Gah!
I am not a social person in the best of situations. I can pull it out when I need to but my preference is to be at home (in a bubble bath reading, but that rarely happens)(oh, and if you ask people they will tell you that I am very social, that's because I can pull it out when I need to, but I don't love it).
I hardly ever participated in discussions in college classes and hated when participation was part of the final grade. And when I started doing online classes and was required to comment on other people's work it about did me in.
So the fact that now I feel I have to advertise my blog over Facebook and Goodreads and Twitter makes my stomach hurt a little bit.
I don't mind tweeting about a blog post and have a blast last week tweeting with Carrie Harris and Joanne Levy (two published authors!) 80's hairstyles, but overall I am mostly not active on twitter.
And now people are adding Google+ into the mix (oh and don't even get me started on Klout--does anyone understand that?!)
And then, even when I put myself out there it feels like no one is listening because I have to fight for my spot among much bigger book blogs. I just don't want to. So, sometimes I wonder who is reading because I have a couple very loyal commenters, but overall it feels lonely here on this blog sometimes.
Then I discovered something: on the new Blogger dashboard it shows the view count for each post. I am not sure how accurate it is, or what good numbers are (I know what really good numbers are but for a blog like mine I am not sure what realistic numbers are). All I know is that there are people looking and coming back and some posts have gotten way more views than I would have thought. So I feel pretty good about that.
I may not be the best hostess but there are people coming to my party!
(I also like seeing what the most popular posts are and then realizing I need to do more of those kinds of posts!)
Awww I feel ya.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's a matter of time management.
I could Twitter, Google+, or FB but seriously that would take from my reading time or visiting other blogs time. Something I refuse to take time from.
Klout? I think it's only important to folks who want to show publishers they worthy of books for reviews.
Oh and beware of Google Plus, if you don't use your real name and Google hears, they shut down your blog. Yowzers.
I'm with you :)
And I'm glad folks are coming to your party.
You're pretty awesome ;)
Thanks! I think you are a perfect example of a great guest. You visit and comment on so many blogs. I am amazed that you can do it all!
DeleteI always smile when I get a comment from you!
I don't really understand Klout either. I set up an account and have been completely ignoring it.
ReplyDeleteI mostly see blog posts in my Google Reader. I only actually visit the blog (like I'm doing now) if I want to leave a comment. I comfort myself with the idea that lots of people are like me - silent lurkers.
I do enjoy what you have to say even though I don't stop by nearly often enough to tell you about it.
Happy reading!
That's how I feel too! I read a lot of blogs and comment on few. But I always enjoy yours (I am amazed that you run an adult blog and a MG/YA blog!).
DeleteThanks for coming by!
I think you do such an awesome job with Milk and Cookies!!! You read an incredible variety of books and write succinct, thoughtful reviews. I am honestly befuddled about why some blogs have 1000s have readers and others only have a few 100. I think it's partially b/c of those Follow Friday thingys where everyone just follows everyone else. Which is what it is. Sometimes it bugs me that I don't get more comments/followers/whatever, but I always try to remember that I really and truly started blogging just for ME: to remember what I read, to get more suggestions for my students, and to learn more about what's available in YA - not to be "popular." Even so... it's nice when a particular post ends up getting a lot of views and/or comments :)
ReplyDeleteEvery now & again I think about maybe stopping my blog but I don't think I can or want to because I really love sharing my enthusiasm for books! And that's what it's all about.
DeleteHi Jana-
ReplyDeleteI am a fellow librarian, although at a K-5 school. I love reading your blog and I check for updates every day when I get into my office. I have read many of your suggested titles and have often purchased them for my library based on your reviews. Hang in there knowing that there are many of us out there who enjoy your blog but are bad at letting you know it!
Hi Amie!
DeleteThanks for coming by. I feel like people think I was fishing for compliments, I wasn't! I am fine with where my blog is at, I just sometimes feel like an "old" person around all these young bloggers. And I haven't gotten anything read in so long. I am going to be coming up on a dry review spell soon! Thanks for your very sweet words and for coming by! Don't you just love being a librarian? Did you buy And Then It's Spring yet? Buying picture books is what I really miss about being an elementary school librarian!
Love this post. I am not a social butterfly either and am fairly a nerd at parties. People are coming to your party for sure because you do have great things to say! My teenager adores Klout?!
ReplyDeleteI tried Klout for a bit, but was so inactive with it (mostly because I didn't understand it) that I finally just deleted my account! I am old...
DeleteI'm right there with you. I just have better things to do with my time than spend it all networking like crazy. I cross post and use Twitter and Facebook and whatnot but it's not crazy for me. I'm like you, I'm not crazy social but I feel I get my blog out there enough. I don't take it as seriously as other people so that's probably a factor but I'm okay with that. I have my readers and followers and I'm okay with that. I don't feel the NEED to be all over every social networking platform. There just aren't enough hours in the day.
ReplyDeleteThere truly aren't enough hours. And if I am doing all the networking I am not getting any reading done! (Because my reading time cannot cut into my TV time!)
DeleteYou know I love you AND your blog! Keep up the good work. I'd be lost without you reading so many of the books I wonder about and then telling me how they are. Sometimes, you are my filter. LOL. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Shannon!! You are THE BEST!!
DeleteI love it when you post about things like this. You make me feel so much better about my own non-social-butterfly status. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a lurker by nature and I really need to push myself to be social. I've toyed with the idea of Twitter/Facebook/Google+/etc because I'm sure they'd help boost my blog. I also feel a little left out. It feels almost like peer pressure sometimes. :P
But I really don't want to join those sites. It's just not me. Whatever gains I might make in bringing attention to my blog would be so far outweighed by the stress and time suck all that social networking would bring. I have to do what's right for ME, and I think that's ok.
I like Goodreads though. I don't use much of its social networking features, but I love how it helps me stay organized with my reading and TBR. I like how I can make customized shelves.
You have a lot of devoted readers--myself very much included! There would be a big void if you ever decided not to blog anymore.