Blogs, Comments & Visits

Since changing jobs, I haven't been so stressed and have a little more time to blog and read other blogs. It seems that almost everyone on LockItUp has a blog now and new members hurriedly develop one. There are currently 2,300+ members of LockItUp. When I joined over a year ago there were about 1,400. You do the math!

Of course, you want people to share in your Sisterlocks excitement and travel your journey along with you. I can totally relate. I couldn't wait to start my blog. I was like a woman on a mission. The day I locked , I took tons of pictures and my blog was established THAT day. But now it's very difficult to find the time to keep up with everyone's interesting story AND update my own blog.

Just yesterday I decided to post about the joy of receiving and reading comments to my blog. It is a wonderful feeling to get feedback. Each time I receive a comment email, I'm so excited. I always read them first no matter how many emails I have. A few months ago, I vowed to do better about reading the blogs and commenting particularly on those whom I know and who started their locks about the same time as me. I know this sounds silly, but I also know the feeling of disappointment when no one post a response. I rationlized, Blaq, you can't expect people to visit and comment on your site, if you rarely visit and comment on theirs. Besides I knew that people were visiting my blog from my Sitemeter reports (more on that below). I rationalized that people had busy lives, like me, and settled for simply being happy that they visit my site.

Ironically, Brunsli posted yesterday, tongue-n-cheek about the decrease in comments on her site. One of her readers wrote that she didn't comment anymore, because B, would respond to others and not her and that she felt ignored.

My heart sank when I read that! I would feel so badly if someone felt I intentionally ignored their comment to my blog. I've noticed that people have started to respond to comments in the comment section of blogs, but that takes more time.

I posted photos of new faces during the last DFW Sisterlocks gathering. I left someone out because I didn't get a photo of her with my camera. She made a comment about it on my blog and I felt soooo terrible. I explained that it wasn't intentional. I even tried to get a photo of her from one of the other members so that I could update my blog. Everyone likes to feel included, understandably.

In Brunsli's defense, she gets almost 180 visits a day to her site. I get somewhere between 80-100 visits a day. Here's a couple of suggestions to help you track blogs and updates. I learned of both from Brunsli (she doesn't own a tv and in between studying, working, interviewing and making B-Ties she finds the most interesting features).

Sitemeter - tracks traffic to your site. You'll receive reports on how many people visited during a 24 hour period, the week, the month and yearly. You can learn the geographic location of visitors, how many pages they visit, how they found your site and all kinds of interesting information. Here's a sample of one of my reports. (There are other less detailed and easy to read reports.)

Another wonderful tool is Bloglines. This site notifies you each time someone on your list updates their blog. It's free and a wonderful time saver. As a matter of fact, today I'm going to post a permanent Bloglines link on my site for anyone who would like to track it.

Please know that I TREASURE everyone who visits my blog and makes comments. You have no idea what joy it brings me. Some days I'll get a comment and it will be just what I needed and my spirit will be lifted. If you ask a question, I'll do my best to respond. But please know that I consider it an honor that you visit and an even greater honor if you take the time to comment. Through Sitemeter, I realize that more of you visit than comment and I'm grateful to you as well.

As our lock community continues to grow, let us not fall prey to envy, jealousy, spite and petty differences. There is something very special about a Sisterlocked woman. She embodies the characteristics I hold dear and typically stands out above others, whether she speaks or not. Let's do everything we can to continue to support and encourage each other through sisterly love.