This is a comment I have been considering dropping on certain blogs:
‘Hi there –
Just to let you know that I am un-following in line with my new policy that, no matter how much I may enjoy their posts, I will discontinue going to sites of bloggers who show no evidence of occasional return visits. Bye, now!’
I believe that if people simply want a showcase, they should be content with a website. Blogging, to me, entails interaction, and if there isn’t any then I’d prefer to spend my valuable time on those who do provide it, even if they do it infrequently.
Agree? Disagree?
And should I offer the courtesy of the message, or should I simply fold my tents like the Arabs and silently steal away?
WEEKEND VIEWS
While the family were playing with snow and horses and rivers and things up in the mountains, we went for Sunday feast at Sr-i-L’s Berea home, from which this is a late afternoon view.
We discussed footwear and maritime vessels and red melty stuff, as well as green vegetables and royals.
Whenever I visit I spend some minutes staring at this wonderful poster from post-impressionist Pierre Bonnard’s portrait of his Madame Bonnard (presumably Marthe) and dog. It quite amazes me that what generally starts off by looking like meaningless splurges will gradually assume depth and definition, and then come into perfect perspective, from the foreground figures to the tree and the stream, to the middle-distance group, and to the distant town.
© Colonialist September 2012 (WordPress)
Colonialist's Blog 
Pingback: What Blogs Do You Read & Why? « Spirit Lights The Way
There is the scenario where one loves a blog but gets no reciprocation.
I visit a fair few blogs in the religious /atheist vein. I hardly ever – if ever- get ‘return business’ and it bothers me not one iota. maybe they have clicked my Avatar and paid a visit and felt , “Nah, not for me” This is fine by me, Truly.
I get a fair few likes from bloggers who are merely trawling for attention, this is evident when you visit their blogs (and they are often photo blogs or brand new authors who just happen to have written a book) lol We know what that’s like eh, and not like us of course, right? :)? Anyhow, these bloggers have about 6000 likes or something and the content is , sorry to say, er….well, not my style.
Occasionally I will merely like a post as there’s nothing I feel inclined to say.
Ghia,for example, doesn’t visit me any more ‘cos she doesn’t like my ‘religion’ It’s the way the cookie crumbles.
‘ still sneak over to her blog though (she doesn’t know) and read her joke thingies, and follow her job hunting.
I blog because I like to write and see my stuff in ‘real life’ Ego? Who knows. Who cares? 🙂
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A question of best allocation of time, I think. Should I neglect a blog I like with a blogger who reciprocates for another blog I like but where the blogger remains in splendid isolation?
All bloggers must have exhibitionism in their natures – or sheer stupidity. The stupid non-exhibitionists should be writing diaries.
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There are bizillions of blogs. Impossible to get round them all. Besides, we’ve got a couple of things in common and that’s a good start, I guess.
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Common causes make for special cases, undoubtedly!
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You wouldn’t do that to me, would you Col? You know me by now, a creature of few words I am.
To be serious I changed the way I respond to certain people a while back, because I also had that “fedup” feeling. I avoid the “fake” people.
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Sometimes it takes a lot of conscious effort to bring oneself to separate the wheat from the chaff!
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😀
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Hi, I like the idea of Bedouin tent folding – sometimes it could be leaving but then returning again to join fellow travellers in a new season. There seem to be many forms of interaction online, I went to a conference recently and one of the speakers was mentioning that what can make the difference in motivation is if you are part of a team that is interested in you. I struggle with people not being interested but am slowly aging slightly more gracefully into the acceptance of it.
Lovely view !
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I’m still here i say jumping up and down on my chair….I so agree tho!!
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I try to make a concerted effort to visit my follower’s blogs about once a week or so, and hopefully drop a message. You can’t grow anything unless you put some effort into it.
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I like the idea of silently stealing away…..then they have to go through all of their bloggers and figure out who left….
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I agree Col, I love the interaction and repartee in the comments section. I try to let other bloggers know I’ve been by with a comment or a like and appreciate those who take the time to do the same on my blog. Sometimes though I do find it difficult to keep up and even post a blog myself and I hope that temporary absences of short duration will not be viewed as indifference or rudeness – life just sometimes demands a bigger chunk of us.
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Yup the interaction is what makes it fun! The pic in your post, in that Durban, Col? (Still catching up with weekend posts)
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Amen and amen! I am afraid that I an one of the worst offenders lately, however. Even a like button entry is better than nothing. Please leave me on your list. I will try to do better. . B-)
Btw I tried to Skype you on Saturday and could not get through. Give me your Skype name again, and I will give it another try.
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I do confess to missing the sense of community we had at LD with all it’s problems 😦 But, yes, I do agree.
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Pingback: Clarification. | jaycee68
Col ~ This post and comment thread might interest you:
It’s a slightly different look at some of the “fake reciprocity” I’ve observed in the blogosphere:
“I had long suspected, based on the sterile nature of comments they posted, that a few habitual visitors did not enjoy their cyber excursions to SLTW. I could almost hear them dragging their feet down the cyber corridor each time they came round. Instead of dropping by for a cozy cyber chat, they popped in, did a bit of speed reading, and left post-haste. Like paying a weekly visit to a dowager aunt out of familial obligation (or the desire for testate inheritance), they tossed comments into the reply box at regular intervals to maintain the appearance of reciprocity.”
As Carrie Fisher once said, “You can’t find any true closeness in Hollywood, because everybody does the fake closeness so well.”
If we focus on connecting with blogs and bloggers that feed our spirits with “sustenance” . . . we gain from our forays through cyber space. If we don’t, we won’t. If I find my heels are dragging each time I’m headed to a specific blog, I turn around and retrace my steps. Visiting blogs that don’t interest me, or wading through a book I’m not enjoying, is not a good use of my limited time on the planet.
As I said to someone in that comment thread: “I love your blog . . . and the way you write . . . and your sense of humor . . . but not all your posts resonate with me. Nor should they. That would be like looking into a mind mirror. Creepy!”
Write on!
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Oops . . . to answer your question . . . it depends.
* If I LOVE a blog and that blogger IS a frequent visitor to SLTW . . . I do a Happy Dance each time we interact ~ HERE or THERE! The blogosphere at its best. Mutual Admiration and Support.
* If I LOVE a blog AND that blogger is NOT a frequent visitor to SLTW . . . that’s OK. I keep reading and drawing sustenance from their words, but I may comment less often. And I’m less likely to do a pingback to their post or send other people around to read their words of wisdom. UNLESS I can’t resist . . . because the post is just so PERFECT.
* If I’m NOT enjoying a blog AND that blogger hasn’t visited SLTW lately . . . BYE BYE! No note. No apology. No explanation. I just drift away. (This often prompts them to swing by and leave a comment to entice me back to their blog. Sometimes I follow the trail of bread crumbs. Sometimes not. It depends on how flagrant their intended manipulation appears).
The hardest for me . . .
If I’m NOT enjoying a blog BUT that blogger is a frequent and loyal visitor to SLTW who regularly interacts with thoughtful comments. Even if the subject matter of their blog isn’t really “my cup of tea” . . . I usually swing by to take a few sips.
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I love it when a comment is longer than the original post!
Don’t you agree?
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What a wonderful view! I love the interaction of blogging too. It’s what it’s all about really. It can get very time-consuming though. 🙂
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That is the best thing about blogging – getting to know folks in a way that wouldn’t really be possible otherwise! That photo would make a great postcard!
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Totally agree! Even if you don’t comment, at least like the post (if you think it’s good) so that the person at least knows you’ve stopped by.
The view from the mountain is stunning but I have to admit that the painting still just looks like splurges to me
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One sided blogging is really unrewarding, Col: and anyway, peeps would miss your verse. Those who never come to see you here miss out awfully 🙂
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Often feel the same, but then often feel like the Frogs of Europe “laissez faires”, but then one read beats no comments.
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I agree with you Col, blogging for me is about the interaction and making bloggie friends.
*hugs*
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Don’t stop blogging because you think no one reads the stuff. I think that eventually all the old bloggers from the previous forum will get together again.
Actually managed to reply to a blog! Kudu’s for me! (Or WordPress)
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I am in complete and utter agreement Col. if I can go to the trouble of reading someone’s stuff, and commenting, I don’t think it’s too much to ask that they do the same…
I’ve looked at the picture – can quite see how one could become engrossed in it 😉
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The picture should, I suppose, be viewed full size for the mental ‘switch’ to take place which suddenly puts it into brilliant clarity.
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