BLOGS, BLOGGERS, & BLOGWOBBLES

I am short on photos for today so am including pics from Bayfield's Vintage Car Show last summer.

Seems like there has been a fair bit of talk this past week or so about blogs, bloggers, & blog sites.  Pros & cons, thoughts, ideas, & concerns.  Egos have been mentioned, privacy issues discussed, & maybe some feelings stepped on.  Don't ya just love it when we all get a good old case of blogwobbles going on:))

Let me put the bottom line first.....it all boils down once again to each person's preference of what they want on their blog, how they want it to look, & what they want it to say.  When I went looking for a simple definition of a blog I ran into a long confusion of explanations but did find one simple enough for me to understand which said.............

(Quote)" A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.  Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.  In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.  Since Blogger was launched in 1999, blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up journalism, and enabled millions of people to have a voice and connect with others." (Unquote)

I generally try to keep an open mind about my blog & keep an ear to the ground to detect any unfavorable rumblings coming from either within the blog or from without.  Whenever someone questions something about the blog I always take it to heart & pour a lot of thought into what has been said.  Have I missed something, have I crossed a line somewhere, have I offended someone, have I stepped on somebody's toes, have my opinions alienated some people??  Unfortunately, I can answer 'yes' to all those questions but it is those very things that make my blog distinctively mine.  Yes, mistakes have been made, but with those mistakes have come progress, understanding, communication, & amazingly enough, a few new friendships to boot.

The recent concerns over an RV site called, RV There Yet led into comments about egos & who's blog is it anyway!!  Because a blogger wants exclusive rights to his/her blog & it's contents, does that suggest they have an ego problem.  No, I think not.   Is it an ego thing because bloggers put stat counters on their blogs to see how many people visit the site. No, I think not.  And is adding 'Blog Followers' a self centered thing too.  No, I think not.  Check out  RETIRED ROD'S blog, he just added the 'Follower's gadget today & he's been a daily blogger for a long time now.  Y'all might want to go over there & check out Rod's new & quickly growing 'Followers' list:))  I like JERRY'S comment that says, "We are amazed that we have 71 followers, and I do like to mention any new ones, simply to show them appreciation for joining us. As far as number of hits goes, I don't have a counter, but it would be interesting to know. Egotistical? No, but comments are to a blogger what applause is to a singer or an actor, laughter to a comic -- that's the big reward, the only reward of blogging -- a little response from someone who found it interesting, or even found a typo and thought it worthwhile to point it out."  And MOTTY'S comment this morning saying, "And Jerry/Suzy - I think you said it right. If we did not care about readers, we could write a journal on our hard drive on word, why even bother publishing it on the web. It is the interaction that creates the dynamics and excitement of blogging.  

I often question things on my own blog & that all too often leads to doubting blogwobbles.  Being a person of change I am always thinking about changing this or changing that but I have found through comments & emails from readers that they are satisfied with my blog exactly the way it is.  I waiver & wobble sometimes as whether to keep it going but am always encouraged by readers comments & emails to keep at it. 

I have a visible stat counter on the blog which incidentally tells me that as of right now we have had 123,540 hits on our site.  Is it my ego that displays that or is it just something that my little insecure self feels a tad proud of.  Should I hide those numbers.  No, I think not.  I, as well as other bloggers put a lot of time & effort into these blogs & the fact that people actually are interested in mine or others efforts is not something I feel should just be lightly swept under the carpet.  And I feel the same way about the 'Blog Follower' application.  Would we all like to see more followers & readers?  Of course we would.  Do we appreciate the blog comments from people?  Of course we do.  These blogs are put together by people who care about other people.  If they didn't care they could just write a simple diary of their daily events, keep it to themselves, & stuff it under their pillow at night.  No sharing.....no caring.  Lots more to be said on this topic but that's enough out of Mr. Blabberfingers again tonight....................................:))

It was with sadness today that I read about a phone call coming in the early hours of Wednesday morning to a fellow RV couple informing them that their son had just died.  It is the second son they have lost.  A very sad time for Mike & his family at MIKE & PAT'S TRAVELS

        

Welcome aboard to our latest blog follower Laura who host's her own forum, Nicest Seniors in Cyberspace.  Laura is also on ZOOMERS & you can find her here at home currently building a new website... LAURA'S PLACE IN CYBERSPACE  

      

For more pics of these vintage cars go to our Picasa Web Album at.... VINTAGE CARS IN CLANGREGOR SQUARE....BAYFIELD, ONTARIO CANADA

Judy from TRAVEL'S WITH EMMA identified yesterday's blog bird as a Sandpiper.  I have another bird for today's blog that is at our feeders quite a bit but has no colorful tell tale markings.  Just seems to be a Plain Jane brown bird.  Ok Judy, can you help us with this little fellow? 

TODAY'S LITTLE BROWN MYSTERY BIRD

Pepper Anne from LITTLE HOUSE ON WHEELS blogs today about the Dalton Gang's final demise in Coffeeville Kansas. 

A note to Janie & John who left a comment on last night's blog.  The saying, "Tourists see the world, traveler's experience it," at the end of our blog is not an original saying of mine.  I plucked it off someone else's blog awhile back.  It was not signed with anyone's name so I felt free to use it.  My original line is at the very bottom of our blog & I have signed my name to it.  Thanks for the comment guys & all the best in your new full timing adventures & yep, I sure know what you mean by you saying, "some of our friends don't know why we would want to do that."

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A man and a woman were having dinner in a fine restaurant.  Their waitress, taking another order at a table a few paces away noticed that the man was slowly sliding down his chair and under the table, with the woman acting unconcerned.  The waitress watched as the man slid all the way down his chair and out of sight under the table. Still, the woman dining across from him appeared calm and unruffled, apparently unaware that her dining companion had disappeared.  After the waitress finished taking the order, she came over to the table and said to the woman, 'Pardon me, ma'am, but I think your husband just slid under the table.'  The woman calmly looked up at her and replied firmly, 'No he didn't.  He just walked in the door.'

(There are some blog terms further down)

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

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And, as if this blog wasn't already long enough here are a few 'blog terms' that go along with today's subject...........................

Blogosphere – the collective online world of blogs and bloggers

Commenter – a person who leaves comments on a blog

Comment Spam – comments posted to a blog that are blatantly commercial in nature and/or made for the sole purpose of gaining a link

Spambots – automated programs that post comment spam to unprotected blogs

Trackback – a system that alerts another blogger (by means of a ping) when you link to them

Ping – to automatically send a small packet of data out to actuate something, usually a trackback

Blog Roll – a collection of links on a blog, pointing to other blogs – it usually contains the blogger’s recommendations of other blogs to read

Blogstipation – writer’s block for bloggers

Flame – a hostile attack, often of a personal nature, made using a blog

Sock Puppet – a fake persona used by a blogger to defend him or herself online and/or attack critics

Vlog – a video blog. Used as a verb, it’s vlogging. A vlogger is one who blogs by video