I am put to shame by some of the blogs that I have signed up to follow. Yes, I've signed up to follow some of them, and they appear on my dashboard reading list (if that is what it is called ...). I don't have a huge amount of time to read them all, but when I do dip in, I find them very interesting.
I am way, way behind in doing the Things in time. I must catch up! Well, my blog is registered, but unsurprisingly, no-one is bothering to follow it. It is not very interesting. I actually find this exercise of creating a blog that no-one is interested in quite depressing. I suppose that I am gathering a few skills by doing it, but otherwise it is one of a thousand thousand other blogs that are mostly read by none, or only a few. I actually enjoy writing, but I don't have time to put into making this more interesting. Or perhaps I should be more honest in saying that I don't find it worthwhile enough to find the time to put into it? I find the concept of broadcasting my little world to anyone who happens to light upon the blog ... well, something egocentric which I would never have started on if 23 Things Cambridge hadn't come along, and I'd thought that maybe it would enhance my CV. I take a bit of comfort from some of the other blogs being untouched for longer than mine.
So Thing 5 is Doodle. I'm so behind with my Things that I am too embarrassed to try to schedule a peer support meeting about 23 Things. So I created a Doodle for me and all my other aliases to come and remove the tree stumps from my garden. I bet that none of them can do any of the sessions - it has been that way for quite a while ... ;o). I've uploaded a screen shot above. I have no idea why these always come out so small. I am clearly doing something wrong. Anyway, Doodle is simple to create, and I've responded to one poll (bit of a strange term for it) created by another 23 Thinger (much more practical than mine, inviting people to set - sorry vote or poll on - a time for the College librarians' monthly lunch). Will I use it in the future? I doubt it. I don't tend to have to organise many meetings that require lots of people to be there. My Libraries Committee? 25% don't use email, let alone Doodle. It's there. I may well have forgotten about it by the time I come to need it.
Next I apparently have to create a Google calendar, to let everyone know about all those events that so many people need to know about ...
I am way, way behind in doing the Things in time. I must catch up! Well, my blog is registered, but unsurprisingly, no-one is bothering to follow it. It is not very interesting. I actually find this exercise of creating a blog that no-one is interested in quite depressing. I suppose that I am gathering a few skills by doing it, but otherwise it is one of a thousand thousand other blogs that are mostly read by none, or only a few. I actually enjoy writing, but I don't have time to put into making this more interesting. Or perhaps I should be more honest in saying that I don't find it worthwhile enough to find the time to put into it? I find the concept of broadcasting my little world to anyone who happens to light upon the blog ... well, something egocentric which I would never have started on if 23 Things Cambridge hadn't come along, and I'd thought that maybe it would enhance my CV. I take a bit of comfort from some of the other blogs being untouched for longer than mine.
So Thing 5 is Doodle. I'm so behind with my Things that I am too embarrassed to try to schedule a peer support meeting about 23 Things. So I created a Doodle for me and all my other aliases to come and remove the tree stumps from my garden. I bet that none of them can do any of the sessions - it has been that way for quite a while ... ;o). I've uploaded a screen shot above. I have no idea why these always come out so small. I am clearly doing something wrong. Anyway, Doodle is simple to create, and I've responded to one poll (bit of a strange term for it) created by another 23 Thinger (much more practical than mine, inviting people to set - sorry vote or poll on - a time for the College librarians' monthly lunch). Will I use it in the future? I doubt it. I don't tend to have to organise many meetings that require lots of people to be there. My Libraries Committee? 25% don't use email, let alone Doodle. It's there. I may well have forgotten about it by the time I come to need it.
Next I apparently have to create a Google calendar, to let everyone know about all those events that so many people need to know about ...
I'm sorry you're so discouraged by the fact that nobody's signed up as a follower of your blog. I can say I, at any rate, have not signed up as following any single blog because I'm following all of the 23things blogs with Google Reader.
ReplyDeleteAs to the size of the screen shot -- when I looked just now I did find, in the dialogue box for loading images, a set of 3 radio buttons offering a choice of small, medium and large. Or is that sth. you've tried & found not to work?
Good thing you didn't include me in yr Doodle poll concerning the tree stumps. I lack green fingers, and most of the work in our garden gets done by my mother-in-law on visits from Reading. Worse, any job involving tree-stumps wd remind me of Evelyn Waugh's letter, dated 31 May 1942, about a disastrous military attempt to blow down a tree stump for the Earl of Glasgow, and you'd probably have heard me declaim that a couple of times too many by the time the task was finished.
Hello lotusflower. Like Aidan, I don't 'follow' any blogs with Blogger, but I am reading via Google Reader.
ReplyDeleteI can sympathise with having a library committee which doesn't yet all use email - life in Cambridge moves slowly-slowly!
As for your screenshot problem, Aidan's suggestion about the buttons for image size is good, but I wonder if the problem is something else. It looks to me like the image you've inserted is a good size, but that the screenshot only takes up part of it - there's a lot of white space showing around the screenshot image, which might be to do with the way you're editing the screenshot. If you want to investigate this further, then if you explain how you're taking the screenshot, maybe we can work it out! (You can email me at maedchenimmond at gmail dot com if you don't want a long discussion in the comments here.)
Thank you to Aidan, Girl in the Moon and Suzan for your comments.
ReplyDeleteRe: pictures, well, I am choosing the Large option when loading (attempting to load) an image into my blog (hence the white space, I think). I just use the Print screen button on my keyboard, and paste into Paint. Then I save. I tried resizing via Picture Manager, and the blog wouldn't load the image (though perhaps that was a temporary glitch).
I wonder if you used the crop option to make a minor adjustment of the image and then clicked and saved on the edited picture and uploaded from the edit if the white space would disappear. It is almost as if you have an a4 page with a pasted picture uploading instead of the image itself.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that Paint has a crop option, which is annoying if that's all that's available.
ReplyDeleteThe way Paint works (forgive me, Lotusflower if this obvious) is that it has a blank canvas there ready when you start a new picture, and then you're pasting the screenshot onto that blank canvas. If the canvas isn't big enough for the screenshot, then Paint expands the canvas to fit. If, however, the screenshot is smaller than the canvas (the canvas can be lots bigger than the screen itself), the screenshot gets pasted at the top left, and the rest of the blank canvas is included in the saved picture.
So, maybe if you try again, but make sure the canvas in Paint is small to start with, you might get a better result. To change the canvas size open paint, and then use the scroll bars to find the bottom-right corner of the canvas. Drag the corner of the canvas (there should be a tiny square handle at the corner) up and to the left until there's just a small bit of canvas left. Now try taking the screenshot, pasting it in and saving it, and it might have less blank space all around.
Or the problem might be something else...
Hello, I'll stalk you (I mean follow you :@>)I think that if someone follows you, you should follow them back. I also use the google reader but do follow some favourites. I prefer reading blogs with a bit of the person character in and am a bit frightened of those that are very professionally-minded (they are interesting but sometimes a bit above my head)
ReplyDeleteMy first stalker! Thank you, Moonhare. That's a really pretty name, by the way.
ReplyDeleteNot entirely sure if you are talking about my blog in particular, or blogs in general.
Girl in the Moon, thank you for your tips about Paint. I didn't know that the canvas could be bigger than the screen. That seems rather daft ... I am using my work computer, not having one of my own at home, so only have what comes as part of "staff issue". Security is such that I can't download anything extra :o( Don't suppose that the Computer Office would take too kindly to my asking for something better for the sake of my blog ...
Hello Lotusflower,
ReplyDeleteJust to echo the other comments above, I wouldn't be too discouraged about a lack of followers. A lot of people (myself included) will be following your blog with interest via a RSS reader.
And if you'd like any help with Paint, there is a drop-in support session on Monday 2nd. More details will be available on the main Cam23 blog shortly.