I found this nifty website grader over at Chris’s blog. Here’s my results:
(Edited to remove link since it no longer works.)
I think this is pretty good, considering that studies show that must adults read at a seventh to ninth grade level. (That means that most people should be able to read and understand this blog.)
Some other blogs did not rate as being quite as readable. Since we don’t know how this figure is calculated, I can’t say whether it is accurate or not.
Do you think about readability when you post on your blog? Why or why not?
Do you think this rating is accurate? Why or why not?
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
This is the second edition of Web Content Thursdays.
Today’s tip is about StumbleUpon, which is a great social media with over four million users.
I have to confess, when I first started using StumbleUpon, I didn’t fully understand it. I saw it as simply a way to scroll through blogs and “vote” on blog posts that I enjoyed. It is that, but it’s more too.
Here are three things that must StumbleUpon users probably don’t know:
1. There are forums on StumbleUpon (they are called groups). That’s right, you can join a forum in a topic of interest and leave and answer messages just like you can on a message board. To find a forum first you must join a group. Open the group you joinedand click on the word “discussion” next to the name of the group.
2. You can send a web page that you like to a friend. I didn’t realize this until someone else sent me a page. You send pages using your StumbleUpon toolbar. The Send to icon has the words “Send to” next to it (and I still didn’t know what it was for the longest time) and looks like a page with a green arrow coming out of it.
3. You have a blog at Stumbleupon. For most people this is just a list of the websites that they’ve entered reviews for, however you can post unique content here too. My StumbleUpon blog is: http://txwriter.stumbleupon.com/ Right now, it’s just a list of websites that I’ve reviewed.
What are your favorite StumbleUpon tips?
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
This post is a little bit off-topic, but what good is a blog if you can’t use it to make a difference? After all, it’s WAHM Wednesday and Christmas is right around the corner.
A WritingThoughts reader, Kate of BabyLune, asked me to blog about my favorite charity. It’s part of her new group writing project. This particular group writing project is different because Kate is going to donate a certain amount to charity based on the number of people who participate in it. If a lot of people participate, Kate donates a larger amount to charity. If a few people participate, Kate donates less.
Truthfully, I had trouble picking just one favorite charity for this project. There are several small local charities that I would like to name, but they don’t have web sites for me to link to. Finally, I decided to name a charity that has been close to my heart since I was a little girl: Compassion International.
One of my favorite things about Compassion International is how they take care of the whole child over a long period of time. You get to help an impoverished child and their family with basic things like food, medicine, and clothing. You also get to help with that child’s education since the program also provides schooling for each child. Finally, the program is also concerned with child’s spiritual development. As I said, the program develops the whole child.
As soon as I could, I sponsored a child through Compassion International. Our family has been involved with the program ever since. I love the way that we get periodic updates on the child that we sponsor. I also love how we can communicate with the child and their family. (Sponsors who can afford it can even visit their child.)
What’s your favorite charity? Blog about it and you just might win an extra donation from BabyLune for it.
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
I found an interesting quiz over at Journey of Words. It has more to do with words than with being a writer.
Of course, being the lover of words and quizzes that I am, I had to take the quiz and share my results here.
What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The Midland
“You have a Midland accent” is just another way of saying “you don’t have an accent.” You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
If you take the quiz, leave a comment and let me know how it turned out. (It should be funny to see how it turns out for all of you that aren’t even from the U.S.)
This week’s “of note” blog is from Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell, authors of the popular book, The Renegade Writer. Their blog is called, naturally, The Renegade Writer Blog. If you’re serious about writing, this is one blog that you won’t want to miss.
I just loved the posts on The Renegade Writer Blog this week. I particularly enjoyed the post, Next time you’re asked to write for free … . I wanted to say, “yes, finally, somebody gets it. This is a job.”
Other recent posts of interest from The Renegade Writer Blog include:
Take the time to study this blog, it has a lot to offer.
Note: If you’re consistently posting great information and haven’t seen your blog featured in Of NoteĀ yet, I apologize. I’ll probably find you soon. I know there are a lot of great blogs out there; I discover more new ones each day. (So many blogs, so little time .)
Attention: If your are reading this post on any blog other than WritingThoughts, it has been plagiarized.
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
Note: If you are reading this post on any blog other than WritingThoughts, it has been plagiarized.
Question: I really liked your post, can I cut and paste it into my blog?
Answer: No, unless otherwise noted the contents of this blog are the intellectual property of the blog’s owner, Laura Spencer. As such, they remain under her copyright and may not be reproduced in their entirety without express permission from the author.
Question: Is there any way that I can use the posts on this blog?
Answer: You may quote a small portion (no more than several sentences) of a post if you attribute the quote to Laura Spencer and/or to WritingThoughts AND include a link back to this blog.
Alternatively, if you like the writing on this blog you can hire Laura Spencer to write a unique post for your blog. Refer to this page for details.
Question: Can I cut and paste a photograph or graphic from this blog onto my blog.
Answer: In many cases the photographs and graphics that appear here are also copyrighted. If you need photographs or images it is best to go to a stock image site such as iStockPhoto or stock.xchng.
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
Although I love this time of the year, it can also be stressful. There are so many extra things to do. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling rushed this time of the year.
So, I hesitantly ask the question of the day – is your Christmas shopping all done yet?
I have to admit that mine is not finished, but I do have a list and a plan.
What about you?
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
… At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. The vocabulary builder game is sponsored by companies such as American Express and iTunes (to name just a few). Each time you take the vocabulary quiz the sponsor companies donate more rice to the United Nations World Food Program.
If only it were always this easy to do some good!
Here’s the icon (and link) if you want to check the game out for yourself.
Warning: You may find yourself on this site for much longer than you intended to be.
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved
A few weeks ago I posted a survey to find out where my active members come from. A lot of things have happened here since then, including a site redesign. The question still remains, though, and I wanted to share the results with you today.
For those of you just joining, I asked the readers how they discovered this blog and listed some common choices including: Google Search Engine, MyBlogLog, StumbleUpon, BlogRush, Other, and Can’t Remember.
From my AWStats and my Statcounter statistics, I know that WritingThoughts has between 100 and 150 readers each day. From comments left and e-mails that I receive, I’ve gotten to know some of you. I was pleased that nearly 12% of you (19 community members) participated in the survey.
A surprising result of the survey was that most of my members came from unconventional places. A startling 37%, or 7, chose Other as how they came to be readers of the blogs. The comments they left explain the details. Here is a summary of a few of the comments along with the commentator and their home blog:
From a guest post
From a link on another blog’s post
From comments I left on another blog
The common thread I see in all of these comments is that being an active participant in the overall blogging community draws other active participants to your own blog. The moral of the story: you build a blog’s community by being an active member in other blog’s communities. It’s that simple.
It’s still not too late to leave a comment on this post and describe how you got here, or share your own thoughts on the matter.
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.
