You’ve lead an insightful week.

My favorite part was seeing the range of spammability and how others are dealing with it, since I’m still learning the blogging ropes.

If I wasn’t blogging, I’d like to say I’d be swimming with the dolphins, but my new project is a higher hurdle than I’ve jumped before, so it’s my priority and my growth.

J.D. Meier’s last blog post..Use Stress to Be Your Best

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When I am not blogging, I am working (got an 8-4.30 job), or reading, or watching tv or having a nice evening out, or having a walk and take some photographs (Greeting from one enthusiastic amateur to another, Scott!), or meeting dear friends.

Ulla Hennig’s last blog post..Friendly Waters

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I wouldn’t be doing anything different just slower. Nice post!

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If I wasn’t blogging I’d be at our local airfield flying my Radio Control gliders. I just love riding the thermals with the other birds, the buzzards, hawks and Bald Eagles that frequent the airspace above.

I also love to just go out there with my dogs, let them run around and just lay in the grass and watch the clouds roll by. It’s my escape from the business of life.

“Motivate Thyself”’s last blog post..Balance: Finding The Perfect Combination Of Simplicity And Success

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good day barbara.

if i wasn’t blogging, i probably would have my face in a lot more books. i would definitely be on the computer learning something, a program or a language. have a good weekend.

@ chase, it’s just pretty, my live signature, i like it. :). I use it once in a while and maybe people don’t want to put their real signature out there, I guess for security purposes. it also helps people remember your name….it can be like a logo or brand and did i mention, it’s pretty?

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If I weren’t blogging, I’d be jumping back into finishing and editing my techno-thriller novel.

SpaceAgeSage’s last blog post..What kind of mark do you make on the world?

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If I were not blogging, I would be sailing and doing some diy projects.

have a great weekend everyone!

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I’m glad I found the site. Now that I’m a ’scriber, I won’t miss a thing!

If I weren’t blogging, I’d probably be trying to keep a journal to keep my creativity chuggin’ along. Or maybe I’d get a few more pages done on the Great American Novel. Or maybe I’d take a nap. MMM, nap. MMMMM.

Tumblemoose’s last blog post..Well, I guess it’s all been said…

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If I weren’t blogging, I would sleep more.

Right now I average 6 hours per night, when I KNOW that I need at least 8.

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Hmmm . . . I often wonder what I did with my time before I started blogging! For the last few years, I’ve gone from passion to passion (or compulsion depending on how you look at it) and blogging is the latest phase.

If I didn’t work on blogging in the evening, I would probably be knitting more or reading.

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If I weren’t blogging, I probably would be doing a lot more cooking, reading and t.v. Although now, I can’t think of a life without blogging. I reduced blogging activities to a post a week for last month to take more rest and it was very difficult. Blogging is kinda addictive.

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If I wasn’t blogging, I’d be dancing more, going to yoga more, reading and sleeping more.

Blogging and our BWAB community is definitely fun and addicting. I had a non-stop day yesterday AFK, filled with off line appointments and people. While I was sitting in a restaurant at dinner, I found myself spacing out of the conversations and thinking about whether or not I’d have time to check my reader and “visit” with all of you last night! It’s a little scary to think where this might lead . . . . . I really missed my computer time!

Is it OK if I ask some technical Q’s here too this weekend, Barbara? It seems way off topic at the moment.

Even with one less post this week, you still gave us super lessons and knowledge, Barbara. So go easy on yourself!

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OK, here are a few quick ones:

When you download an image from Flickr (I don’t have a Flickr account myself yet, in case it matters to your answer), do you let the photographer know via the comments below the photo that it’s being used in your post? I’ve seen some people do this, and wondered if there’s netiquette on it.

Is there a way to force a line break where you want it in a headline via WP.org? I can’t make the headline break where I want it to. See my Family Caregiver Communication Class Part 1 post this past week as an example.

With Statcounter, is it important to upgrade to a larger log size once your free 500 page views are full? Have you done this and do you recommend it for a relatively new blog?

If you’re a baby boomer or older-than-that-age-group blogger, I’d like your input on this one, other wise you can skip it:

I want to use social networking to grow my readership, but don’t have the time to use all three of these. Which do you think would be the best use of my time — Facebook, Twitter or Stumble Upon? Which do you think baby boomers are now using? Personally, my friends have recently been trying out Facebook as their kids go off to college, but I don’t hear them talking about the other two at all. But that’s only my teeny tiny corner of the world. Survey says ?????

Thanks in advance! (Told you I was saving them up for today!)

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Barbara, I think the signature is quite a nice touch and I think it is pretty.
I don’t think I understand the pictures and how to get them to your blog, I would give them name/credit details but I am still working on the freebie zone so far - I just want to be ready for when I get some income and can choose more pictures I want to use.

I am a boomer and my friends are just discovering Facebook but only about 3 are using it with any regularity. I can’t get folks to understand if they order from Amazon.com off my website - I get paid? And then Amazon.com colors the words in many articles to tell folks that they carry a certain book using those words and then folks think I am trying to sell them a book they do not want, plus are surprised!….I have written a post about it but it is now way far back in the pak!
I have been writing for Amazon.com for years and doing reviews, but this all seems too weird - I just keep talking about it - in hopes Can you help me?

I can’t seem to connect via email with people who comment on my blog?

No one I know uses Twitter or Stumble upon and I haven’t taken the time to figure it out.

What is your paid job?

When I am not blogging I am counseling, reading, doing workshops and giving guest lectures, I had to give all that up 14 years ago, with a special needs child who was very needy and needed me to go to school with her everyday and then my 94 year old mum broke her back and that was 3 years of my time 24/7. I am feeling reluctant to going back to my old work.

I also exercise 17.5 hours a week attempting not to get diabetes, which I am finding hard after chemotherapy treatments for ovarian cancer. I exercise my brain as part of that routine.

We live almost right downtown, but I take care of my husband’s mini farm and flowers, clean the house and spend hours cooking for my family members with Celiac Disease.

I get between 5-17 phone calls a day from my one child and numerous phone calls from folks who’s counselors/caregivers take a day off and they have no back up plans or anyone else to talk to….

I am failing at house cleaning big time, but have no funds to pay for help

This is overwhelming me. I only blog for 10 hours a day 5 days a week.

I have so many things I want to do, I am never at a loss and I love to write and discuss things - share information…
Another great day in the world of blogging - and you get to learn new things all the time. WOW

Patricia’s last blog post..Factoid Friday: Bonus

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Hi Linda - Great questions.

Re: notifying a photographer on Flickr. I’ve commented on their Flickr site on a couple of occasions, but not always. Providing photo credits would be proper etiquette/netiquette.

Re: forcing a line break in a headline. I’m not aware of how to do that. Does anyone else know?

Re: Statcounter and upgrading to more than 500 page views. I have not signed up for any paid statistical analysis programs so I can’t say if it’s worth it or not.

You might try Google Analytics as they don’t have a limit and they are free. Woopra is also worth signing up for even though they’re still in the beta testing process.

Re: social networking preferences. A lot of people (of all ages) are leaning toward Twitter, however, with them all being free, you might try each one and see which one fits into your schedule the best. I’ve only used StumbleUpon, but as of late, don’t even have time for that.

Hi Marelisa - I was thinking about that. “Signing” a post does add a bit of personalization, doesn’t it? I’ve noticed you always sign yours. I’ll now be watching for your new “signature”

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@Barbara - Yeah, it’s another book … way smaller, but lots tougher. It’s a v2. The original guide had more than a million downloads, and it was way before social media went big. I didn’t work on the original.

Here’s my initial blurbage on it, though it’s early (http://blogs.msdn.com/jmeier/archive/2008/09/02/patterns-practices-app-arch-guide-2-0-project.aspx)

I think of it as a way to help me scale being a mentor for solution architets in my industry.

If it were relevant for you, I’d send you a copy when it’s done. Instead, wait until I switch to more relevant domains, hopefully, in the not so far future

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I would be (don’t groan) playing a video game. I love Point & Click Adventure games and hidden object games. I used to play 1 or 2 a month and I’ve only played 3 this year.

@ Linda This is the html character code for a space & nbsp ; (remove the space before n and after p - I had to add them for the code to be displayed in the comment)
If you use a bunch of them after the point where you want the line break it should move the text to the next line. My guess is that you will need 5-15 of them - just copy and paste until you get the result that you want. Keep in mind that this the quick and dirty way - I’m not sure if it is considered good coding practice.

Kim Woodbridge’s last blog post..Social Media Marketing Best Practice: Reflect

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Your signature looks great! I am going to try out the site to see what I can come up with.

If I am not blogging, I’d probably be picking up a new hobby. I’ve always got a hobby at any point in my life. Maybe scrapbooking.

Or I may have gone back to work. Back to my previous profession in a bank! Yikes!

Evelyn Lim’s last blog post..Attract Our Travel Dreams

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If I weren’t blogging, I’d have revised my ms by now and then some. Or at least come up with some other distraction.G’night!

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Barbara - Thanks!

I always wonder if people read about/profile pages. I always do - I want to get a better idea of the person who is writing the blog. Thanks for reading mine. So many people my age and older think that if you play video games that you are some kind of over-violent maniac. While some of the extremely violent games get a too much publicity, there are many gentler ones that a puzzle and dialogue based. Although, most of these are being developed in Europe rather than the United States.

Kim Woodbridge’s last blog post..Social Media Marketing Best Practice: Reflect

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Hi Barbara,

I want to professionally record some of my songs and post them up as MP3s. I just haven’t got around to it yet.

Thanks for the request though.

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If I weren’t blogging, hmm… I will be still in front of my puter and coding or reading junk and news online…

Love the signature, I was intending to put one on my feed thanks barbara.

Cheers,
Ajith

Ajith Edassery’s last blog post..I am not John Chow, still…

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Barbara,
Thank you for answering ALL of my questions - I had to print off your reply to keep them all in mind…Thank you so much.

I have read and written book reviews for amazon.com for a long time before they changed their format and now hundreds of folks write reviews….They would send me a book (Mostly religion/psychology/ new age) and I would read it write the review, return the book (which then they sold used) Back in the days when live people actually took your orders off the screen - the dark ages of Amazon.com? I got a small stipend for each review and it kept me going when I was caregiving at high intensity levels.
I don’t like how the books pop up in one’s reading space…I think I have that taken off now….
I also make recommendations for books that are great reads for book groups.
Now I am going to work on your list of answers! Again Thank you

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Hi Barbara. Wow, I go away for almost 3 weeks and am amazed at all the new visitors to your blog. Is this a great community or what?!!

I like the signature very much. I went to the site to create mine, but didn’t like any of the options. I’m pretty partial to my own personal handwritten version.

If I weren’t blogging I would definitely be keeping a journal. Cooking, doing yoga and getting a lot more sleep that’s for sure!

Davina’s last blog post..Stepping Out Of These Old Shoes

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@Linda - I didn’t think of that. You can still put the break code in the headline and the post will read it as html. I just tested it on a draft I’m writing and it worked. My guess of 5-15 may be too low - it will probably require 15+.

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Hi Kim - Like you, I enjoy reading blogger’s “about” pages. Like you said, it gives us a better perspective of who is writing the blog.

Hi Catherine - I hope you feel better soon. I know you love to write, but I’m guessing sooner or later, you will be a published author (in addition to your blog).

Hi Chase - Keep me posted on your recordings. I’d love to hear them.

Hi Lucas - Studying can get to be tedious. Blogging adds a little bit of fun to life, doesn’t it?

Hi Ajith - You sound like me - not the coding part, but being on my computer reading “whatever”. Blogging lets us make it all worthwhile, doesn’t it?

Hi Amy - Welcome to the BWAB community. Computers are much more fun than TV, aren’t they?

Hi Patricia - You’re welcome, and thank you for answering my questions. That sounds like a fun endeavor - writing reviews for Amazon.

Hi Ari - Thanks for the link to your rock CD. I’ll check it out.

Hi Davina - You’re back. Just think of all the new blogs you can check out. With regard to the signature, did you see where you can use other options to create one?

Sleep? Yup, I hear you. I should be doing that right now.

Hi Linda Abbit - You’re welcome.

Hi Shiela - Yes, visiting other blogs is very time consuming. There’s so much to read and commenting takes time.

I love the photos on your blog. The ones from Bali are beautiful. I hope you’re feeling better.

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If I weren’t blogging I’d have to market more in other ways to attract coaching clients. So blogging is a blessing. Also I’d be reading more hard copy non-fiction like I used to before blogging. Right now I read so many self-improvement blogs that my head has no more room for improvement. I need to pause and just be more often.

Tom Volkar / Delightful Work’s last blog post..Spirit and Business

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Hi Barbara. Yes I did see the other options. I suppose I could scan my signature and use it, but I was feeling lazy and looking for an easier option My unpacked camping gear was waving at me from across the room too, and I was oh so slightly short on time. I like to know that this is available though. Glad you shared about it.

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Barbara,
I didn’t really know WHY I was blogging until Blogger Dad did an interview with me and asked me flat out. The answer came to me immediately: I blog to keep away the physical pain I live with daily. Since I don’t get out much - except to teach a few hours a week - blogging has put me in touch with interesting people whom I might never have had the opportunity to meet in “real life.”

Blogging - and reading the blogs of others - keeps me in touch with humanity.

Rita

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