Saturday, February 16, 2008

Hootsbuddy's Profile -- 2004 to 2008

[This profile, archived February, 2008, ran with few changes since the blog started. Some blogs appeal to a community of interactive readers but mine does not. I'm pleased to get comments, both positive and negative, but they are few and far between and I have learned to blog without them. Nearly all my visitors are from searches. I used to be linked occasionally by other bloggers but I seem to have lost whatever appealed to them. Sigh. As far as I can tell I have fewer than fifteen or twenty regular readers which is very small potatoes in the blog world. I'm thinking about a new profile which will be more generic, less personal.]

"Semi-retired child of the sixties...now in his sixties. A career in food service had me working while others enjoyed a social life, but I managed over a thousand subordinates during my years in management, and dealt with the public for thirty-five plus years. I currently work in a retirement community. My blog is a way of keeping track of subjects that catch my interest. Your polite comments and constructive criticisms are welcome. Most of the hits to this blog are from searches but a handful of erudite people are regular readers. If you are a first-time visitor and have the time, feel free to look around. This blog is like a flea market...lots to see, lots to skip, but something for almost everyone. If you choose not to leave a comment I can be reached privately by g-mail addressed to Hootsbuddy."

[It is now March, 2009 and a new profile is going up. I'm tired of the old one and no one cares about a neologism (blusker) made up by me. The dynamic of my blogging has changed very little. The advents of Facebook, Twitter, "Followers," You Tube videos, group blogs and other techno-quasi-personal networking innovations are changing the face of the Internet. This is a great time to be alive.]

"Hootsbuddy's Place is a playground of eclectic interests (see blogroll) and a critical habit of mind. Traffic here is mainly from search referrals. One of two sitemeters is open for public viewing by the curious. This link leads to a profile of the blog host but you may think of me as a BLUSKER. That's an original neologism created by combining "blogger" and "busker" (an entertainer or musician who works sidewalks and parks for contributions). Hootsbuddy is a blogging counterpart, working search engines for traffic instead of networking. I give credit when due, but I'm not a link whore. Comments are welcome and subject to moderation, mainly to avoid spam. I can be reached privately via Hootsbuddy (at) G-mail (dot) com. Make yourself comfortble and enjoy your visit."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Blogger,
Blogging can be a lonely affair, especially if you do not receive any comments, positive or negative, on your blogs. Everybody needs some response to his/her ideas.
So there you have it, one 'Comment'. I came here just googling for geriatric1927, just when taking a break from some wordprocessing work. And ended up at your blog. I share your admiration for the works of geriatric1927. But we are two out of many.
The problem of driving traffic to your blog is very common. There are so many bloggers out there; the competition may be killing. Maybe a personal domain like hootsbuddy.com would attract more traffic. You should also consider to move your blog archive (in fact the index of your 'site') to the top of the right column. At the moment that top position is wasted on links to other bloggers, so not providing any traffic to your own pages. Maybe a new crisp layout, more photo's and small graphics would also help a bit, but this is less essential. These are some tips from a (part-time) webmaster of a few websites.
Regards,
Roland, the Netherlands.

Hoots said...

Thanks for taking time to leave your suggestions. I do like the idea of a domain without the "blogspot" component. It seems less cumbersome. (The name "Hootsbuddy" derived from a casual attempt to create a Yahoo screen name years ago and the persona took on a life of its own.)

Moving the archive is so obvious I don't know why I didn't already think of it. Thanks.