Everyone Needs a Little BlogLovin'

This is my cat Conner. (He says "hi.") This picture has very little to do with this post , 
but I thought the picture was cute and, just as Conner is begging me for some of the chicken 
that I'm cooking, so I'm going to do some begging soon too...just wait. You'll see. 

Some of you may have noticed the appearance of a mysterious little button at the bottom of all my posts recently that looks like this:

This is a funny looking button and is not that aesthetically pleasing--which is of slight annoyance to me. However, this is actually a handy little button that I would encourage you to click on. Here's 3 very basic (yet important!) reasons why:

#1. It allows you to follow this blog and other blogs all in one place. Once you create a Bloglovin' account (and you create an account by going to www.bloglovin.com, choosing a user name and password, and hitting "enter") you can bundle together all of the blogs that you enjoy reading. You set how often you want to receive a Bloglovin' update (I receive one once a day, otherwise I'll get behind in my blog reading) and Bloglovin' will simply send you an email at that time with any new posts on your favorite blogs. It's like reading a custom-made newspaper!

#2. When those of us seeking publication (or syndication, as some are) present our "platform" to an editor or agent or publisher, they are primarily interested in numbers. "How large is your audience?" they will ask. And if our faithful readers have clicked that obtrusive little button and Bloglovin'-ed us, then we are able to offer that information. Proof that we actually have an audience. If no one Bloglovin'-ed us, then it diminishes whatever platform appeal we might be able to bring to the publishing table.

#3. (And this is the most important, I think.) It allows blog writers (like myself) to see who their audience is. The blue "Google Friend Connect" (or "Follow") button--the button that everyone and their mother has used since the Industrial Revolution--is getting the axe sometime this summer in the hopes of everyone transitioning to Bloglovin'. If you actually do switch to Bloglovin', we bloggers can see who's reading and following us. Because, believe it or not, (and despite what the ramblings of my last post might imply**) I have no interest in filling pages  of drivel to send out into the dark void of the blogsphere. I write to connect. With you. And this is one way I am able to accomplish that. 

It also is worth mentioning that I can follow both Blogger and WordPress blogs using Bloglovin'. While I use Blogger to power my page, I follow WordPress blogs--such as Danni's and Alicia's. And their new posts intermingle easily with Blogger posts in the Bloglovin' kingdom. It's kinda nifty.


 
(See, here's another chance to follow me! Yay! The opportunities are abounding!)


So, anyway, if you regularly read my, or anyone else's, blog and see the Bloglovin' button, click on it. (Or even if you don't see it, you can still add any blog to your Bloglovin' list). Follow us. Let us see you. Because no one likes to speak into the inky black of the blogsphere and think that no one is listening.

**I would like to add a hearty "thank you" to anyone who read my drivel about the telephone poles and manure yesterday because I'm not sure exactly what happened with that one. The wanna-be farm girl decided to raise her yawling voice above my usual even-toned pragmatic voice and--blech!--it all came out. So I'm a little bit sorry (but obviously not sorry enough to take the post down. Because, let's be honest, talking about poo is always a little bit entertaining.)

Oh, if you are interested in a more detailed tutorial on Bloglovin', check out Kate's "How To" post on it. 

 
Look! A final plea opportunity to Bloglove me! (See? I told you I would beg.)

PS: Tomorrow's post will be way cooler. I promise.