Thoughts on Blogging
Comments, Validation and Why We Need the Audience

Stephen wrote a interesting entry on blog validation in the form of comments at his blog One Life. I think most of us share what he is feeling sometimes (or most of the time).

When a blog entry is published, we can safely assume (with the exception of a locked private blog) that the author expects an appreciative audience . And rightly so, for we, as writers, would spend many hours trying to come up with, and edit to near-perfection, a post worthy of publishing to the world.

I used to spend quite a bit of my time wondering why only 1 out of 100 readers would leave me a comment but realised most of the time I myself am not participating in the conversation on other blogs because there’s really nothing new or interesting to add.

Unless a post is particularly provocative, the reaction generally consists of a few variations of agreement or disagreement. It’s like being in a classroom discussion– after the 11th person has voiced his opinion, there’s nothing much left to say that has not already been said.

Still, it’s great to have comments! My first blog was running for 7 months before I got my first comment – which is still one of the most exciting days in my early blogging history. :) I also look out for the best critics among my commenters as they are the ones who tell you like it is and probably move in between camps (for/against/neutral) according to what you’re posting.

Here’s something good to know: Problogger has about 50,000 subscribers (according to the displayed Feedburner widget). The actual number of readers may well be more than this but these 50,000 readers are the ones considered “engaged” — readers who care enough about the content of the blog to actually subscribe to the feed. A quick browse through some of the posts shows that less than 1% (or 500) of the readers would actually leave a comment. Steve Pavlina also mentioned in his blog that “well below 1% of visitors ever post a comment“. What are the other 99% doing? Probably just nodding quietly to themselves. How do I know? Because I myself did quite a bit of that nodding thing today. :D

While some of us see a comment count as the mark of a successful interactive blog, others preach high subscriber count at the true indicator of a blog’s success. Damien on the other hand has gone on to develop his own quantifiable rating system of measuring the success of his Funny Farm – i.e. CAN™.

With a blog that focuses on money-making, success is usually directly proportional to the number of readers the blog has. For other types of blogs, some people have said that the number of readers play a less important role in defining success.

I personally believe that we need an audience no matter what because we want to feel appreciated for our art, in this case, our writing. I don’t want to paint a beautiful picture and keep it locked in a room where nobody will ever see (even if I do not have the intention of selling it). I want it displayed in a gallery for all to appreciate and admire. I call this my “Excellence in Giving to Others”, or *ahem* ego for short. ;)

My ego loves performing in front of huge appreciative audience. She would like to thank you for choosing to read this entry. She is also fond of comments so please leave one (or two)? :D

Road to Success - The Right Attitude and Hunger

Positive thinking plays a big part in determining whether you will be successful and this is how I’d chart their relation:

The more positive you are the more likely your are to succeed.

I came across a graph from one of my newspaper clippings collection and promptly pin it up because I like how it outlines another key factor — success is not only determined by the kind of attitude you have but also by how bad you want it (which is to be followed by a plan of action).

Through purely unscientific inference, I conclude that if we solely depend on positivity, we’ll likely fall into the “I think I might” to “I think I can” spectrum. Therefore, to increase our chances of success, we’ll need to rise to the next level. When you’re at “I can” or “I will”, a natural question that follows will be, “How can I make this work?” and you will be on your way to writing you own blueprint to success.

Of course, there are other factors that would influence your chance of success – connections, luck, fate, cats (having too many cats greatly reduce my chances of a spontaneous getaway — who’s gonna feed all the cats?!) — but as they say, success is 99% perspiration, so get sweating and good luck!

Wisdom Tooth, Warm Coffee and World Domination

Wisdom Tooth

Wisdom teeth are so named because they appear in the late teen years or early twenties, when one becomes an adult, hence wiser. I had my wisdom tooth extracted last week.

My first wisdom tooth surfaced when I was 27. I have a two theories on why it came out so late:

1. The lack of calcium in my diet has impeded its growth.
2. I wasn’t wise enough in my late teens nor early twenties to rightly acquire Teeth of Wisdom.:p

Does wisdom come with age?

My nephew announced that he wasn’t keen on finding a girlfriend because that would mean he’d have to get a job “to keep her happy”. He doesn’t want to start working now because he needs to play while he’s still young and “that’s why you have these big ambitions for later“. Wise words, from a boy barely 6.

Me? Despite the dentist’s advice, I kept rinsing my mouth regularly the first few hours after extraction, causing the protective blood clot that formed at the former site of my Tooth of Wisdom to be partially unplugged.
Not very wise. :\

Warm Coffee

I had my first cup of coffee today after days of having only water and yoghurt. I had to drink it lukewarm so as to not aggravate the newly-formed plug in my mouth. Though I had to be content with tepid beverage, the service was sunny.

While waiting for my coffee to cool, I observed the catering staff busying themselves in tasks with clockwork efficiency. Everyone had a part to play. The cheerful old lady has been serving me coffee for the past 5 years. It wouldn’t be wise to assume that she is without lofty ambitions. Probably one of her goals is to provide excellence in customer service.

If that is the case, she has succeeded.

Do all ambitions need to be of grand scale?

World Domination

I believe there is room in the world for all kinds of ambitions, all types of people. Our world needs all types of people to keep it running smoothly — the ones to do the job and the ones to lead, and the ones who’ll rise above and beyond the rest in terms of influence and reach because they can and because what they do may have the potential to make the world just a little (or a lot) better.

Which type are you? Which would you rather be?

If you’re interested in being the latter, Chris Guillebeau of the Art of Non-conformity has recently launched A Brief Guide World Domination.

Running Can Be Fun
Psyching Myself Into Running Regularly

I started running last week. I couldn’t sleep the night after the first run because my knees were in terrible pain. I need better shoes. I need to do this more than twice a week. I want to achieve a healthy, toned body worthy of a Nike ad.

No I do not enjoy running. I love strolling, yes, but not running. When I run, I don’t have time to take in the scenery, smell a flower, or notice a ladybird, nope, no time for that, I have to run. But running is free and an activity I can jump into without much planning – I don’t have to book a tennis court, check whether its a good time to drop by the public pool or find someone to play with. It’s also something I can do without worrying too much about how my bum would look like to the person behind me in aerobics class or accidentally letting out a loud one in the middle of a halasana.

I will not wait for my muscles to atrophy to realise the importance of regular exercise. I do not need an unpleasant wake-up call to shake me into a healthy routine. I do not want to be in a position where I’d say “I should have exercised regularly then”. Until I find a more enjoyable way to keep fit, I will stick to running. No excuses. Health is not something I’d take for granted. It’s something I have to constantly work on because I am solely responsible for my body. I will not run away from my responsibility. Because of that I will simply RUN.

I just checked out The Fit Shack and coincidentally, my latest post is an exercise of the suggestions in JoLynn’s latest post. ;)

Wouldn’t It Be Great If…
Your Haircut Came with The Internet?

I go to the hair salon every 6 months. I like getting my hair fixed but I do not enjoy the amount of time it takes to get the job done. Usually the process would take at least an hour and much, much longer if I decide to go with a totally different look.

Wouldn’t it be great if one could do work or surf the internet while getting your hair done instead of just reading the magazines provided? I believe a few high-end salons are providing free wi-fi access stations but I’m talking about having the option to surf in my seat while the hairstylist do my hair.

Some points of contention

“You mean you want the Internets to rule your hairdressing salons too? Hello? Unplug, much?”

It’s purely optional. You can choose to surf or work on your laptop or you could stick to your magazines or bitching with your hairdresser.

“It’s expensive to implement.”

The salon may probably need a small investment but think of the benefit in customer experience. Instead of flipping through hair catalogues to select a style, a customer can superimpose his or her photos through a virtual hair makeover application like this one

“What’s the big deal about waiting a few minutes to get your haircut? Ever heard of patience?”

Have you ever taken 5 hours to get your hair done? I have (a botched colouring job). If there’s an opportunity to make fuller use of your time, why not?

Perhaps it’s really the comfort level that I’m having a problem with. You know the feeling of having to bend your neck for more than 15 minutes trying to read a heavy magazine that’s resting on your lap? Probably the most practical solution is to just provide a table of comfortable size and height (like a writing or tablet arm chair) preferably the type that swings out of the way when not in use.

Wouldn’t It Be Awesome If…?

I keep a list of ideas that starts with the line “Wouldn’t It Be Great If…” a habit inspired by a presentation by Jake and Jeff of SkinnyCorp which I watched early last year:

In this list, no idea is too fantastic, too difficult or un-noteworthy, they are just waiting for the right time to fully blossom. Needless to say, I have a lot of pet projects just waiting to be executed! B noted that some of my ideas have no direct relation to my interest or skill set. In my opinion, some of these ideas just need the right person to take on, which is why I’m sharing one of my latest entries above. If you run a hair boutique and just happen to read this, please take note — you could be pioneering a new standard in customer care! ;D

Have a great weekend!

A Right to Live
Survivors of Cyclone Nargis

Today’s front page of The Straits Times paints a contrasting picture between how the countries’ authorities handle Asia’s recent tragedies (Cyclone Nargis that devastated Myanmar(Burma) and the 7.9-magnitude quake that struck Sichuan province in China).

On the left half of the front page:
China: Day 6
HOPE
“Beijing says ‘yes’ to more foreign relief team”

On the right:
Myanmar: Day 15
DESPAIR
“Aid groups frustrated by Yangon’s rejections”

In cyclone-hit Myanmar, children who are sleeping on the streets without adult protection are at risk of not only diseases but also sexual abuse, warned Ms Veronique Taveau, a Unicef spokeswoman. The agency estimates that 1 million children are in need of “urgent assistance”. [Read more....]