High Desret Hi-Jinks is running a blogger poll. Here are the questions and my answers:

Main Question: Several of us here at HSB have noticed a decline in comments, and even regular posts at some of our favorite reads.  Well, not JenIg of course.  Taking the Challenge has a theory that blogging is just a passing fad, or that it will pick up again when summer starts.  So here's what I'm wondering:

My answer to the premise of the questions:  I have noticed the slowdown too, but I am pretty sure that I know why. It is a combination of three things, two of which can almost go together. The holiday season and New Year's Resolutions are two. Many were too busy to post during December. Now that it is January many moms have resolutions to spend less time at the computer and more time with family. The third is the addition of homesteader.com. The community is spread out more now. Not a bad thing because many of us feel such a homesteading desire it is nice for those to have a place specific for these interests. But it does mean that, at least for a time, homeschoolblogger is seeing a decline in postings.

Poll Questions:

1. Why did you start a blog?
Actually, at the time, I was immersed in trying to help moms at my Yahoo group for homeschooling using Elecetronic Notebooking. I had already dabbled a week or so in the use of Yahoo 360 and found it more than useful for helping notebooking moms; I found I just liked blogging.

I know now why I liked it so much. It provided something that I longed for - wholeness on the web. I belonged to many forums, but those forums always wanted to limit you to the topic of the forum. At one for curriculum zzz you couldn't express your exitement about artwork qqq. At the forum for art you could gush over artwork qqq you couldn't ask questions about recipee sss. But, in a blog, you can be your whole self. It is a place where you can be all of you because it is a place representing you. No forum lets you do that. I guess in a way, when homesteader opened, I felt a little disappointed. It seemed like that same 'you talk about this here and you talk about that there' feel to me. I decided to just keep one blog and 'remain Tammy' - one whole person.


2. What did/do you hope to accomplish with your blogging?
Initially, to help fellow electronic notebooking moms.


3. Have you found that you don't post as much as you did when you started?
I post as much or more now than I did at the beginning,

4. If yes, why not?

5. How important are comments to you?
When you post on a blog, you are doing more than just recording thoughts for yourself. If that was all that you wanted to do, you would just use a word processor and save the files only to a hard drive. But with blogging you want to follow your interests and daily life experiences to the benefit and even influence of others. Hit counters and comments are two ways of assuring yourself that there is someone out there for the blog to touch. When I put my hit counter on my blog, it was really more of a html exploration. I had just gotten courageous enough to play around with customizing my template. But now, I find I look forward to using it to see whether a post is of interest or of help to others. Let's face it, only a tiny percentage will post a comment. During some stretched it would be easy to feel like no one was reading and you would feel like no one was interested. It would lead to discouragement. Having the hit counter helps me to see that though comments are few sometimes, there really are people who are interested enough to come and see.


6. Do you ever find yourself wishing people would not always leave comments that agree with you?
I never have really thought about agreement or disagreement. My postings do not lean toward the controversial. Actually, if too many were to post aggressively, I would feel a bit of discomfort. I will admit it. I am a peacemaker and people pleaser by nature. Conflict can be difficult for me. I don't mind disagreement and discussion. But, the tone needs to stay in the 'friendly zone'.


7. Do you comment on other people's blogs a lot, sometimes, or very little?
I read posts from my friend's list every day, and at least a few times per week I will visit blogs from the 'Last 100' post list. I do not always leave comments, but I will if the post indicates a need or I feel I have something to contribute.


8. What determines why you don't post a comment on someone else's blog?
I don't have anything worth saying.


9. What determines why you do post a comment on someone else's blog?
See answer to question 7.


10. Do you have more than one blog? Where?
I abandoned the Yahoo 360 when I discovered Homeschoolblogger. I had only invested a week or two in that blog before finding this site. I liked the look and the community here the very first time I visited. It was a no brainer to move.


11. Do you read random blogs either off of random blogger or friends lists?
Yes, though not as often as I read the 'last 100' list. Too many abandoned blogs pop up on the random to do it weekly. I guess I hit the random button and take a tour of 10 to 20 blogs about once or twice a month.