
2. "Users with Google Accounts" — This is a good option if you want to have a safeguard up for who can comment. It's likely to keep the laziest spammers and trolls away, because it requires signing into an established Google account. However, it doesn't guarantee that you as the blogger will know where commenters are coming from; Google profiles can be marked as hidden. For commenters who have their own sites, it doesn't give as much instant gratification in terms of linking to their blogs, because it's a two-step process: Click on profile link, then click on the website from the profile (if linked there). Google profiles aren't that customizable, either. A plus for commenters is that many, many people have Google accounts now, so it's likely they'll already be signed in to one, making commenting straightforward. It will, however, exclude anyone who doesn't have a Google account and doesn't want to create one, or who doesn't want the Google account publicized, even with a hidden profile.
3. "Registered Users - Includes OpenID" — OpenID allows bloggers from other platforms to log in as authorized users and leave a comment. This will give some traceability to comments, which again reduces the likelihood of spam or troll comments. A downside for commenters is that OpenID isn't as readily understood as the other commenting options. Because it goes to an extra page for logging in, there can be fear (sometimes justifiable) that a comment draft will be lost before the log-in process is completed (or if it cannot be completed, due to a mistyped password or the like). It also doesn't allow for personalized avatars next to the commenter's name, just the default OpenID icon.
4. "Anyone - Includes Anonymous Users" — This, the most open of all the commenting options, will greatly please bloggers who wish to have a clear link to their own website, and will also relieve genuine commenters who don't have a handy account to log into to comment. However, it also opens you up to the most troll and spam comments, due to the ease of the anonymous functions. See below for some further thoughts on this. Some blogs might be conducive to supporting anonymous commenters, such as if you regularly write about sensitive subjects and wish for there to be frank conversation, if you want numbers of commenters over quality of discussion, or if you want ease of quick and repeated commenting, such as for a giveaway site. (Again, setting your comment policy will help you determine your own goals.) You will probably attract the most commenters with this option, because it allows for the easiest commenting and the most possibilities for commenters to choose from.

Here's my opining on the four options. I used to allow #3, the Registered Users option with OpenID. However, I eventually switched to #4, for the purpose of allowing Name/URL comments. However, I dislike that I can't turn off anonymous comments separately. I feel like there should be an option before #4 that allows a WordPress-like comment option (name and email address required, with URL as an optional field), but no anonymous users. Sure, trolls and the like could still enter a fake or unused email address and a pseudonym (or "anonymous"), but at least they'd be traceable to some extent, and the accountability would, I think, cut down on the nasties.

I'd also like to be able to track and manage IP addresses from commenters, so that I can block repeat offenders, whitelist the good guys, and identify problem commenters from the back end.

(As we're making our wish lists, take a second to vote on Blogger ideas you like best, and let's cross our fingers they're implemented soon!)

If you are in the same boat of wanting to open your blog to the most commenters you can but would rather avoid spam and trolls, there are a few actions you can take, in rough order from most difficult to easiest:

1. Switch to WordPress or an alternate blogging platform. This isn't a sarcastic joke; I know people who have switched for the comments alone. For me personally, it's not worth it. I'm comfortable with Blogger — to the extent that I switched this blog from WordPress. But switching to WordPress would indeed give you WordPress-like commenting features!
2. Install an alternative commenting system. The two I know of for Blogger are Disqus and IntenseDebate. I went back and forth on the idea of one or the other, and even tried them out on a test blog, but they both had their drawbacks as well. Also, you'll want to be fairly confident with fooling around with your template's html and other settings if you want to install outside comments (which means you're probably not reading my tutorials, see?). For now, I'm sitting tight and waiting for Blogger to improve…
3. Heighten your moderation of comments in Blogger. The good news is, Blogger has finally implemented a spam filter, so many spam comments are indeed caught in that net now (not all, but the most obvious and offensive ones generally are). You can add to your defenses by going to Dashboard --> Settings --> Comments again and scroll down to the sections marked "Comment moderation" and "Show word verification for comments?" I'll go through these options more thoroughly in a future post, but for now, just know that you can choose whether comments post automatically, or whether you get to review them ahead of time (either in email or in your main Comments tab). Know, too, that you can at any time delete a comment that doesn't square with your policy, and you can mark spam comments as such to improve the filtering over time. For word verification, you can choose whether commenters must type in a random "word" to comment, as seen in the comment form screenshots above. This greatly cuts down on the amount of automated robo-spam. You can also turn off comments entirely on certain posts, such as after a determined number of days or if you're receiving more spam than usual on particular posts. There are pros and cons to all these comment moderation choices, so I'll discuss that in more detail later. Basically, the fewer restrictions you have, the easier it is for people to comment, and the more freely they are likely to comment. This includes genuine readers with insightful things to say — and spammers selling you their latest pills, as well as mean anonymous types swooping in to flame you and scurry. It depends, again, on how open you wish to be, what environment you want to cultivate on your blog, and how hands-on you want to be about your comment moderating.

So, those are the current options Blogger has for allowing types of comments. Here's hoping for even more options in the future!

What commenting options have you enabled on your blog, whether on Blogger or another platform? What commenting options make you most likely to comment?

Setting up thumbnail linkies & choosing the right dimensions

In honor of Wordless Wednesday, I bring you an entirely not-wordless post on crafting user-friendly thumbnail linkies — those link-ups that allow users to attach a small linked image and title on your blog, brought to us in this incarnation by Linky Tools (formerly McLinky). It's perfect for Wordless Wednesday, giveaways, recipe and craft roundups, and any other image-heavy blog hopping or blog carnivals.

There are other purveyors of thumbnail linkies, but I'm talking exclusively about Linky Tools in this tutorial.

I would specifically like to draw your attention to the length of the input box. For the user, this is the title of the thumbnail they enter.

First, an overview:

(Click on images to view them larger.)


To create a thumbnail linky, simply go to your dashboard (you have to have created a free account beforehand), head to the right to "Create a new linky," and select "Thumbnail" from the drop-down menu before hitting "Go."



This is the default thumbnail linky page.

From the top down, here's what's on the page.

• First, you enter a List Title. This is for your eyes only, just to keep track of the linkies in your dashboard. I date mine and note what the linky was for (e.g., Wordless Wednesday 110112).
• The Length of User Title Entry is the fairly awkward terminology to describe how long the text box is the linker-upper will see. It's the title to the thumbnail that the user types in, and you determine how many characters they're allowed. The default is a puny 20 characters, so this is what you'll almost certainly want to change.
• Size of Thumbnails (or, as it inexplicably but somewhat humorously reads, ThuThumbnails) is how big the images will be on your page. The default is the smallest, 40 pixels.
• Start and Stop Date/Time (not in picture). This lets you set the duration. Ending the linky after a reasonable entry time helps cut down on spam links coming in later on. I keep Wordless Wednesday linkies open till Saturday, to give people a few days to straggle in. Giveaway linkies set to open on a certain day might stay open till the next week's linky goes live. The start date defaults to the current time you draft the linky. If you want to pre-date it or post-date it, you can do so. For instance, if I'm drafting a Wordless Wednesday post on a Tuesday, I typically set the start date to Wednesday at midnight, just to be matchy.

Choose the right sizes:

Here's where you can choose the size of the thumbnails and adjust the length of the user-entered title.

To skip down to the thumbnail sizes, Brent Riggs has helpfully provided blue-green squares demonstrating each size, noted below the squares as pixels (length and width), from 40 to 200.

I've found that most useful thumbnail linkies are between 80px and 160px. I use 120px. Very link-intensive pages often choose 40px. It somewhat depends on how many thumbnails you expect to receive, because the smaller ones will load faster, while the bigger ones will be more aesthetically pleasing.

Whichever size you choose, make sure you change the Length of User Title Entry.

Change it out from the default of 20 characters to a character length appropriate to the thumbnail size.

You can see Brent's help text:

"For thumbnail linky's, the width of the area that HOLDS the title is the same width as the thumbnail image size you choose below. So, you should choose an title entry size that is relevant to the thumbnail image size."

Then there is a suggested list of appropriately matching thumbnail sizes and character lengths. I recommend paying attention to the suggestions, because they generally work.

For instance, I use 50 characters to match my preferred thumbnail size of 120 pixels.

The problem with setting too few characters? Users won't have enough room to enter the title of their post, particularly for a giveaway linky, which usually demands a blog name, giveaway item, and end date. Twenty characters is nowhere near enough for most people to jam in that amount of info, so something in that case has to be left out. There might have to be a balance made in favor of larger thumbnails to allow users sufficient space to enter the characters they need (more characters for giveaways, fewer for Wordless Wednesday and other more casual link-ups).

The problem with setting too many characters? Some users will max out the character length, but then if the thumbnail is too small (or the blog's template calls for a font that is wider than average), some of the lines of text will be chopped off and lost. Since it's impossible for a user to self-edit an entry, there's no convenient solution for the user once that happens. There's only leaving it as is, double posting with a new and smaller title, or emailing the blog owner for help in the editing.

(Click to see images actual size.)

120 pixels with 50 character limit titles (from my blog) — the images are clear, and the titles fit in whole. However, this size might be too bulky for blogs with many links.


These above are 80 pixels in size with a balanced title length. (Again, click to see the image actual size.) Every title fits, although they're a little squishy vertically, which is presumably due to an interaction with the blog's template fonts and can't easily be altered (without altering the template, which seems like overkill for such a small problem).


40 pixel size above (the smallest) with a character limit that's a little too big for the image width. Click on the image to view it actual size. You can see that the bottom right title for Natural Parents Network cuts off at the bottom. Even though it wasn't over the character limit, using that many characters exceeded the allowable display size. The 40 pixel size is petite, which makes images harder to see, but is useful for blogs that anticipate a lot of links and need a faster loading time.


So be sure to choose your image size and character length thoughtfully.

Grab the code:

Once you've chosen all your options, you can then save and create your linky. It will deposit you back onto the Dashboard, where you can get your code.



(Note that you can also Manage Links by deleting any that are objectionable and Edit List at the lefthand side to quickly change your options, such as thumbnail size, character limit, and duration.)

Once you click "Get Code," a box will pop up. One final warning: If your system is anything like mine, it will pop it up so that half the box (the relevant half for me, as it turns out) is hidden up past the top of my screen. I have to scroll up to see the full box, but that's what's needed.



Blogger, self-hosted WordPress blogs, and other blogs that allow Javascript should use the top code. (That's most people, in other words.)

Blogs hosted for free at WordPress need to use the bottom code. WordPress-hosted blogs don't allow Javascript, so Linky Tools hosts the linky in a separate window off-site. This is for blogs ending in .wordpress.com. If that's you, go with the second option.

If that's not you, go with the first.

And that's all. Paste it into your blog post. (See here for how to paste HTML into Blogger and here for how to paste HTML into WordPress.)

Once you publish your post (assuming you didn't set your start date to the future), your cute little thumbnail linky will be live and ready to accept that first eager linker.

Enjoy!

How to turn off comments in Blogger

There are times you want to stop readers from commenting on a post, either from the very start or after a certain time.

For instance:

• If you run a giveaway that has ended, you will want to prevent any new entries after the closing of the contest.
• If you are writing a post that is unconducive to commenting, such as an About Me or Advertising page, you might want comments turned off from the time you post.
• If you have posted on a controversial topic and are receiving too many negative encounters with trolls, you might choose to turn off comments on that particular post.
• If you are going on vacation or need a break from the internet, you might choose to turn off comments until you return and can moderate and reply.

There are many reasons to turn off comments on a specific post¹, and it's easy to do in Blogger.


Click on images to enlarge.

Go into Posting --> Edit Posts, and then click "Edit" next to the post you want to work with. Once on the post-editing screen, you'll see a link at the bottom of the post box that says "Post Options." Click on this to launch a drop-down menu of further options.


In posts, the Blogger default setting is to allow comments. If you want to stop commenting from here on out, click "Don't allow, show existing" (as with a giveaway). If you want to hide all the comments on the post as well as preventing new comments from being made (as potentially with an inflammatory set of comments), click "Don't allow, hide existing." Note that neither setting deletes comments that have been made, and you can revert the settings to "Allow" at any time.

Be sure to click "Publish Post" (the orange button) at the bottom to make your settings live!



If you are working in the new Pages function in Blogger, be aware that the default setting is "Don't allow, hide existing." You can leave this or change it as you wish. Be sure to click "Publish Page" if you want a change in settings to take effect!

That's it.

It's easy enough, and much easier than putting up flashing warnings on a giveaway that's ended yelling at potential entrants not to enter! It will save those potential entrants from wasting time or feeling embarrassed that they've entered a contest that was over, so it's a nice goodwill gesture if you're a giveaway host. I try to turn off comments as soon as a giveaway has ended.

Stay tuned for a tutorial on turning off comments in WordPress.

---

1There is also a way to turn off comments on your blog completely, but we can cover that in a separate tutorial.^↩

Get rid of "You are posting comments too quickly" in WordPress

Here's another easy tutorial for me to write, because I'm not writing it.

I happened across this post from 3 Kids and Us when I was looking for information about that annoying WordPress message that greets me whenever I'm entering a giveaway:

You are posting comments too quickly. Slow down.

That chaps my hide, because — dang it — I want to post my giveaway entries quickly! I don't need to dilly-dally and think about whether I'm following someone on Google Friend Connect. It's especially annoying if I'm just copying and pasting a repeated comment for multiple entries, say 3 entries for grabbing a button — I really don't need time to consider. Come on, just post my comment already, WordPress!

Thank goodness, Cat from 3 Kids and Us knows the solution, so click on over to read about installing the Disable Check Comment Flood plug-in — and then, please, if you are a WordPress giveaway host, do it. Cat also gives advice on how to prevent comment spam after installing this plug-in.

This isn't a problem in Blogger, by the by, where I can post comments as fast my merry fingers can paste them on in.

How to number comments in Blogger

Do you want numbered comments in Blogger?

This comes in particularly useful if you have a giveaway site and use Random.org to select your winners, because counting the comments by hand can be a real chore. For instance, my recent giveaway of a Mini Mei Tai? Getting to comment #72 was a breeze with pre-numbered comments.

It also helps you if you'd like to reference a comment by number rather than through some complicated description — e.g., "the third comment by one of the people named Jane" or "the comment that posted at 9:32 a.m." Instead you can just say, "comment 23."

Well, this is going to be my easiest tutorial to write, because I'm just going to refer you over to my savior in this instance:

Susie at The Computery:
How to number your comments

Go forth, paste the new code into your template at (one of the) required spot(s) and see if your comments end up numbered for ya! You can see she keeps updating her post with tips gleaned from the comments, so if you can't get it to work — or if you can, but in a different way — let Susie know in a comment on her post. You can also scan the recent comments for anyone who's solved a similar problem to yours. (For instance, I agree with comment #60 — see how easy this is! — that you can put your comments back to pop-up afterwards.)

All I can say is: Blogger made this whole thing right complicated for us simple folk. But if you really, really try (multiple options if necessary), you can get your comments numbered. I found the pasting location that worked for me, though I still can't get the over-200-comments issue to resolve itself. Oh, well, something to work on when that matters to me!

While you're over at The Computery, check out all the great blogging tutorials there! And note that Susie has other websites, too, where she posts links to things like how to make a handbag out of an old book. (Because how cool is that?!)