I've Had Some Blogger Issues Lately...You Too?

Keeping track of all things that go on with blogging can be time consuming. We all have busy lives with jobs, homes, family, sewing, cooking etc, so when things aren't "right" it takes me a little while to say..."hey, wait a minute. What the heck is happening here".

Of course when something goes wrong with your blogging world and you can't control it,  it's even more frustrating. Here's what I've just noticed and I think it's been going on for over a month...

1. I have it set up for ALL comments that are posted to my blog to be sent to my email address. Yesterday I noticed that a few comments, not all, are only being posted to my blog, but not sent to my email inbox. I'm not sure how long this is going on and wonder if any of you have noticed it too? I went to my comment section on my blog and was deleting some spam and was reading the regular comments and noticed several that I hadn't read in my email box. Not sure what's happening there. Any one have a clue???
2. Feedburner, which is the email subscription box that most of us have on our Blogger blogs, usually sends an email out to all subscribers with my latest posts. I subscribe to my own blog to keep track of it. I just noticed that all my posts since early February have not been sent to my inbox, but to my "promotional" box, which is where all advertising type emails go. So if you subscribe to my blog though email, you may have not received a post in your inbox in a while. Maybe check other boxes in your email. I checked my Feedburner account and my sewmanyways@gmail.com is the correct return address, so I'm not sure what's happening. When I read my email on my iPhone, ALL email comes in as one stream and is not separated, but when I read it on my home computer it's divided into different types like Primary, Social and promotional, so I didn't notice my blog posts weren't coming in correctly.
3. I've also notice that Feedburner has had some updating issues. They've had problems with the stats and updating accounts. I checked this weekend and my email subscription numbers went from over 7000 people to 35. I didn't panic at first, because usually it works itself out if I wait and it did. All numbers are back, but maybe that is they same issue with Feedburner sending our posts out incorrectly.
4. Spam commenting is getting worse and worse. There is supposed to be a spam blocker from Blogger and it does work on some comments, but those sneaking little spammers always have a way around it. They create a real blogger account and then they can post under some stupid name like "Clark Kent" and "papa young". I get a lot from these two. They leave actual links in the comment, which leaves your blog with a very bad rating with Google. Google DOES NOT like spam links in the comment section. The worst one I had was just this morning. They blatantly left a comment stating..."Free Porn" with the link. I was infuriated to say the least!! My blood was boiling actually.  It was a new comment this morning, but was left on an older post.  I deleted immediately. I always hesitated doing this, but I am now going to put on "comment moderation" to avoid all the hundreds of spam that I get every week. I thought just deleting them in the comment section as they came in was enough, but I don't do it every day and I'm afraid some things that aren't being deleted right away, will sneak by.
5. One plus to comment moderation is I can now allow "anyone" to comment on my blog, not just registered users, because now I can let the comments I want in, to be posted. I won't turn it on right away, so these comments about your blogging issues can come in automatically.

Ok, I think that's all the things that have bugged me lately with blogging. Have you had any problems? Maybe everyone can leave there problems in the comment section and we can all help each other, because help from Blogger is just not there. We're on our own with this!!

One more thing that made me sooooo mad this morning and it was my own fault. I made a big Mexican Lasagna last night for dinner. We ate late and I couldn't put the dish in the refrigerator right away, because it was too hot.  Yes, you guessed it....I LEFT IT OUT OVER NIGHT!!! AHHH, such a waste of food, I want to cry. Oh well, lesson learned. If you fall asleep on the couch, check the kitchen before you go to bed.

Since this post is all wordy, I'll leave you with a picture of Hallie...she doesn't seem to be bothered by this blogging thing or the fact that I left tonight's dinner out on the counter over night.

Thanks for listening today!!
~Karen~

How To Shorten URL Addresses for Twitter, Facebook, Texting etc...

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, texting, blogging, emails etc…they are all "the way of the world" right now. When it comes down to it, it's all about sharing. We share websites, videos, links and more.

Today, I want to share an easy way to shorten all those URL address links that we send to everyone or use in social media….especially Twitter with the 140 character limit. You could use up all 140 characters with one long URL address. (*edit…twitter shortens links automatically, but if you want to customize your own with your website, company or brand this tutorial will help).

Shortened addresses are easier to share and have a less chance of breaking when they are not too long. My daughter Courtney told me about Bitly. It's fast and easy to use, so here is a quick tutorial to show you how.

Come in to see how easy…

I Found a Great Website for Troubleshooting Your Computer...

Sometimes when you are going from website to website while browsing the Internet, things can happen. If the website doesn't open, the trouble can be with anything…your computer, your Internet connection, the website itself etc.

A while back, I found a great website to help find a solution…It's called "Is It Down Right Now". I have no affiliation with this site, just wanted to share.

Here are a few screen shots of their site so you can see how it works.

Just type in the website address that you're having trouble with in the search bar (I added the red arrow). I used the Pinterest website as an example.

The first box will then give you the server status check…whether it is up and running or having a problem. That way you will know that it's your computer, your Internet or the site itself.

Scrolling further down, will also give you trouble shooting tips. On the right side bar, are more sites that are up and running or the ones that are down.

If you scroll to the very end, you will find comments from others who may have the same problem as you.

You may not have to use this site all the time, but add it to your bookmarks or favorites, so when you are having problems, it will be there to help!!

Thanks for stopping by,
~Karen~

How to Add a Pinterest Image Hover "Pin It" Button

Hi everyone!  Today, I was fooling around with my blog, my Pinterest boards and my sad and lonely facebook and twitter accounts. So much my technology my head is spinning. I did find a great addition to my blog on the Pinterest page, so I thought I would share it with you.

Have you ever noticed the "pin it" hover option with images on some blogs. When you mouse over an picture, a "pin it" button will appear on that image, so it's much easier to pin your favorite things to your pinterest boards. In the past on Pinterest, this involved way too much much work with codes and html templates...not for me.

Well, my all day techy session paid off...

Here's a screen shot of a post I did last week. See the "Pin It" button in the upper left corner? That popped up when I moused over it!! I tested this on my real blog and a test blog I have and it worked great on both!!

Let me show you how easy this really is.

Blogging Tip...Bloglovin Tutorial To Replace Google Reader

Just want to remind everyone that Google Reader is going away on July 1st. That's one week from today! If you aren't sure what I'm talking about, you can click HERE for my first post on this topic...lots of ideas in the comment section of that post too.

To be honest, I haven't done much research on other options, but I have heard the most about Bloglovin', so I took the leap on Sunday and joined and imported my blog list. I'm still not 100% sure we will lose our blog list from our Blogger Dashboard or just the Google Reader. Either way, I needed to import my list before it was gone forever.

In this post, I will show a quick tutorial on how to join, import your blog reading list and how to add a Bloglovin Follow Me Button to your blog.

Blogging Tip...Adding LinkWithin

Hi everyone!! Thought I would share another blogging tip...how to add a gadget at the end of each post called LinkWithin.

When someone stops by your blog, some days you have their attention just for a brief moment before they click on to the next blog in their long lists of blogs to read. You wish they would stay longer and browse through your older posts and read further , but let's face it...time is precious to all of us and we need inspiration or a little guidance.

Well, I added this gadget a few years ago to the bottom of each of my posts after found myself using it on the blogs I was reading.

This gadget shows picture links to older posts to grab your readers attention on posts they may have missed in years past.

The gadget is called LinkWithin. I have no affiliation with them...I just want to share it with you!

Blogging Tip...To Use Photo Lightbox or Not

Hi everyone. Today's blogging tip is whether to use the "Lightbox" feature for your blog images and how to enable it if you do want to use that feature. Some of you may already have your lightbox on, but it's a quick click if you don't.

First, you are probably wondering...what is a lightbox?

A lightbox is a place for a collection of photos. You might see it in stock photo sites where you are browsing around the site looking at photos and they ask if you want the image saved in "your lightbox". It's just a place to save images and browse through them faster later.

Here is a screen shot of one of my recent post for a Coconut Cake recipe. If you want to see a close up of a image in a post, you would just click on that image.

However, the image can be displayed 2 ways with blogger with the options you have on your dashboard.

Let me show you how easy it is to do...

Blogging Tip...Blogging From Your Smart Phone

Hi everyone!! Today's blogging tip is how to blog from your smart phone with the Blogger app. I'm not 100% sure if the Blogger app is available for all smart phone, but this tutorial will be from my iPhone.

This app is great when you're out and about and want to share a post on your adventures. You might be on vacation, out with friends shopping at your favorite quilt shop, at a yummy restaurant and you want to share a post on your delicious dinner.

You also might be a your child's school play or dance recital and a few quick pictures from your cell phone can be in a post in no time!!

It so easy to do a post from your phone, so let's see how to do it!

Blogging Tip...How To Add a Poll Question to Your Blog

Hi everyone!! Today's blogging tip is about a gadget that's been around for a awhile, but I haven't used it in years. It's the Poll Gadget. Thought I would try it again and show you how to do it too!!

Here's what it looks like on my side bar.

This isn't the clickable poll, just a screen shot. To vote in the poll, just click on the actual poll on my right side bar.

It's so easy to make one for your blog too...

Blogging Tip...Image Properties

Today's blogging tip is about picture or image properties. Properties...referring to the name or phrase associated with the image to make it "searchable".

We all work hard on our blogs. We create projects, sew quilts, cook yummy treats, share our homes etc and with all that...we take pictures of everything. If you are a blogger, you love to share and you want others to stop by your blog to see what you've been up too. Other than your followers, you would love to have more people stop by your blog too. That brings us to the 'searchability" of your blog.

There is so much information on SEO or search engine optimization that it would be a whole post in and of itself, but in short, SEO are techniques used to bring more people to a website or blog. You can research more on your own, but today I'll show you one of the ways to bring more people to your blog using their search engine and your photos.

Here is a picture of the recipe, Death By Chocolate, I shared on my blog. If I want people to find that recipe when they search for chocolate cake recipes or specifically Death by Chocolate, I need to have my images "named, labeled or tagged".

Let me show you how easy it to do this...

Blogging Tips...Google Reader is Going Away

Hi everyone! Today is a blogging tip, but it's also a blogging forum so we can all talk about Google Reader which is being phased out as of July 1, 2013. The demise of Google Reader...ahhhh.

Google reader is a free platform where you can store or import all your favorite blogs and websites that are served through web feeds. We count of this reader to serve up our favorite blogs as soon as they post something new. We rely on this to be there with our most read websites on crafting, cooking, news and information. It's our sacred "list" of favorites.

Your favorites list will DISAPPEAR if you don't do something before July 1st.

Here is a quote from Google about that. You can read the whole article HERE.

"We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months."

I can get to my google reader my clicking the link from my blogger dashboard...circled in red below. I am assuming the regular reading list that is on my blogger dashboard on the left side will still remain, but not 100% sure on that.

Blogging Tip...Easy Color Codes For Your Blog Design

Today's blogging tip is about color!! Color on your blog...font color, gadget color, link color, separator color etc.

When you are in the blog design mode of the blogger template, you can only choose what colors they offer...or can you. Have you ever wondered how to change the color options to something different.

My daughter Courtney introduced me to this site a long time ago and I wanted to share with you. The site is really for designing your own website, but there are a few features we can use in our own blogger template...

This color chart for example.

Blogging Tip...Dealing With Spam on Your Blog

Today's blogging tip is about Spam...the junk email spam, not the spiced ham food product!! (the "sp" from spiced and the "am" from ham equals Spam.) That was my foody tip for today! Lol

I can't say I dislike both types of spam, because I haven't had the food product since I was little, but I really dislike the computer version.

What exactly is spam? In a word...junk. According to Microsoft, spam is "any kind of unwanted communication".

In most articles that I've read, email spams are unwanted, unsolicited emails to large groups for advertising of some product and are usually harmless.

However, when some spam emails try to trick the reader into doing something involving identify theft or fraud, that is called phishing. Please DO NOT be tricked by email scams that say they want you to change your pass word or enter any sort of personal numbers, unless you know the request is from the actual source.

Today's blogging tip is pretty much about the harmless email spam that I receive and you may also receive in your inbox and on your blog in the form of a comment.

Blogging Tip...Adding Email Button

Hi Everyone. This week's blogging tip is an easy one, but oh so important. Today, I'll explain how to add an email button to your blog. Having an email button easily accessible on your blog is the best way to make connections in the blogging world.

It's also important to have it on your blog if your blogger profile is set to "No Reply". If you are no sure what No Reply means or if your are one...click HERE to read more.

Today's tutorial is really what to type in the link for an email button. I have to thank Adrienne from the blog Black White Color for helping me with this. She had emailed me to thank me for the Social Media Button tutorial and asked me to stop by and see her new buttons. They are too cute!!

I emailed her back and asked what she typed in the html code for the email address. She was so helpful. This is why I love blogging!! Everyone is so willing to help and share what they know! Thank you so much Adrienne for sharing.

Blogging Tip...How to Search a Blog

Hi everyone! Today's blogging tip is how to search a blog for a particular post or topic and how to add a search box to your side bar.

We've all been there...you remember seeing a great post on a blog, a tutorial or a recipe, but can't find it anywhere. Well, there's hope!

The Search Box...

Blogging Tip...How to Stop Following a Blog

Hi everyone!! Today's blogging tip is how to "unfollow" a blog. I know blogging is about "following" blogs, making connections with friends all over the world and getting inspired, but sometimes our interests change, the blogs we are following change and other times our reading lists are just so long we can't read them all.

Well, Anne from My Blethering Blog, came to the rescue!! I contacted Anne and asked if I could use the instructions for how to unfollow a blog that she had left in the comment section of one of my posts. I wanted to share the instructions with you in a picture tutorial. Thanks Anne for letting me share!! Click here for Anne's blog and here for her Etsy shop she is amazing!! So many cute things...you won't be disappointed!

Blogging Tip...Mobile or Web Version of Your Blog

Technology. It's here, there and everywhere. It's in your car, it's in your home, it's every place that you roam. (I'm channeling my Dr Seuss).

With advancements in mobile technology, blogging is now "On the Go". We can be in a long line at the grocery store or waiting in the doctor's office and still read our favorite blogs. I know in our family, iphone and ipads are always in use.

I still love this phone though...lol

source

Blogging Tip...Adding Blog Labels

Thought I would share a quick blogging tip with you about labeling your blog posts. I think blog labels are so important for your readers, because they make it easier to find older posts, tutorials or projects.

Readers will come back to your blog and remember you had the best recipe for chocolate cake, but they really don't have the time to scroll through your entire blog looking "that" certain post. If you have labels on your side bar, all they have to do is click on "Recipes" or "Chocolate Cake" and tah dah...they've found it. Your readers will love you if you have Labels!!

So let's get started....

Adding labels to your blog

Go to your dashboard and click LAYOUT

Responding To Comments...How To Send Comments To Your Email

Thought I would share another blogging tip on how to respond to comments left on your blog. I've had lots of email questions on this subject, so I thought I would give a picture tutorial.

When your blog readers leave you a comment, how do you read them and respond to them? Do you go to the actual blog post, read the comments, then click on that person's profile, find their email address or try to comment on their blog?

or...

Do you respond to it directly under the comment with the "Reply" button, because that only replies to the comment on THAT post and it doesn't get "sent" to that person. They have to return to your blog and see if you've responded. Most people are so busy blogging and commenting, they forget to go back and check.

One quick and easy way to respond to a comment is to have the comments sent to your inbox at your email address. That way you are sent any comment that is left on your blog like an email. This is perfect for people who are leaving comments right now on posts that are 2 years old. You can see the new comment in your inbox and respond to it.

Blogger, however, doesn't automatically send your comments to your email address. You have to tell Blogger to do it!!

So let's get started...

Go to your dashboard and click the drop down arrow to SETTINGS.

How To Back Up Your Entire Blog...2 Steps

Hi everyone! Just a few days ago I had an issue with my blog. I still don't know what happened, but pages weren't opening correctly and things were missing. It magically corrected itself, but made me realized...I need to back up my blog more.

I have made a plan to back up once a week, every Monday morning. I blog a lot during the week, so I need to back up more than I have in the past.

I blog with Blogger, so I will be showing you the "How Tos" with Blogger, but if you blog with Wordpress or Typepad, please research how to back up your blog!!! It's so important. You don't want to lose all your hard work.

There are 2 parts to backing up your blog.

1. Backing up your template
2. Backing up your posts and comments