Perhaps, I think, that could be one of the reasons I have been encountering longer periods of blogger's block. Could it be possible that I have revealed it all? Do I really have nothing left to say?
A couple of days ago I decided to broaden the scope of my bloggy neighborhood. It's time, I thought, to wander beyond the safe boundaries of my tried and true reading list. Exposure to new blogs might be inspiring.
With millions of other blogs available, though, I wasn't sure how was I going to navigate past the comfortable familiararity of my corner and venture out onto the Blogabahn.
Blogger, which is the app I use as my blogging tool, has a search feature which allows you to view the "next blog". There seems to be an attempt to narrow the blog selections down to what "Blogger" thinks may interest the searcher.
The search box displays at the top of my personal blog's home page.
It looks like this:
Most of the blogs that came up for me were about knitting or sewing. Five out of ten "next blogs" were not kept up to date. A few had not been updated in years. I am a knitter but, I don't sew. And anyway, I already follow several knitting blogs.
I can't specifically or even generally explain why one blog will attract my attention over another. I do know that I most likely will take a pass on "mother's of young children" blogs, blogs about video games or posts in which the author reviews movies or books in infinite detail.
So, then I tried a generic google search and after several layers of links I actually did manage to find a couple of new blogs to add to my list.
One of the blogs which I found addicting was Margie's Musings. Her posts are written in the style of a daily journal recording her mundane daily activities. I suppose it's a little like peeking through the neighbor's window. I wondered who Bob was and why he didn't come to dinner last night. I hope Margie is feeling better today, she had a stomach thing last night.
The most unusual blog I happened upon was one titled "Phil In The Blank". His "About Me" was certainly intriguing.
For sure it was the "how to draw camels" that drew me in.
I did leave a comment on two of my new blog discoveries and got a reply and a return visit from one, titled “Grace Found Daily”.
Inspired.
That's one of the great things about A to Z in April, the finding of new blogs. There are just so many out there, and it's kind of strange how one will catch your interest while another won't make any impression at all.
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to work my way through the A to Z list, and will continue to do that. What I have found, though, is many of the AtoZ bloggers have not kept their blogs updated. It's kind of frustrating.
DeleteInteresting blog names get my attention. Right now I'm not interested in checking out new blogs, but if I were, I often scan the comments left on blogs I read and see if any thing looks interesting to check out. Sometimes I'll check the comment right above the one I would leave if I'm not familiar with their blog. LIke Liz, A/Z is a great mechanism to find new blogs.
ReplyDeletebetty
Yes, blog names do make that first important impression, which as they say, first impressions do count. What I also do is check out the reading lists of my favorite bloggers. I figure if I like their blog, I most likely will like who they like. :)
DeleteWow! I have never clicked on "next blog" before I read your post. I think I will explore that option when I have some time. I'm always looking for more blogs to follow.
ReplyDeleteI am always amazed at the number of blogs there are. And there are a good number of crafty ones.
DeleteYou can also click on words in your profile...like knitting. I'll check out your profile to see if it is possible.
ReplyDeleteThere are 8,900 knitters out there. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's cool, I didn't know about that.
DeleteI agree, I always found new blogs through the A to Z challenge. Another way I found new blogs is by the comments on the blogs that I enjoy. The list of blogs that I follow is really diverse. It keeps things interesting!
ReplyDeleteYes, I also check out the folks who comment on the blogs I normally follow. Good to hear from you!
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