Google Reader, MY Way

I'm continuing in my mission to organize, and today I made a change that will be a happy improvement. I love it when a small thing can be a big, happy improvement.

I use Google Reader to read the blogs I follow. I know there are other blog aggregators out there, but I've gotten used to Google Reader and now especially love how it integrates to Flipboard so I can read my favorite blogs on my Ipad as if I'm flipping through magazine pages. All along, my blogs have been listed in Google Reader in alphabetical order. So, even though they are organized neatly by title, they are a big jumble in terms of content. I follow, from time to time, a variety of blogs -- art and food and home dec and quilting and drawing and special needs issues and parenting and political commentary and reading and just fun stuff. I've often wished I could sort the blogs by topic, so when I'm in the mood to cruise the home dec blogs, say, they'd all be together.

Well, turns out it's no big mystery. I queried Mr. Google himself and learned that Google Reader lets you create different folders and sort the blogs on your list into them -- so you can have daily reads in one folder, less frequent things in another. And you can do what I did, which was create separate folders by topic, and sort the blogs into the appropriate folders. So now my blogs are sorted, into folders like "Quilt Art" and "Photography" and "Books and Reading" and more.

We'll see how it all works once I check it on Flipboard, but I'm quite pleased. Who knew it was so easy?!

Blogging: A conversation, or an announcement?

Someone on the QuiltArt list  recently asked about how to generate traffic to a blog.  I posted a response, and I thought I'd post it here because I'm interested what other people think.  Am I naive to think about blogging as part of conversation?  Or is that just me, liking blogs because I *feel* like I'm participating in a conversation when really what I'm mainly doing is reading someone else's half of the conversation?  I'd be interested to know what you think.

So here's my comment to the list:

In my view, blogging is all about networking.

I’ve been blogging for over seven years, and I run the Artful Quilters Blog ring, a ring that connects blogs about art and contemporary quilting.  Over that time and through my observation of a lot of blogs, I have a couple of thoughts about the world of blogging and how artists use them.  The main thing, to me, is that the appeal of most blogs is that they set up a sense of a relationship between the blogger and the reader.  That’s why a lot of people prefer reading blogs to trolling through visual websites – it’s far more personally, usually, and there’s a sense of communication with the blogger that’s akin to reading a letter from a friend.  And it’s that relationship aspect, however “virtual” or distant, that in my mind is at the heart of being really successful with a blog.  You have to think of it as a two-way communication, and your part of the communication isn’t just posting entries on a blog.  It’s about responding to comments that are made.  It’s about having some interest about who is reading your blog – not just in terms of statistics, but about who the individuals are.  It’s about taking the time to notice who comments and go look at their blogs and leave a comment there.  In my view, for all that blog readers want to read and experience your creative world vicariously, they want to see themselves in a conversation with you, even if you as the blogger are doing the bulk of the talking.  I’m not saying that a blogger has to strike up a personal, direct friendship with every reader.  But I think readers can spot quickly someone who is blogging as a marketing tool (however nicely done) and someone who is blogging to share and participate in conversations about the corner of the art world she occupies.  I suspect (this is pure hypothesis) that if for every blog entry you posted, you took the time to either reply to a comment from a previous commenter, or go leave a comment on someone else’s blog, you’d slowly build the reputation as a blogger who isn’t just advertising and marketing in a pretty way, but who is interested in engaging in a conversation. 

There’s a difference in tone that, to my mind, is instantly detectable, between a blogger who blogs only to talk about herself and market herself, and a blogger who blogs to generate conversation and some level of communication flow.  I think it’s the latter type of blog that over the long run generates a bigger and more loyal following.

And here’s my other observation.  A lot of blog readers are people who have blogs themselves.  If they’re reading your blog, they’re also likely to be reading other blogs.  So being part of the blogging community can enhance interest in your blog.  Someone might see your comment on another blog and be intrigued enough to click on your name and find yours.  People will list your blog as one they read – and one way a lot of people end up getting to new blogs is by following the links from a blogger they trust.  Participation in a blog ring can help a lot too, because a reader who finds one blog on the ring can click and get to blogs on the same topic they hadn’t discovered.  You can find out about the Artful Quilters blog ring here, by the way: 

 http://goingtopieces.blogspot.com/2012/01/seven-years-of-artful-quilt-blog.html

There’s a SAQA members’ ring.  There’s a quilting teacher ring.  All of those will add your blog to wider community and help people find you. 

So my main advice for how to get more people to read your blog?  Get out there and read other blogs.  Comment on other blogs.  And respond to those who comment on yours.  Think of it as a networking process.

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Not much here, so go here instead...

Oh my, I feel like I'm spinning in all different directions with the different things going on around here.  It's routine stuff (work, household chores, doctors' appointments) and preparing for exciting family times (parents moving closer -- yay!-- and upcoming travels far and excitingly farther.  Dear readers, I'm afraid the blog has slipped far down on the list of things clamoring for my attention.

BUT I must admit that I find a few minutes now and then to take a mental break and visit some of my favorite blogs.  And because I'm lacking for my usual fascinating (ahem) blog fodder, I'm sharing some of my recent delights with you:

Pam over at Three Many Cooks is sharing great ideas for creating your own signature ice cream mix (warning -- do not read this one when you are hungry and/or very hot.) 

Jeni at In Color Order is making me want to dive into my floral prints to jump into her "Warm/Cool Quilt Along"  (and frankly I think I'm showing remarkable restraint for not having chucked all of my chores to do this... but then again, I could cave at any minute.)

Katie at Color Me Katie is, as always, making me smile with her latest exploits with Improv Everywhere -- watch how they surprise carousel-riding kids with an impromptu horse race!

Julia at Hooked on Houses has me dreaming about what it would be like to buy and live in Katherine Hepburn's former house in Connecticut.

Cynthia at Sip and Bite is making me crave all sorts of delicious goodies --  including a buttercrunch toffee that looks scrumptious.

Vivian in Japan takes me away from my daily life by letting me imagine what it would be like to pick up and move to Japan.

Kris at Kristina Klarin continues to make me swoon with her gorgeous photography and her eye for such luscious color.

Happy blog-hopping!

Blog Love: Painted Threads Projects

 I read a lot of blogs, and there are so many that I enjoy.  But some stay at the top of my "must read" list because of how they inspire me and amuse me and keep me excited to see what will be there next.  I thought I'd start share some of my favorites with you -- maybe they'll join your favorites, too.  So welcome to the first installment of  "Blog Love!"

I've long drooled over admired the amazing art quilts of Judy Coates Perez.  Her painted quilts, always beautifully quilted, just sing with color and joy and gorgeous detail.  Her collaged quilts combine tones and images so gracefully, and incorporate patterns and textures and different fibers in creative ways.  In fact, Judy is the reason I now have a small bowl of soggy tea bags in various stages of drying on my kitchen window sill.  Her use of stained tea bag papers has inspired me to try incorporating them in my collage and altered book play.

But, in addition to her regular blog which makes for fun and inspirational reading, what I really love is Judy's Painted Threads Projects blog.  Judy  uses that blog to feature tutorials on all sorts of fun projects, from felted soap bars, to metal work projects, to carving rubber stamps, and more.  She also includes great series of posts showing in detail how her amazing quilted pieces were created.  The only downside to reading this blog regularly?  It makes me want to do all of these different projects and try all of these techniques! (See tea bags, above.)

You just have to love someone who shares her process and techniques so generously.  You can also spend an hour hearing Judy tell her own creative story, thanks to Lesley Riley's interview with her on Art and Soul Radio.  Lesley's podcast is always inspirational, but her interview with Judy has been one of my favorites.

So go take a look -- feel the blog love! 

Blog Exploring

I seem to have been struck by one of those not-quite-the-flu crud illnesses in which you are not full out feverish and retching sick, but where you feel like that might be just around the corner. So I have been coddling myself with lots of sleep and reading and hot tea and vegetable soup, and now that I'm feeling an eensy bit better I thought I'd share some of the blogs I read that make me happy every day, no matter how I feel.  A lot of you probably know the art quilty ones, so I thought I'd share some of the not-so-fabric related ones:

Vivian Swift: How I Make Moutains Out of My Molehill Life:  How could you not love a blog with a subtitle like that?  Vivian is 1) a very funny woman, and 2) a talented watercolor painter who shares painting tips, and 3) an author who talks about her writing experiences and 4) someone I'd just love to hang out with.

Hooked on Houses:  This is the best house porn ever. Julia writes about celebrity houses.  She tracks down the houses that we see on TV shows and in movies, gives close looks at beautiful sets (I was drooling over the house in the Meryl Streep movie It's Complicated -- there it all is, for endless scrutiny.)  She features bad MLS listing photos (go on, you KNOW you want to look...) 

Tiny Red:  Thereza is an illustrator and graphic designer in London who does the most wonderful art.  Go look.   It'll make you smile.

That is Priceless:  Old master paintings with truly funny captions by comedy writer Steve Melcher. 

Color Me Katie:  Katie is a photographer and artist in NYC who loves color and fun and photographs what she does with both. 

Confessions of a Pioneer Woman:  If you haven't discovered Ree Drummond's blog about life and motherhood on a cattle ranch, you should go look.  It'll make you smile.

Daisy Yellow:  Great art journaling inspiration here!

Feel free to mention some of your favorite blog destinations in the comments!

Something to make you smile

I am busy as a bee (well, I will be when I walk away from the computer) tidying my spaces and purging junk and otherwise trying to whittle down the STUFF that seems to surround us in this house.  So on this breezy Saturday, you can picture me rummaging through drawers with a big trash bag at my side.

But in case that doesn't cheer you, I thought I'd pass on this wonderful blog that always makes me smile:

That is Priceless, subtitled "Art's Greatest Masterpieces, Made Slightly Funnier." It's written by Steve Melcher, a Hollywood comedy writer, and he applies captions to great paintings ... and those captions are always spot-on funny.

Okay, back to my trash bag!

Letter to the Blog Police

Like my friend Terry, I had a pretty strong reaction to a recent blog post by quilt artist Dena Crain in which she sets out what she believes quilters should and should not do in their blogs.  I disagree with Dena on many of her specific points, but as the subject stayed on my mind, I was more and more bothered by the overall message that anyone, quilters included, are blogging "improperly."  So, I replied to Dena in a comment to her blog, and here's my comment:

Dena,

I find your take on quilters' blogs interesting, but I disagree strongly with the overall message in your post that there are "right" and "wrong" ways for quilters to blog.  One of the many wonderful things about blogging is that a blog can be whatever the blogger wants to it to be.  You have many excellent suggestions for a quilter who wants to use her blog solely as a marketing tool, but I find it unfortunate that you have not directed your comments to that limited segment of bloggers, and indeed that you are so critical of bloggers whose aims may be very different from yours. 

Many quilters do not blog for the sole purpose of marketing and selling work.  I'm the founder and manager of the Artful Quilters Blog Ring which links over 400 blogs written by quilters who focus on art and contemporary quilting.  Some bloggers use their blogs primarily as marketing tools, but most blog more broadly, about their art, their lives, their opinions.  The blogs express who they are as people, not just as quilters.   It's clearly a matter of personal taste -- and it seems that yours and mine are quite different in this regard -- but what I love most about reading quilters' blogs is that they introduce me to people who share my passion.  They inspire me when they share their processes, their frustrations, their mistakes.  I marvel at the variety of lifestyles we quilters  lead.  I'm reminded of a blog entry from an Australian quilt artist who wrote an entry bemoaning how kangaroos traveled past her house each day, disrupting her garden.  That, to me, illustrated what I love about the broad-ranging topics of many quilters' blogs -- that woman and I share the same art form, but in other ways her life is as different from mine as I can imagine.  Many, many friendships are formed through the blogging experience, and largely because we share so much of our whole lives in our blogs -- and yes, that includes who is coming for lunch, what we're cooking, how we felt while we cleaned the house, what our political views are, etc.  If that's what's important to someone, the blog is hers for her to express that.

To me, there are significant differences between a blog and a website.  I see the  website is the promotional tool for specific focus on the art and the artist's thoughts about it, her teaching, her art-related travel schedule, her biography, the techniques she wishes to share, and of course the vehicle for selling.  I (and, I think, most blog readers) view blogs as something quite different and decidedly more personal.   As I read your post, it seems to me that you want quilters' blogs to be what I consider a website disguised as a blog.  And, if that is how you want to use the medium, that's great.  Go to it!  And your giving advice to those bloggers who want to use a blog in the same way may prove enormously helpful to them.  But please, don't tell us that if we're not doing it your way, we are making mistakes and blogging improperly.

I don't want to read blogs that are as one dimensional as the sort you describe.  For the blogger whose only goal is to market herself, maybe following your rules will get her exactly the results she wants, and that's a good thing.  But to suggest that other quilters who blog are doing something "wrong" or "dumb" or "making mistakes" attaches a negative perspective on a communication device whose strength is that it allows individuality and creativity.  For many of us artists and quilters, having a space to share the whole of our creative lives is a delight and has brought us opportunities and connections more valuable than selling a quilt.  In my view, it's not for anyone else to tell us that we're doing it wrong.  Why should those of us who enjoy sharing our lives, and not just the quilting parts, be relegated to the one-sentence/140 character world of Twitter and Facebook?

Like art itself, blogging provides a realm for unlimited creativity and personal expression.  How you choose to use your blog, and how you choose the blogs you follow, is up to you.  If you don't like blogs that discuss personal lives, then don't read them. It's that simple.  It's not anyone's place, it seems to me, to impose "rules" on how quilters should be blogging.  The quilt world has its share of "quilt police"; we don't need "Blog Police," too.