Why did I choose WordPress of all the blogging softwares?

A lot of people ask me, ‘why WP? why not blogger or typepad?’ Well how many other hosts send a personalized report to all their members? I know its just a computerized thing which does it automatically for everyone.. But that too takes quite some time and plus its feels so good when everything your teeny little blog did in the past year is put together in such an attractive manner! These ‘helper-monkeys’ sure did manage to bring a smile to my face! They also managed to motivate me to blog more often, especially after the dry spell I’ve had this past month. The fireworks, I think, were the best part – one for each post you’ve written in the entire year. And when the fireworks just don’t stop – well, you feel like you’ve accomplished something, no matter how small the accomplishment actually is.

Kudos to the WordPress team for taking care of almost everything!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,800 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

just read. :)

This is my first post with distraction free writing!! and I must say i absolutely love it!! That, in addition to the writing helper makes WordPress a great way to blog. And obviously, I want to get featured on freshly pressed; so I left everything I was doing, and started racking my brains for a topic to write about. Since I couldn’t come up with anything I started looking at what other people had written. I came across this interesting post, read two lines of it, liked it and left the page. I then realized that I hadn’t read a single post completely for a very long time. All I ever did was skim through the page, like the post if there were nice pictures in it and occasionally leave a ‘really liked your blog’ comment so that the person would come back and read my blog. Basically, I was networking. I had stopped actually reading the posts. The only reason I even visit other blogs now, is so that they come back and read mine. Whats the fun in that now? Even the just write article by Jane Wells I simply skimmed through and the only reason I knew that there was a possibility of getting featured on freshly pressed was because it was written in bold letters.

For my own blog I have a lot planned. Two huge things coming up in August and in November. And other small plans along the way. When I do so much for my own blog and hope that others take an effort in reading what I write, why shouldn’t I read their posts too?? By the way, I just switched to full screen mode, and I am right now in blogging heaven!! For a moment I wondered where it had all gone, but then I realized that I was on distraction free!! anyway, I have stopped reading freshly pressed and postaweek2011, and now that I realize it, I feel completely horrible. Someone once told me in a comment, that some great reading can and will inspire one to do some good writing. and that is so true!! There are so many interesting blogs, with interesting posts, written by interesting people in wordpress. And every new post that I read expands my horizons – more each day. Starting from today, I will read every post that I click on. I hope you do too.

So, in addition to just write, now more than ever – just read

63 posts, 200 tags, 931 hits and 80 comments later..

these may not seem like big numbers but through each of these numbers i have learnt something, experienced something, shared something and gained something. today is the first day of the second half of my first blog year. yes, i started my blog 6 months ago and when i see it today its completely different. its almost like i’m completely different. i have grown with this project through every new thing that i have taken my blog through. be it the ‘let your blog snow’ thing, or postaweek2011, or crossing 100 hits . my first comment, my first header. i have seen so many firsts here that the memories are cosmic. i love my blog and i can’t wait for my first blogoversary.!!!

these are the things that i have learnt from other bloggers and through the experience of blogging myself:

1. try not to leave links to your blog in every other blog you comment on. it gives a sort of desperate look. just give a genuine comment and i’m sure the author will come back to you.
2. but if you are mentioning another author in your post let that author know, and THERE leave a link to your post.
3. try and reply to all the comments on your blog and even if you have nothing to say at least say ‘thanks for reading my blog.’
4. make your captions interesting enough so that people are intrigued and want to read the rest of the post.
5. try including pictures in your posts because visual aids are always better.
6. be honest and be true to yourself- which means don’t copy someone else’s posts.
7. join postaweek2011 or postaday2011- it will help you to blog more regularly.
8. keep reading freshly pressed. it opens you up to more ideas.
9. a few other interesting things you could include are: polls, interviews, to-do lists (this is one of them btw ), book & movie reviews etc.
10. publicize your blog on facebook or twitter or some other site.

i hope i don’t sound like a 6-month old know-it-all, but its just that i have loved wordpress for the past 6 months and i am dying to share my experiences. after months of going through other people’s tips on blogging/writing, i finally feel like a part of something and i want to show-off a bit too!!

so happy blogging guys!! and let me know how long you have been blogging and your experiences all through it.