OMG! What happened?!

I received this blog post in my email and I knew I should share with all my followers. This is a guest post by Sarah from The Blog Guidebook.

Last week some of us faced unfamiliar territory...Blogger was not functioning. Our readers wouldn't know it because they could still see our blog and interact. But we knew it, didn't we? It is so frustrating trying to work behind the scenes on your blog and not being able to. Apparently it was only a small percentage of users affected, but I happened to be one of them. And I have been known to boast about Blogger's exceptional track record when it comes to down time. Blogger was number one when it came to zero down time people! Now, not so much. This "down time" gave me time to go look at Wordpress blogs....(traitor!).  But still, jumping ship right before Blogger makes its big reveal seems like a silly thing to do...I want to see what the new Blogger has to offer me. Will there be more features that are amazing? There better be! You can stay on top of known issues for Blogger by going here. Blogger also posts when problems have been fixed. It might be a good idea to bookmark Known Issues.

Were you affected by Blogger's down time? Did you even notice it wasn't working? If you didn't, then I'm happy for you!

Photobucket has had a few hiccups lately too...Photobucket hosts images, and when they are down, the images are down too...you can literally have a blank slate to look at for as long as 3 days (and longer). Read an article from a fellow blogger here.

Now, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. These are guidelines you might want to follow simply as preventative measures...back it up! Even if you're not on Blogger, these tips will be good for you.

Prior to an outage - we might get a warning or notice of "updates" to be performed

• Back Up Your Blog:  Yes, you should back it up on a regular basis. Especially if you’re thinking of starting a  site redesign or moving to a different blogging platform.
• Keep A Copy Of Your Posts - OFFLINE: Think about keeping an offline copy of your posts, in case something happens to your host (ie. Blogger) and they revert to an earlier version of your blog.This may take some time, you'll have to copy and paste all your posts into a text file, but it will be well worth it!

During an Outage - stay calm and carry on

• Keep Your Readers in the know: Let your readers know via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc that your site is down and you are unable to make changes, write posts etc. Ask them to check back soon, be patient, and send you feedback about their experiences with possible outages.
• Use Social Media to Run Anything on Deadline: If you have a sponsorship deadline, a contest to run, or just about anything else that needs to happen while your site is down, try taking it to social media. Get your followers active and still participating with your site, even if it’s down.

After an Outage - jump up and down in delight

• Read Your Blog: If anything looks different, or the layout has changed, go in and repair the damages.
• Inform Your Readership: Tell your readers you're back up and running. You are back in the captain's seat!
• Get back to blogging: Start back to your regularly scheduled programming, I mean posting. This way your readers will know you are cool and calm in the face of blogging dangers. Then back up your blog - again!

Some blogs have been known to disappear into the Bermuda Triangle too. Read this Google page to find out what you can do if you're one of the Lost. And, did you know that Blogger can delete your blog without informing you? Google hates spam, so don't have a blog about spam (canned ham?). Another good reason to back up your blog, right?

Read all Terms here.

Termination; Suspension. Google may, in its sole discretion, at any time and for any reason, terminate the Service, terminate this Agreement, or suspend or terminate your account. In the event of termination, your account will be disabled and you may not be granted access to your account or any files or other content contained in your account although residual copies of information may remain in our system for some time for back-up purposes. Sections 2, 3, 5 - 8, and 10 - 15 of the Agreement, along with applicable provisions of the general Terms of Service (including the section regarding limitation of liability), shall survive expiration or termination.

Remember to Keep Blogging and Backing Up!

Whatever Wednesday: Hi everyone!

Hi readers, Jess here!  Remember me? I'm a contributor here.

Today is Whatever Wednesday and It seemed like the perfect time to let you know about a recent change I made. So, I moved my blog probonolegaladvice.blogspot.com to a new website due to personal attacks through comments.  Please pay me a visit at lawforsanepeople.wordpress.com.

Thanks everyone!

NetworkedBlogs on Facebook

If you wouldn't mind please confirm me as the author of the following blogs on NetworkedBlogs: Blogger http://ning.it/9EL6C0, Xanga http://ning.it/9kcXOp, LiveJournal http://ning.it/cA1MGt, and 20SB http://ning.it/anj6DJ.

-Rockin Rita-
Please check out all my blogs, my youtube channel, and my twitter. If you like what read please comment and follow!

Assorted Randomness: http://rockinrita.xanga.com
I Heart Randomness: http://20sb.net/profile/rockinrita03
Proud 2 B Random: http://rockinrita03.livejournal.com
Randomness Rocks!: http://rockinrita03.blogspot.com
Rockin Rita's Random YouTube: http://youtube.com/RockinRita03
Rockin Rita's Twitter O' Randomness: http://twitter.com/RockinRita03

Known Issues/ Status Update

I've had some computer/phone issues lately so all week I have been trying my best 2 play catch up on all my blogs posting 1 entry 4 each day I have missed. I've gotten Randomness Rocks! back up to date with the exception of one entry "I've Got Cookies." I'm waiting on the sync cable I order to arrive so I can upload my cookie photos to my computer and the entry. Assorted Randomness will be fully updated by tonight. I hope to begin updating I <3 Randomness tonight too starting with Day 12 of "21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew." My newest blog Proud 2 B Random was updated (the 11-part series "11 Crazy Diet Fads" was finished and a new 3-part series "Oat Meals: 1 Ingredient, 3 Recipes" was added) but I didn't have time to post an entry yesterday so that too will be fully up to date by this evening.

Thank you all for your patience, understanding, and of course for reading my blogs and providing feedback!

<3 always,
Rockin Rita

How to GAIN FOLLOWERS- a guide

Posted on Monday, July 12, 2010 by Red Means Go| 72 comments

Attention: We interrupt your usual Oh Mah Gah Monday edition for this very important message (Okay it's not really important, it's just that I was having too much fun to remember to snap a picture of that girl with her ass hanging out of her skirt this Saturday night. SORRY!)

Disclaimer: There's a possibility I may say some things in this post you're not going to like so please don't hate me, as I'm only a humble messenger. And for the love of all that is holy, do not unfollow me.

Disclaimer # 2: This post is intended for those who actually want more traffic on their blog and people to follow them and read their posts. Maybe you're even chasing famosity like me. If you don't fall under any of these categories you're welcome to skip this. I still think it's awesome. And free.     Awesome + Free = Free Awesome.

HOW TO GAIN FOLLOWERS - A GUIDE

So you started a blog. You wrote down all your ideas on paper for your first few posts, unsure of your expectations as to where it would take you or what feedback you'd receive, putting it all out on the line for your love or writing, or maybe for your narcissistic tendencies, or for your deep desire for famosity, or the need to tell the world what a fashionista you are or how Betty Crocker has nothing on you in the kitchen. We all blog for different reasons, but there's one thing that binds us together and that, is the desire for people to read our stuff.

Below are some rules I've learned along the way on how to gain followers and a few tricks on how to achieve this not-so-simple. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?

NUMERO UNO - NO MUSIC

Please don't hate me for saying this, but if you want readers, if you really want readers, you gotta turn the music off. There's nothing more annoying than trying to read a blog post and having the Backstreet Boys squealing about the meaning of being lonely in the background. If you insist on having a playlist because you have the best musical taste in the world and people have to listen to your shit, then keep it silent. Let your readers choose if they want to hear your favorite songs by Celine Dion or Luciano Pavarotti or Justin Bieber (I love him too).

It's a blog, not a MySpace page.

NUMERO DOS
Don't write incredibly long paragraphs that look like this.

No one in their right mind will read something that looks like this. For some off reason I've noticed that when it comes to the internet, people err on the impatient side and have little tolerance for huge paragraphs or continuous rambling. Your blog is not a book. No one is cozying up to it and a glass of wine on a Saturday afternoon under a shaded tree (maybe they are, but highly unlikely).

Pictures and drawings help immensely. When writing your posts, imagine all your readers to be sex deprived men. Men need visuals, and so do readers. I could be wrong, but I just don't feel people are prone to read a post that is just words, especially if they're visiting your page for the first time. I know I like pictures (especially of food and cupcakes I'm not even going to lie) and will read posts that have lots of them.

Well, guess what? Everyone else likes pictures too.

NUMERO TRES - WHORE YOURSELF OUT

Yup, you heard right. The key to the whoring of the self though is a bit tricky, since you have to do so with class and in a way where you mask your whoreness to seem natural and deceive people into thinking you're actually doing them a favor by putting your blog out there. Just read on for whoring tips.

First and foremost my darlings, whoever tells you to just write and the followers and readers will come in due time is a damn liar. Besides, you don't have time to be wasting as you conjure up some of your best stuff and it just sits there going unread. Heck no! You have to get out there and find your readers. The internet is not going to do it for you.

It is you, who has to come out with guns blazing and show the internet who's the blog boss.There's no point in writing if no one is reading, so start with the obvious victims and work your way up the ladder. Obvious victims = family and friends.

It's a fact that the very first people you'll work your blog prostitution skills on are your friends and family (that is considering you actually want them reading your blog, of course). When I first started mine, I begged all my friends to please read and subscribe to it. I texted, MySpaced, Facebooked, wrote letters and sent them with the horse mailman (just kidding about that one but you get my point).

One by one my friends started following and eventually encouraged me to keep on writing. Did all of them read my stuff? Probably not. But you gotta start somewhere, guys.

Please, don't fall prey to the notion that a follower equates a reader because I've learned the hard way that it most certainly does not.

Back to the whoring part. Other ways to get readers is by joining forums and chat rooms. I happen to think that http://www.20sb.net/ is a great site for interacting with fellow bloggers if you're in your twenties, there are a gazillion other sites out there like that. Interact with people by reading their blogs and leaving comments.

Speaking of comments, I'm dead set that this is one of the best ways to expose your blog to others. Leaving comments on someone's blog posts will prompt other people (including the person you left the comment for) to come to your blog and possibly a) read your stuff and b) follow you.

VERY IMPORTANT! You have to actually read their post and leave a comment that makes sense. If someone writes a post about how much they love tacos because they're delicious and spicy, you can't leave a comment about you loving diamonds because they're sparkly and shiny.
Come on, guys. In order to garner readership you have to give people the same common courtesy you're expecting and read their stuff. It's only fair to share in the blog lovin'. I strictly only leave comments on posts I have fully read. Anything other than that is cheating, and we all know no one likes a cheater (that's right, Tiger Woods).
-

NUMERO CUATRO - SOCIAL NETWORK NINJA STYLE

Take advantage of all the free and fabulous services the social network gods have provided for you. Put those fingers to work and tell people without shame that yes, you have a blog and yes, they should read it because it's AWESOME, dude.

MySpace, Facebook, Hi5, Twitter... I could be here all day reciting sites. There are so many platforms to start the blog prostitution it's not even funny. Consider yourself a high class escort of blogs and say things like, "New post!" while including the link to what you've just written.

These tools work, guys. You just have to put in the time and effort, is all.

NUMERO CINCO - FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T
DO THIS

I'd be lying if I said I didn't fall prey to the whole "Follow me and I'll follow you!" phenomenon when I started blogging. Some dude with a blog about office life asked me to do this and I finally succumbed but then realized I wasn't reading his blog and eventually just unfollowed. I read a lot of blogs but let's face it, I can't follow them all (and neither can you). If I'm following, I'm reading.

Pressuring someone you don't know to follow your blog is just bad etiquette and if you think you're helping yourself out you're most certainly not.

Now, forcing friends and family to follow your blog or you'll run their cat over, that's fair game. Do it!

NUMERO SEIS - JUST DON'T

Pretty please with a vodka covered cherry on top, do not write like this:

I like goin' 2 tha store b4 is mornin time and gettin chocolate kisses 4 u 2 eat.

We all have our misspelling and grammatical errors and it's only natural that you stumble upon one on a blog. But with this said, writing like a two year old crackhead isn't going to make you famous.

So don't do it. Hmmkay?

IN CONCLUSION

I'm no expert at this whatsoever. I started blogging about four months ago so you're welcome to simply look at this advice and say, "What the fuck do you know?" And you may be right, its probable I don't know shit, but I'm giving ya'll my humble opinion anyway.

If all else fails you can always sell your soul to the devil or make a sex tape with Ricky Martin, but not before me. I saw him first.