So, I’ve carefully read The Perfect Pitch: Developing Your Blogging Voice. I’ve done this week’s Photo Challenge (it’s here and it’s freaking weeeeeiiiiiird), and I’ve participated in today’s Zero to Hero Challenge of more commenting and more reading. I’ve been doing everything that the Dark Blog Sith Lords tell me to do, and it’s working. I have new followers every day.
Write like you speak. I have found my voice (it’s still in my throat, safe and sound in my voice box, which is ironically, not just a clever name).
Accept missions both from The Daily Posts / Prompts and from the Cape Wearing Purpose Challenge.
So now what?
Well now it’s you turn.
I challenge you.
(I’m imagining something like this just happened.)
If I were some sort of strange bear/anteater hybrid, this is what I would look like as I welcomed you all here with open arms.
Alas..I am not some sort of strange bear / anteater hybrid, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that if I were, I would definitely also talk and regale you all with my stories as well as read some of your favorite posts aloud. I’d also have opposable thumbs and would be carrying a bottle of Laphroaig single malt and a tray of glasses for you to partake in the delicious brown liquid. Or if you prefer margaritas, I could make them, for I would have opposable thumbs. Also, it’s likely scientists would be hunting me to study me, so I may need for you to kill some people to protect me.
You know…
If I were a bear / anteater hybrid.
Which I’m obviously not.
Shut up.
Anyway, now dear readers, the fruits of my typing and synonym searching labor, now I’d like to ask a favor of you…
I want some feedback.
I love being followed, and having people like my posts, but I would love to interact with you all so much more. I want to hear your thoughts after reading the post and then tell you you’re wrong for not agreeing with me. I want to hear your opinion on the layout of the blog, and then tell you to mind your own business. That it’s my blog, and I’ll do what I want to. I want to hear about the first time you realized that I would, indeed, be on your Holiday Card list, and then I want to tell you I don’t care about Holiday Cards, and that you should just send cash to my paypal account so I can get what I really want.
You know…like real friends you guys!
I want to keep the small following that I have engaged and waking up with baited breath in anticipation for the moment that I will post something in all of the humbleness that I have just presented to you with this sentence.
That’s right.. ALL of that humbleness.
You can start, by going over to this week’s Tuesday: Picture Poll and voting. I have like 12 “likes” for the post, yet only 9 people voted. I don’t like to brag, as clearly stated in my last humble remark, but I am pretty good with math, and something doesn’t add up here.
Next…
Head on over to the “Spill Your Guts” comments section of this post, or any post and let me know you’re alive and well, and to be quite frank…slightly coherent.
** Ley, my loyal and steady commenter, is excused from this exercise, although he always has some great comebacks, so I hope he doesn’t sit it out. ****
The Playground 
Alive, not always coherent.
See! That’s all I’m asking for… a little “hey, I’m here, there’s beer, get used to it.” I don’t think that’s too much to ask 😀
Alive and kicking (literally) I’m short so my feet don’t touch the ground when I’m sitting at my desk lmao. I haven’t sent actual Holiday Cards in years but I do sometimes send E-cards. Not quite sure how kindly your paypal account would take that though. 😉
We won’t know until we try. 😉
I will not sit this one out. I will however, be fashionably late and wanting some JD. Straight up, make it a triple. Don’t stop till the box is empty.
As for feedback, I like your blog in terms of content. You do make me laugh. I enjoy that, since it is very hard to get me to actually laugh instead of a slight chuckle.
I dislike the footer, looks way too cluttered. But this is just my opinion. The Tags section is irksome to me because it makes me feel like I need to get my glasses back on when I am wearing them. That’s just how the system works there.
The white background sucks majorly. Makes it look like you don’t have enough content for the sidebars when you write a semi lengthy post, I should know about length… me and my walls of text. The last post I wrote was 1,710 words long. Go figure, eh?
But, overall; it’s a nice little site. I give you mucho kudos for that. I am glad that you started the Hero Training like I did, otherwise I would never have found you at all. Partly because I am an attention whore and partly because I am for comfortable on a forum where it’s a free-for-all over blogging where you have to beg and promise to have sex with your followers and commenters.
You asked for it, I gave it to you; now please don’t hate me and I’ll buy the first beer at the Flyers game you take OBM to (that means all of us btw).
Wow… Ok. Ask and ye shall receive and shit. First of all, you’re wrong for not agreeing with me, mind your own business..it’s my blog and I’ll do what I want to and cash, please.
Right, now that we’ve got that out of the way…
Thank you so much for the compliments. I too, am happy for the Cape Wearing Challenges and helping them lure you over here. I enjoy your blog as a fellow expat, as well as your wife’s personal blog, so the way I see it, I’m the one winning, so suck on that for a while.
Regarding the visual aspects of the blog, this is super helpful. My current paid theme expires on the 25th, so what I have written in more than one blog about spending hours trying my blog out at other themes (literally every one of them) was no bullshit. I’ve got it narrowed down to 3 now. Well, today I do anyway. It’s likely I will bin all 3 and start fresh tomorrow.
Category Cloud is something I also have a love/hate relationship with. We may have to take a break and see how we feel in a couple of months.
As for the white background, I have tried a literal spectrum of colors on this theme. I am limited with my custom choices, however as the tagline font color WILL NOT CHANGE. (I’m not yelling at you..I’m just frustrated and like to express that through Caps. I know…clever AND original…see what I did there?) The white background is really the only one visible enough to read the tagline or anything else in that awful color. And it’s STILL barely readable. It would work with a black background, but I cannot stand reading on black backgrounds. It messes with my eyes. In fact, I’ve walked away from blogs with a black background. Yup. Got up, walked away from my screen, flipped it off, and hit the bar. That’s how disgusted I get. And how thirsty it makes me.
Anyway (did someone mention lengthy?), I really appreciate all of the feedback you continue to give on a daily basis and the tips you threw in my face here today 😀
I appreciate your continued support to The Flyers and when I become a millionaire, I will indeed, take the whole OBM fam to a game. I just hope hockey is still around then.
Well, record a couple of games for that just in case moment. I would ask my wife for a better way to handle the tweaking to be honest hun.
I would like to point out, I am doing some upkeep while I try to decide if I will renew this particular theme in a few days when it expires and I have taken both of your suggestions into consideration. Hope you approve 😀
My approval matters not, for the dark side is with you. For me as a reader, it’s the content that I want; I can overlook everything else. For me as a fellow blogger, I try not to look at the followers, the likes, and +1’s as they only show how well people can follow into the popularity game. For me, as someone who struggles with the themes and what not; we will find the person who keeps moving the cheese and tie him up to be able to eat some cheese dagnabbit!
I’m alive, well, kicking and screaming! And ranting, raving and complaining in RL but let’s not get into that, I shall maintain my super awesome positive attitude! (By the way, am I the only one who gets a bit irritated with people who are constantly perky? Like they always had way too much candy or Red Bull?)
I don’t mind the white background, although that tagline is a bit hard to read. What is slightly bothering me is the nice roundish font you have going on and then the rest of the visuals are square. Like the borders around your sidebar (the reddish ones), the grey background against your comments… it just doesn’t sit well with me, mixed like that.
Anyways, off to do some more offline ranting.
I would like to point out, I am doing some upkeep while I try to decide if I will renew this particular theme in a few days when it expires and I have taken both of your suggestions into consideration. Hope you approve 😀
I love your voice and I’m glad you found it! This is great, funny, witty – I love sarcasm 🙂 I’m also impressed with the Laphroaig reference. Very nice. I’m reading on my phone so I have no relevant comments on layout, since that leaves me with essentially no concept of your layout. But I will check you out properly on a bigger screen. Glad Gonzo brought me to you.
You, Miss Silverleaf, are my favorite. Not that if I have favorites..I love you all equally. But you’re my favorite. Flattery will get you everywhere.
Aw shucks. And yes, yes it will. That and fabulous posts. And honey cuz, you know, it works with bees.
Clever 😉