Pet Blogger Challenge

This year we are again joining other pet bloggers
for the Pet Bloggers Challenge 

1. How long have you been blogging and provide a link to your post from last year’s Pet Blogger Challenge so we can refresh our memories.

I started blogging in August, 2005. This was the height of the Pit Bull hysteria and it seemed like humans were becoming enemies with our oldest friends on earth. My purpose then and my purpose now is to celebrate the remarkable, the ordinary and the very funny dogs who live among us.

I eventually expanded my scope to include dogs in mythology, history, literature, and popular culture—dogs who continue to live among us.

 

As time went by I kept finding evidence that the world of dogs and the world of humans would be more pleasant if there were fewer bipeds who were stuck at the lizard and Neanderthal level.

We think Dogbert has it right.

 

My evil twin Skippy started an R-rated blog a few years ago where she posts material that is too offensive/racy/obscene to post on my more serious [cough] blog. We continue to be amazed at how many degenerate readers Skippy gets.

 

2. What do you consider the most important goals you set out in last year’s post?

I don’t set out goals. Or at least I never write them down.

Writing goals reminds me of my unfortunate student teaching experience. I had to spend hours writing long term goals, short term goals, objectives and behavioral objectives. I never got the difference between a goal and an objective, and my supervising teacher (a bitch of the human type) kept making me rewrite them. I resented it. The real teachers didn’t have to do them.

On my final evaluation she wrote that unfortunately I was not a goal-oriented person, making me sound like a vacuous airhead.

However, I realized I did have one strong central goal. As an English teacher I wanted my students to love—or at least enjoy—reading and writing.

To reach that goal, I needed to find and present material in a way that was challenging and enjoyable. Any “goals” beyond that were just meaningless words on paper. If as a class we completed the goal of reading Macbeth and the students learned to hate Shakespeare, the whole class was a failure even if we reached a goal.

 

3. Have you made progress toward those goals, or have your goals changed over the past year?

See answer #2.

 

4. How often do you post?

I probably average 5-7 posts a week as I find information that is interesting to me and that I think readers might like to read. I look for the positive, but I can't overlook how corrupt some organizations that raise money to protect dogs have become.

I love happy endings. One of the joys of having a blog is that we can write whatever we want whenever we want.

 

5. Has your opinion of blogging on a schedule or as the spirit moves you changed?

No

 

If you publish on a schedule, why? How strict are you about your publishing deadlines? What do you do for inspiration when it feels like you’ve covered every topic? If you don’t publish on a schedule, why? How do you think your decision affects your audience? How do you know when a topic is “post-worthy?”

I think most of us blog because we enjoy it. Schedules and deadlines would suck the joy out of it for me. But that’s just me.

 

6. How much time do you spend writing your blog per week? How much time visiting other blogs? Share your tips for staying on top of it all.

Because I was lucky enough to have good English teachers, I love to read and write. The internet and the world of dogs continue to fascinate me. I love to meet other dog people and read about other people’s dogs. Google Reader is my friend.

I have no idea how much time I spend. However I’m sure there are people who think my life is pathetic because of all the time I spend playing with dogs or on the computer.

 

7. How do you measure the success of a post and of your blog in general (comments, shares, traffic)? Do you look strictly at the numbers, or do you have a way of assessing the quality of those interactions?

I don’t worry about this too much any more.

I was once notified that I was #11 on a list of the 100 best pet blogs. Then I was contacted by a company and told if I would buy something from them, maybe I could move up on the list. When I didn’t bite, I kept getting passed up by blogs that had gone dark. I stopped going to the site.

And one day this year for no reason at all I was #1 on Technorati’s pet blogs. Then a couple of days later for no reason at all I was down in the 30’s. I heard from other bloggers with the same stories. I stopped going there.

As long as my stats show that I am continuing to grow readership I’m happy. I’m continuing to get 800-1200 pageviews and an average of over 800 unique visits a day (Google Analytics).

But sometimes if no one comments, my inner child feels neglected. The fun thing about a blog as opposed to writing for print is that we get immediate interaction with readers.

I guess if my traffic ever flat lined, I would want to find something else to do.

 

8. If you could ask the pet blogging community for help with one issue

I’ve barely changed the blog appearance through the years. It is probably somewhat outdated and boring, so any suggestions would be welcome with the understanding that I resist change.

 

9. What goals do you have for your blog in 2013?

See answer #2.

Comments

[AmyJo]

scurried over from Go Pet Friendly. Unlike you I had horriable English teachers who didn't care if we could spell or had good grammer skills. But I've always had a passion for writing so blogging has been a good outlet for me.

I also don't got to a lot of the sites that show where you are on the list as it all has to do with algarhythms(sp) and depending on the program it will fluctuate vastly.

[Georgia Little Pea]

Whoa! I didn't realise therre was a difference between "goal" and "objective"? Peep! Fail.

Another BIG dogblog. I've just come from Amy's and Tales and Tails and suddenly, I'm feeling like a midget minnow. How do you even get numbers like that? By working hard at it? I'd forgotten all about your evil twin ;)

Re: your look. I wish I could help but I'm no web designer. However, a bit more colour and new masthead picture and/or blog title typeface might freshen things up. I'm a fan of regularly changing masthead pictures :)

[Vicki Cook]

Love your post, especially the part about goals and objectives! Unlike you, I am overly concerned about my stats - probably because I come from a business/accounting background. I don't really follow where I rate on various sites because you can game them to increase your rating. I think tracking your own numbers and comparing them with where you were last year is a truer measure of how you're doing (and only if you really care about that sort of thing). BTW - I love Dogbert. It reminds me of when I played Lady MacBeth in high school!

[Maggie]

I like how you think. I wish I had a good English teacher... I was always told I was awful in English and was actually sent to ESL, even though English was my native language.
I agree with you about other website's ratings...too confusing for me to consider.

[Colby]

I had the same experience with Technorati I hit #1 then a few days later dropped out of the top 20. I'm pretty disappointed with Technorati and their blog rank. However, I do see a small amount of referral traffic from Technorati and other blog directories and the link from major directories supposedly help with SEO.

I must say I like the classic look of your blog. Sometimes it's comforting to see the same design every time you come back to a blog. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my blog as I seem to always be fiddling with the design.

[Tegan]

I don't think your blog looks outdated and boring! I really use blog themes to remind myself about blogs I have or haven't visited before, and I always know when I've made my way back here! If you really did feel up for a change, I would perhaps consider changing your banner across the top, and leaving the rest of your formatting. That way your identity is still 'kept', but also switched up just that little bit.

I really enjoyed your student teaching story. As a student teacher, I had an absolutely wonderful, though anal, supervising teacher who was very into planning, and another that was very cruisey. I really loved having such different guidance from these two teachers... They didn't ask me to write down my goals, though!

[Jodi]

Oh I loved your answers Jan!! I wish I could be more like you in regards to blogging when it strikes, but I'm the individual that needs structure.

I think you find very interesting things to post about.

As for the blog, I don't think it needs refreshing, but you can always go into your dashboard and play around without making permanent changes. :-)

[Becky]

I'm glad your blog hasn't changed because I love to read your blog. Keep up the good work.

[Peggy Frezon]

Hi! I'm the opposite, I love schedules, goals, lists and the like. But I also love English, reading and writing and Shakespeare, lol. Love visiting your blog. In regards to your "help" issue, if you haven't updated in a long while, maybe a new header would be all you need to freshen things up. Play around with fonts and colors and use some new pictures, just for a fun change.

[Clive]

Jan, loved your answers! Struck a real cord with us!

We love visiting your blog so much - don't change it! Sometimes it's lovely to have things stay just as way the are - it's your content that's important and we always really appreciate that!

Very best wishes to you for 2013
Clive & Co

[Sherry in MT]

A very fun read by the by. Keep on blogging sister....

[PibblesNMe]

I have to agree with you on the deadlines part. I too, blog when something exciting happens or I feel the urge. I feel too my pressure to blog when on a deadline and publish, imo, a junk post. I'd rather not do that. Glad to see your a pibbles lover as well! Fabulous post and great to meet you. Your babies in your header are adorable!

[Mary]

I agree with the comments that it is the content we come for. Your pink sweater & socks are also neat. I would hate to see them leave the layout. They're a "signature" like Mr. Rogers and his sweater!

[Kristine]

You have put it all so frankly and left no room for argument as far as I am concerned. This is one of the reasons I enjoy your blog so much. You never hesitate to say exactly what you think and have no trouble getting to the point.

This especially: "One of the joys of having a blog is that we can write whatever we want whenever we want." I could not agree more.

[MelF]

You had me at Dogbert! Thanks for the giggles and laughs today. The Slightly R-rated Dog Blog is hilarious! I'm glad you mentioned it. (The top picture is awesome!)

I have to agree with you Jan. Blogging should be fun and when it's not then I've made it something that is not me. I also don't worry about the numbers much. I used to look at them more often, but now I consider the interaction between me and my readers to be most important. Numbers are fine, but building connections with people is so much more valuable to me.

As far as changing the look, I don't know what I would suggest. Maybe I'll just ask a question, does the look and feel of it reflect what your blog is about? If yes, then leave it as it is now and if no, change it. Not much help am I? :)

I enjoy your writing. What I didn't know was that you are an English teacher and that you have been blogging since 2005. Wow!

[Sarah]

I have really got to check out Skippy's blog! Haha!
I envy your ability to write daily without any real schedule. For me, if I don't have plans to write something, I can go weeks without anything but a wordless wednesday post and even that barely registers on analytics. Your stats, on the other hand, are incredibly impressive! Definitely something to aspire to.

Can't wait to see what you're going to write about this year!

[Amy@GoPetFriendly]

Oh my gosh - how funny! I love Dogbert and now I can't wait to become one of the degenerates over on Skippy's blog. I think your blog has a nice, clean look. Perhaps just switching up the color on the sides of the content box from gray to something more spiffy would give it a little different feel without causing much "change angst."

Thanks so much for participating again in this year's challenge. I'm inspired that you're been blogging for more than 7 years and you're writing nearly every day! Keeping things fun is a great perspective - good for you for banning goals if it sucks the fun out of blogging for you. I hope your 2013 is a blast.

[Pamela]

Every once in a while someone asks, since I like teaching, why I don't get my education degree. Your story about writings out goals vs objectives sums my feelings up perfectly. Education is a dreary major for creative people.

I do like two changes you've made to you blog--the dramatis personae and the Amazon recommendations. Other than that, I just think it looks like a TypePad blog. There's a look to them that's instantly recognizable. But it's your writing that keeps me coming back.

As a 7 year blogger who is always interesting an concise, you are my hero.

[Jobi and Fisher]

I am beginning to see a definite difference in seasoned responders (you) and the newbie(me). You are terrifically funny and interesting. I am going to try that next year.

[Karen Friesecke]

Well I did not know that you were an English Teacher, what an interesting reveal!

I'm not a techie/bells & whistles person so as long as the text is readable, I'm pretty happy. What I like most about your layout is that it is not cluttered with "stuff" & everything is easy to find.