A Note from Anthony - A Flood of Articles

I just wanted to let all of my readers know that I will be placing a large number of articles onto this blog in a relatively short amount of time.  I am taking this step because I have to transition all of my Y!CN articles over to the blog before Y!CN shuts down for good on July 31.  I apologize in advance if that causes anyone any inconvenience (eg. your new blog postings list grows exponentially in the span of a few hours).

Once I have transferred all of the Y!CN articles to this blog, I plan to place them into categories.  As such, you should be able to quickly find articles by topic if you click on the 'Label' section under the blog header. Additionally, I will posit a year in the title of my dated articles (eg. a news article from 2012).  If you are interested in reviewing information from that year (eg. for a paper, history piece, etc.), feel free to click on those articles.  Just keep in mind that the information in these documents pertains to the year listed in the title (or at least most of it does anyway).  One exception to this rule, a good portion of the information in my article on rare calendar dates (not yet posted here) is still relevant.

As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.

-- Anthony Hopper

#blogging #blog #Y!CN

My Blog's Mission is Changing

Hi All,

I hope that all of you are having a wonderful Thursday night.  I just wanted to let you know that I will continue to post some of my initial, ad hoc thoughts and feelings to this blog.  However, I will also start posting material that I have hashed out, edited, and otherwise carefully constructed.  I might posit some of the freelance articles, which I wrote for Y!CN, to this blog.  Y!CN is shutting down soon, thereby forcing me to find a new home for these articles.

I hope that everyone has a happy weekend, and if you live in the U.S., enjoy the 4th of July celebrations.

Anthony Hopper

The Dialogue or Conversational Form

Hi All...I am sorry I haven't had the opportunity to post here in a while.  I'll try to do a better job of updating my blog in the future-and reading your blog posts as well. :) 

In my first blog post, I said that I would try to posit my authentic thoughts-unfiltered by heavy editing and/or ruminating.  For the most part, I have attempted to stay true to that mission-at least in the posts that do not link to my freelance articles.  However, I feel that the act of organizing my thoughts into paragraphs frustrates my mission to some extent.  That is because I have to prioritize views, delete alternative theories, etc. in order to create coherent paragraphs.  That act deprives readers from seeing the true range of feelings, emotions, and beliefs I might have on a topic.

In order to rectify this situation, I might on occasion try to postulate my thoughts in a dialogue or conversational format.  In those posts, I will use different characters to espouse contradictory ideas, feelings, and beliefs.  My tactic might work-or it might prove to be a disaster.  We will see. :)

I Apologize for My Absence

Hi All,

I wanted to quickly write to you all and apologize for not posting anything to my blog in the last few days.  I have been pretty busy.  I will try to create a new post (and read through all of your blog posts) soon.

Anthony

New Blog Design Drives Traffic to Older Posts?

I hope everyone in the U.S. had a happy Thanksgiving (and for viewers living in other countries, a happy Thursday and Friday!)!  Some of you might have noticed that I made a radical change to the blog layout.  I went from using a linear focused blog (eg. 4 articles in a vertical row on a page) to utilizing one that is much more dynamic, providing the reader instant access to any of my blog posts.

In the old format, people who visited the blog would view the first couple of articles; however, they rarely looked at any of my older blog posts.  I felt that many (probably most) of my older blog posts might still be valuable (eg. still relevant) to readers.  However, I could not find a way to bring these older articles to a viewer's attention using the old format.

Hence, I decided to try the current, dynamic format.  The new blog design still favors my most recent blog posts (the posts move in chronological order from the newest in the top left to the oldest in the bottom right); however, it posits the older posts front and center on the screen. Visitors no longer have to dig through the archives to find older posts.

After a few months, I will be able to determine whether the new blog design is more effective than the previous one in increasing traffic to my older posts.  I will provide an update...

Turnover in the Blogging World is High?

I've been blogging seriously for less than a year.  But in that short time, I have noticed that a vast majority of the blogs I am following are no longer active.  I am not sure if my experiences with a small data sample are indicative of blogging as a whole.  If they are, then it would seem that turnover in the blogging world is quite high.  From what I can gather in reviewing my database, maybe 15%-20% of the bloggers who are active now will still be blogging in a year's time.

Do you all agree with that perception, or do you believe it is higher (or maybe even lower)?

No Longer Powerless

Hi All,

The electricity was restored to my place earlier today.  Yay! :)  I hope to read through your blog posts (and also hopefully create a blog post of my own) tomorrow or Friday.--Anthony

   Clip art courtesy of Microsoft Office.

I've Fallen Behind on Blog Reading

Hi All,

I have been swamped this week and have fallen behind on blog reading.  I will try to get to all of your blogs this weekend.  I realize that, since I only occassionally leave comments, most of you won't know that I have fallen behind.  Nonetheless, I know--hence the mea culpa :)

Sorry If I Haven't Visited Your Website in a Few Days

To All of my followers...I apologize if I haven't visited your website in a few days.  I have been a little busy of late. :-(

Also, I will try to sit down and write Part 2 of my technology post(s) in the next couple of days.


Anthony

PS.  I think I'll change the background again.  The desert scene is getting a little blasé.

Thoughts for the Week

I am too tired tonight (this morning) to write anything deep and meaningful, so some facile thoughts for tonight. :-)

1) I did it!  I changed the design on my blog.  What do you all think?  I opted for a nice, earthy background and strong, vibrant colors [but sorry Jax, no yellow ;)]....I might change it up again soon.  That was fun.

2) Spring is here!  Finally, spring has sprung...it was a balmy 75-80 degrees today.

3) My NCAA bracket has not only been busted, it has been demolished, though at least one of my upset picks, VCU did win.

4) What a game!  I watched the Lehigh v. Duke game on my computer, and it was a classic.  Too bad I picked Duke to win.

Photo courtesy of Microsoft Office.

Blog Notes

Just some random thoughts/comments...

I'm almost at 50 followers!  I currently have 49 followers--wait,well, one of those followers is me.  I somehow managed to sign myself up via Facebook. Argh!  Oh well, 48 is a good number as well. :-)  I would wait until I hit 50 to celebrate (that's 50 followers and not 50 years of age--I would have to wait a lot longer to celebrate that one); however, given how slowly I have accumulated followers, I might not hit that target for a while...so, why not celebrate 48! :-)

Also, I was thinking of changing the color scheme for my blog?  Do you think the current color scheme is good or should I make the change?  If you vote for change, what colors should I use?

Finally, I listed the articles and poems I've written for Yahoo's Contributor Network in a widget to the side of my blog articles.  Feel free to check it out from time to time...I currently have 6 entries to my credit. :-)

That's all for now, I will try to sit down and write Part 3 to my time capsule posts tonight.

Travails and Triumphs of a Neophyte Blogger

I'll hopefully sit down tomorrow and compose Part 2 of "Why Amateurs are Sometimes Better than Experts at Conveying Information."  Even though that post will contain my rough thoughts (ie. no content editing), it will still take me a while to write it.  For tonight's fare, I thought I would provide readers [if there are any readers ;)] with a brief snippet or perhaps a brief set of snippets discussing my experiences as a new blogger.  As an aside, I want to state that these comments do not represent a critique of any alternative blogging style.  One of the benefits of the blogosphere is that it allows a blogger to experiment with a range of different styles, modes, etc. and find one that represents a good fit for him/her.

* Blog Creation Is a Process: I am literally learning as I go...I seem to constantly make adjustments to my site design in response to comments/things I see on other blogs, ie. the new "grab button."  Additionally, I have altered some other things, such as including more "labels," based on my experiences in the blogosphere and what I have read on forums, seen in other blogs, etc.  I have also become more proficient at using Google Blogspot's tools over time (and use).

* One Shouldn't Expect to Hit the Blogosphere Jackpot Overnight: It takes time to build up a readership base and to attract a sustainable number of daily viewers to the site.  I'm not there yet, and I might never be there, which brings me to my next point.

* Blog about Things You Enjoy Talking about: I would probably garner a lot of additional views/hits if created a specialty blog; however, I would not be satisfied with the result.  While I admire people who are able to keep one or more specialty blogs flowing with new posts, I would become tired of writing solely on one subject.  I enjoy the chance to expound on any topic I choose.  Granted, I could create a host of specialty blogs; however, I might not be able to keep all of them going (due to future work demands, etc.).  I also enjoy the freedom/release that comes with being able to write free-form on any topic I so choose.

*Blogging and Reading Other Blogs Provides Me with a Sense of Community.  I think that one is self-explanatory. :-)

A Funny Thing Happened.  On a recent day, I checked my stats and became very excited when I noticed that the visits for that day were well above average.  That euphoria didn't last long, as I quickly realized that many of the "visits" were my own views.  I forgot to turn off the self-tracker. Hah! :-)

About My Blog-My First Post

I have created this blog for several reasons.  On the vain or self-interested side, I have begun this project with an eye towards self-motivation.  I want to try to capture a bit of "myself" on virtual paper in an effort to leave something of myself behind when I pass away.  I hope to leave a record of these musings, along with other (of my) textual artifacts, to a college or post them to a website which will be maintained in perpetuity by a trust fund.  I have also decided to undertake this venture because I feel that I sometimes have something important to say.  I do not harbor any illusions as to the grandeur or novelty of my thoughts; few if any people in this world are able to posit new ideas or find innovative ways to review old ones.  I think the phrase, "been there done that" adequately sums up not only my musings but the vast majority of blog posts, articles, and other public commentary.  With that said, I hope that my posts will provide readers with a slightly different perspective on subjects of interest to them.  If nothing else, my blog will touch on a variegated mix of different topics.

In my experience, people, including me, rarely get the chance to express their true feelings on issues or topics they care about.  Rather, they carefully redact their written statements or meticulously craft their public comments to conform to their goals, their audience, and the situation.  It is vitally necessary for us to obfuscate our true thoughts, feelings, and beliefs on most occasions, either out of respect for the rights and dignity of others or for self-interested reasons.  While this tactic might be socially or personally beneficial, it severely limits the amount of "authentic" discourse that occurs in the U.S. (or for that matter in any country).

Ideally, this blog will help to meet my readership's needs for authentic text.  As such, I will try to posit my true feelings on issues.  Unless otherwise noted, I will edit these statements for grammar but not for any other reason.  The downside to that decision is that these blog posts will not be stylistic masterpieces.  The upside is that they should provide a window into my soul.  If nothing else, they will be honest renderings.


Anthony