Bookstooge & the Invisible Reader

~ Bookstooge
9d89d314ad7902ba5b4c6bc7df5ccd8e-powder-sean-patrick-flanery
What I think the Invisible Reader Looks Like

RANT AHEAD

2 1/2 years ago I wrote a post on Booklikes where I lamented the Invisible Reader. Said post was entitled “Why Do You Follow Me?”. Moving over to WordPress this year hasn’t really changed those questions very much.

I mentally understand that there exist people who follow others but don’t like or comment. But I don’t know why they do it. Just like I mentally understand that pressing a button on my magic box allow me to talk to my folks who are 1000miles away, but I sure as heck don’t know the mechanics of how my phone actually works. It is that gap between knowing and understanding that continues to fascinate me.

Personally, when I follow someone, I don’t expect them to follow me back. I am following them because I am interested in what they are writing AND how they are writing it. I won’t follow someone who regularly posts things that I am against. Also, if I find out something about someone I follow that I don’t really care for, I have no compunctions about not following them. I also try to give the same liberties to anyone who follows me. That is one reason why I really recommend people read the About Me section. I have no problems if people stop following me because of things I write. That is their choice and since they’re adults, I give them the right to make up their own minds. I just expect the same in return 🙂

Back to the Invisible Reader.  The whole idea fascinates me, mainly because on a place like WordPress, where everything worthwhile is expressed through Words [gifs aren’t worthwhile but that is another whole post unto itself], I would have thought that the very process of being on here would weed out people who make up the Invisible Reader.  My blog isn’t a magazine with 10,000 faceless people who read it. It is followed by fellow bloggers who also write their own blogs. In other words, by people who know how to use their words. I certainly don’t expect every person who follows me to comment on every post. Not even I do that on the people who I follow.

But that gap between the Likes and the number of Views per post is big enough that I can’t get over it. It comes down to the fact that there are people who follow me, read what I post but don’t interact with me. I have to admit, I simply do not Understand it.  It really bugs me when I can’t understand people.  It isn’t about a numbers game, a popularity conquest, even while it may sound like that.  A blog is not a forum. I don’t write my posts JUST for you to read them. But that is what people DO.

I am writing all this because I’m just frustrated about not really understanding. The other thing is that I’ve recently had a couple of followers who blatantly followed me and commented on a post just to try to get me to follow them to boost their numbers. THAT pisses me off. Those kind of lowlifes I can actually understand. I despise them, would gladly consign them to a death in an arena with hungry jackalopes, heck I’d probably be ok with kneecapping them, but I understand them. They are the shallow, vacuous pond scum floating on the top of the ocean with no depth to them. But the Invisible Reader is the deep strong current running through the ocean that you don’t see and you don’t see their presence except in a small area, ie, views.

All right, got that out of my system. I should be ok for a year or two now. Thank you for reading. Thankfully, Grumpy Cat is my Co-pilot * wink *

get-over-it-meme-59df738c0743b

77 thoughts on “Bookstooge & the Invisible Reader”

  1. I often find my ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ haven’t ‘taken’ so sometimes it’s a view, but not a visit – don’t ask me how it happens, but I’ve noticed it. I’ve been on that blog, I’ve liked it, but when I go back there, or view it on the feed – gone!
    That’s the other thing – if someone views your post on a feed, it may (no guarantees here) mark your stats as a view, but not a visit.
    Who knows! I don’t worry too much anymore, but i do a check once a month to make sure I’ve not lost all the sites I like to follow (I know people can take me off their list of followers, but if I like reading their stuff, I go back).

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Glad to hear you don’t worry so much about it.
      Do you use just the free wordpress? or do you have an upgraded plan? Wondering if an upgrade gets you upgraded stats. That would almost be worth it to me 😀

      I really thought I was over it too until those past couple of social whore follows.
      Sigh, maybe one day 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. Agreed! I have witnessed the slow decline of commenting and community in the blogosphere over the last ten years or so – what with people increasingly using mobile phones I understand it’s harder to type out smart responses *eye roll* I’ve seen it on deviantART as well – since they introduced the mobile app (that everybody clamoured for), commenting has declined to almost nothing and likes have shot through the roof. Mobility and convenience breeds laziness, I think.

    But that’s not the only problem, I think. The like button here on wordpress doesn’t help, I am sure. It’s the paradox of choice in its own way. If a human has to chose multiple ways to show they appreciate something, they will pick the easiest and quickest one for them. Somehow, there is an attitude that robotically hitting a like button shows appreciation worthy of a well-written post.

    I try to avoid hitting just the like button. Like now, I am commenting. It takes work, but anything worth having takes work and I love blogs, blogging, bloggers, and the blogopshere. Commenting on thought-provoking posts is a worthwhile endeavour, I think. Not everyone will agree with me, and certainly there are those who comment just to get follows, just like on Instagram or Twitter.

    I admit that I am a bit of an invisible reader at times – I just followed an anime blog because I am getting interested in watching more anime but the posts are mostly episode synopses of shows that I am not watching, so commenting doesn’t make much sense. I would interact with other non-episode posts, though.

    As a blogger myself, I like to think that even if I have thousands of followers down the road, I would still take time to respond to an intelligent comment. I recently commented on a blog post and the author responded but didn’t really react to what I said. It was a robotic “thanks for reading,” even though she had responded thoughtfully to other’s comments. This blog has thousands of followers, and I too followed the blog because I liked the content but if the author can’t take the time to respond to comments (which are like gold, to me) then I may be less inclined to respond to their new content.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. I haven’t been blogging interactively long enough to see a decline.

      I definitely see smartphones as a declining factor. I’ll peruse my feed once in awhile on my phone and I have to admit, I just can’t comment. It is too hard.

      I know that I’ll never get to thousands of followers because I cull pretty hard. But my obsession with numbers will probably keep me coming back to this topic.

      Thank you for commenting. I appreciate the thoughtful and long’ness of it 😀

      Like

      Reply

  3. I kinda suck at interaction with all the blogs I follow but I try. The one thing I am taking away from this post is this: “a death in an arena with hungry jackalopes” now that is all I can think of. That’s awesome!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Uh i totally get what you say about the people who just try to get you to follow them.. you notice immediately when they comment. ‘Cool post, hey check out my blog here blabla’

    I also only follow blogs i’m interested in. Which means – if you follow me, I don’t necessarily follow back. I WILL check out your blog, I have to say that as I am always curious about who likes my blog. But there’s not guarantee I like what I see & follow you.

    If I follow someone, it means I like your blog and what you write about. It’s not because you followed me first.

    I try to be in touch and keep track of blogs I follow – liking or commenting. Not always, but mostly I have something to say.

    I DID notice though that my number of likes & comments is much smaller than my actual number of followers…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. That is exactly what I’m talking about. Sounds like you’re in the same boat as me. Makes me wonder how many other people are as well.

      So that begs the questions. Where do these Invisible Readers exist? I want to find these mythical creatures. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. A little childish voice in my brain is tempted to write something like *whooo I’m an invisible reader haunting your page*, whilst another, more sensible voice is saying *resist the urge*… so I kinda did both here 😉

    Anyway… Cage made a good point about likes disappearing- as do follows as well weirdly enough- I try not to think about it too much.

    But I also agree with dragon- the worst thing is undoubtedly “cool post- read mine?” Ermmm no- maybe actually read my post- then we can see if we actually like each other’s content (I know, crazy idea) Like you said, I can’t comment on everything, but usually I’ll have something to say (but that’s cos I actually read the posts I guess 😉 )

    Then again, it’s the internet, there’s worse than invisibility 😉

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Weeeeeeeelll, considering that you’re in the top 5 of commentators on my site, you’re not exactly the archetype of the Invisible Reader 😉

      I used to have likes disappear, but then I started actually going to the peoples posts from the the feed. haven’t had one disappear since.
      Of course, I get hit with the comment spam thingy every couple of months, so that dampens my enthusiasm for about 24hrs.

      And things worse than invisibility. Indeed. I could be a raving lunatic! Oh wait…

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  6. I remember your post on BL and am not surprised to see you take up the topic again. It is a true mystery, but one that seems common. I’ve noticed the same – the number of visits/interactions/followers doesn’t correspond.

    However, I can’t say I am bothered by it too much. 🙂

    Oh, and as for commenting – I am not likely to comment on every post simply because there are lots of post where I can’t add anything…that doesn’t mean that I haven’t enjoyed the post, tho. (But then that is where the “Like” button comes in handy…)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. 😀 Always glad to be remembered. For some reason I just can’t move beyond it. I am glad it doesn’t bother you much. And even me, I tend to go through stages regarding it.

      I hear you about commenting. Sometimes the person does such a great job that I can’t add anything beyond a “good review” and I might as well just “like” it instead…

      Like

      Reply

  7. So I’m one of those who view but don’t comment. I’m your friend in real life even though we don’t connect that often. We have a mutual love of books though I would concede you love them more, or at least more consistently and vigurosly.
    My reasons for following are two fold. First, I appreciate your reviews and process. If you like a book and I like your reasons I will often check it out. You read much more than I do and I thank you for your hard work wadeing through the crap out there to find the lost pearl. Second, you also post a few personal things on occasion and it gives me a little glimpse into your life and let’s me know what’s going on with you.
    Neither of these require me to comment and I’m not a blogger or someone who writes a lot so I don’t feel the compulsion. Also, I have your posts sent to my email and read them there. It becomes a several click process to post a comment.
    So there ya go. Hope that helps with the understanding.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Jefferson! Yeah, with you being an email follower, I never figured on you regularly liking or commenting. In all honesty, I count on the personal posts to keep you informed, a little, of what’s going on. I keep thinking, Oh, I’ll call every quarter and catch up, but I also think that for Darren and Isaac and yet every quarter something happens and I put it off. Ha!

      😀

      Like

      Reply

  8. I’m very much like the mighty one and suck at interaction in general. I guess I’ll read a post and then like it but if I’ve got nothing relevant to say or add then I don’t bother commenting and just lurk around the edges as a liker of posts.😂

    That jackalope bit was quality and this “That is their choice and since they’re adults” well, that made smile a have you seen some blogs and their bloggers! While they are supposed to be adults they act nothing like them and come across as babies.😂

    Commenting for a follow sucks, hey great post, check out my blog. Nope, not happening and just gets ignored.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Drew, I read one of your latest posts about where you referenced having to pull back from commenting around so much so as to not burn out. So I appreciate your note here.

      The whole “adult” thing is because I JUST saw a post where someone was talking about how they got 20K followers and they were SO THANKFUL to each and every one. The thing is, that person followed me, had nothing in common with me and when I removed them, they immediately followed me again. I ended up having to block them. So their post from just this week confirmed to me that they are in it for the numbers. I have an unpleasant word I call those kind of people.

      As odd as it sounds, I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only one who gets the “great post, check me out” type of thing. Means I’m spot on in my assessment of those people being scum.

      I’m all for calling people scum online. Especially when they do things like that! On my blog! I like your “my blog, my rule” attitude too…

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Yeah, commenting, reading blogs, etc I lost the enjoyment so had to step back and it worked as I’m still blogging.

        It doesn’t sound odd at all! Or, if it is then it means I’m odd too as I often think ‘yes, I’m not the only one’ over quite a few blogging things.😂 20k followers is a crazy amount though, absolutely huge but I’d guess that they would still only interact with their chosen little group even though they are thankful for all their followers.

        Gotta have a my blog, my rules type of thought process. If people don’t like what you post or how you write your posts then they need to realise that it’s your blog and the issue is with them not with you.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  9. I’m following several people here on WP, but right now you’re the only I’m “regularly” reading posts and I’m about a month or two behind. I’m following BrokenTune and I can’t remember the last time I read or liked a post on WP let alone comment even though BT has commented on my posts.

    Every once and a while I get it in my mind to get back in gear to read posts and comment every once and a while. It lasts a day or two then “stuff” gets in the way.

    Maybe 2018 will be different…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Honestly, I’ve found that blogging has a way of weeding out those who aren’t really into it. It’s better to realize that and stop instead of just puttering out with a gasping wheeze 😀

      I’ve also found that if a particular place doesn’t work for me, then I need to stop going there. I tried tumblr, again, this year and found the energy suck of posting there was just too much. I highly recommend finding out where you feel comfortable. I hate to say it, but if you’re only following 2 people on WP, then you should take a long hard look at if it really is for you. If it’s a chore, then it’s probably not 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. My problem is just finding time to do everything I want to do. Reading, liking, and maybe comment on the posts of the 8 bloggers I follow who post on a regular basis just gets lost in the shuffle.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  10. If you post a review of something I’ve never heard of, let alone read, there isn’t much I can say besides, “Nice review man. Catch ya on the flip side.” Or I could say something like, “That looks interesting. I might check it out,” but 99% of the time, I’d be lying. There just isn’t enough time to read everything.

    For more general topics, such as this, I can usually find time to comment.

    I admit I don’t know why you’re hung up on the numbers. There’s probably some law, like “X views gets you Y comments” that applies to all bloggers. People are just too busy and distracted to read through everything, process it, and then post a cogent response.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. When I did my initial post back in ’15, someone on booklikes, who worked with statistics, said that a 10% “like” rate or its equivalent was doing well and then a 2-3% actual interaction rate [comments, etc] was the norm. From what I can see across the blogs I follow, that seems to be the case.

      As for why I’m hung up. It’s because, like any hobby enthusiast, I want to hang with people with the same dedication as me the majority of the time. Put in terms of ski’ing [as it is winter here and bloody cold and snowy!], I am at a Black Diamond level. Not a Double Black Diamond, mind you, but Advanced. Call it a 12 out of 15. The bunny slope is a 1. I want to spend time with people who are also 10-15’s. I’ll hang out occasionally with the single digit people, but overall, I want like minded enthusiasts.

      And if people are too busy, then why follow in the first place? See, that’s what I don’t understand.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. You seem to have an all-or-nothing attitude about this. Not everyone is a dedicated blogger. Some people may only have 2 hours of “blog time” per week, and they subscribe to your blog so they have something interesting to read when that free time comes up.

        If you want to hang out with dedicated people, you could change your blog’s status to private and only allow a handful of people in.

        If you set it to public, you gotta take what you get.

        To use your skiing analogy: you’re skiing on slopes of all levels by writing this (public) blog, and complaining because everyone around you isn’t a Black Diamond.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply

  11. Haha Mr NW was ranting this morning about the overuse of gifs.

    I follow several sites outside of WordPress where I only lurk, eg Mr Money Mustache. I never ever engage. But it’s a bit different. These are blogs with hundreds of thousands of hits per month and each article will have 200-300 comments. So to add my comment doesn’t seem worth it, but I still enjoy reading the articles. But when I say follow I mean I remember every few weeks to go back and check if there is new content.

    On WordPress I’ve come across blogs that aren’t very well defined. I’ve enjoyed a couple of their posts so I’ve followed them but the subject matter is all over the show. I’ll often read them but then discover I’m not really into that particular post, so I’ll show up as a view but not a like or comment. It’s much easier with the blogs that are really consistent, I’ll often find myself commenting on those.

    Also sometimes I go back to the same article more than once, or more commonly Mr NW and I separately read the same article, so we will be artificially jacking up the views. Sorry about that haha 😂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Maybe Mr NW should do a rant style post about gifs? That way I don’t have to?

      I hear you about the big blogs. At some point a big blog becomes just like a forum and the rules of engagement change from how things work on a small blog like this one.

      Have you and Mr NW thought about creating separate ID’s under the Mr&MrsNW umbrella? Kind of likehow Lashaan and Trang both have the bookidote ID but also their own individual sub-accounts? Or is the shared login working fine?

      Like

      Reply

  12. I think many of the non-likers may be non-bloggers, who just read our blogs, but don’t create accounts for logging in and commenting. They are entertained/informed by our posts, but don’t want to discuss.

    I wonder if some don’t want to be logged into a personal account when they’re using a work computer? Or maybe they’re reading through some app or RSS reader or something that doesn’t have the like functions?

    Anyway, I say bring on as many non-likers as we can get! If we can warn them of a bad book, or point them towards a good one, that’s great!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. And if I was a big popular blog, I would expect drive by googlers. (is that even a real combination of words?)
      But I don’t even have 200 followers and I’m not looking to grow just by numbers.
      What I crave is the interaction. Even when they rain on my parade 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  13. Actually, I’m not bothered by invisible readers. I think many people find my blog simply through google and therefore feel fine just skimming my posts. Also, I put links to my film reviews on IMDb which brings in anonymous people. Most people do not have a wordpress account to click the like button.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. And I completely concur. People who are one time visitors, I wouldn’t expect them to and considering that you’re on a big site like IMDb, that almost refutes the one on one interaction that I’m talking about here on a small blog.

      Like

      Reply

  14. Started WP for you and becuase its a way that my fianceé can get to know my thoughts. Im at maybe 40 followers, of those only you amongst about 7 other people of the 40 like and comment. Yes I would like to be more popular, but is it realy nesary? I mean, not everyone likes Warhammer, metal and poetry… I get how insignificant my blog may be, but I am not doing it to please people. Im doing it in the hope that my missus can get to know me better and for you specificly becuase of warhammer. I may not always comment when I like a post, due to limited time when I read it and stuff. I love your blog tho. Sorry this might be a bit long. Just wanted to let you know

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. And you and I are exactly the combo I am looking for. We’re overlapping in certain small areas and those areas allow us to interact in other areas where we don’t have that mutual interest.

      I LIKE your metal posts, not because I like metal, but because I like seeing what you’re interested in and it is something I’ll never explore on my own. You are my personal tour guide, as it were 😀

      And I really appreciate ALL comments from you since I know you’re having to deal with just your phone. I’ve tried to comment a couple of times just using my phone and I just about gave up. So kudos to you for persevering!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  15. I have a couple thoughts:

    For me, personally, I’ve got a pretty big blog feed and quite often I’m unable to read everything that interests me. Just not enough time. If I feel like I’ve got something really worth saying or if a post feels particularly worth lauding with a “good job” or some such, I’ll drop one. This is especially true if it’s someone who regularly makes an effort to interact on my blog. But sometimes failure to drop comments is due to a lack of time (and some platforms, like Blogger, have more hoops to jump through to leave one!).

    Also, “likes” don’t really do much for me. I mean they’re better than nothing, but I’ve gotten likes from accounts that look like bots to me, so. Meh. I guess I try to “like” posts on subjects that I enjoy but don’t have anything to add to, but it’s almost an after-thought to me sometimes.

    Lastly, on sites like yours where you often get dozens of comments on a post, it can often, quite honestly, feel a little intimidating or discouraging. I don’t mean that to sound as negative as it probably does, but I just see all these comments and I’m like “I don’t have time to read through these, but I also don’t want to potentially repeat what someone else has already said.” Or sometimes “Geez, is this guy even going to read/reply to my comment? Does he have time to interact with everyone?” I don’t mean you personally, there, as you seem to be really great at taking the time to engage with people who share their thoughts. But those are my general feelings on the topic!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the input PC.

      Working backwards here.

      1) Comments. I find how you look them very enlightening. Since I get them one by one in my WP notification, I see them as one on one conversations with that person. I rarely go to my post and see the comments as a whole. So to see how someone else thinks about them is intriguing.

      2) I use “likes” to show someone that I’ve read their post. Same goes for comments. I refuse to be Invisible 😀

      3) So you have a big pond but only 1 fishing pole 🙂 I wonder how many other people are in the same boat? And do you operate that way just to keep track of potentially interesting posts and not because you want to read every post?

      Thanks for letting me know your thoughts. I like them!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Yeah, it’s interesting to hear about how you handle and think about this stuff, too!

        Sometimes I use “likes” that way, too, same as on Twitter.

        Yeah, mostly I put blogs into my reader when they look pretty cool/interesting, and I definitely don’t read every single post. I’ll check out ones that catch my eye, or I’ll stop in if I haven’t visited a particular blog I like in a while. There are a few of you guys who I engage with pretty regularly, but even in those cases I’m afraid I don’t read every post! Often they’ll be for books I’m not interested in or conversely ones I definitely want to read and don’t want spoilers for. =)

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  16. This is an amazing discussion, actually. We have chatted before in comment sections, and I just speculated back on my blog about how much actual impact there is. Given your comment section, if I were you I would ignore blog hits and follower stats (except for CV or advertising purposes).
    I will add a tip for reader-bloggers: If you like a post, press “like”. If you love a post, share it. Being a resonator for others pays off in lots of ways for everyone.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Just replied over on your blog to your answer. Thanks for that.

      Thanks for the advice on looking at things through the “comment” lens.

      Now, do you actually use the “share” side of posts? I had some really bad experiences when I was booklikes because their reblog function didn’t work well and it never properly went back to the original poster. So I’ve disabled just about all social media and share buttons on my WP because of that.
      Would you recommend re-establishing those kind of things?

      Like

      Reply

  18. When someone follows me and takes the time to actually comment on my posts (and not just a spam bot/generic message) I do usually try and go and check out their blogs too. I’ve been able to broaden my network that way and also find more people to follow that share the same interests and love of genre fiction and books. That said, I don’t feel obligated to follow or comment either if they write about subjects I don’t care about, because time is short and I need to narrow my focus. I’m sure it’s the same way with a lot of people too, which is why I kind of sympathize if they just want to like a post and move on, and admittedly I do the same if there’s genuinely nothing I feel I can add to the discussion. And I know some people are just shy or like to keep a low online profile. I do wonder too if a lot of wordpress people visit/like blogs through their WP apps, which might explain for the numbers discrepancy in likes and views that you’re seeing. I don’t think app visits count towards page hits.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  19. Wow, I could write a comment that’s as long as this review! First of all, did you know that your very normal and insightful observations and feelings are now abnormal? Did you know that we don’t actually connect with people anymore, we connect with the appearance of people? And don’t you know that instead of being giving and interacting, that you’re supposed to be taking and selfish?

    In all seriousness though, I know what you mean. I have an Instagram account for my food blog and many people just follow me to get a follow. I refuse to do that, so I’m always losing tons of followers. But I don’t want people following me who aren’t interested in what I’m doing, so that’s fine with me. I try not to let it bother me and concentrate on the faithful followers who interact.

    As for our book blogs, I’m sure we have tons of people following who don’t interact. Time is probably often the issue ……. you’ve often commented on how busy I seem …… well, that’s nothing compared to some people. And people deliberately make themselves even more busy; no one knows how to enjoy leisure time and just BE anymore. And in my case, I think because I blog about classics, people can be intimidated; they want to learn more about them, but they don’t want to TALK about them. I’m okay with that, as I only hope that the breadth of their knowledge is increasing.

    I have made some very good online friends through blogging though. Sometimes (this is going to sound terrible) my online friends show more concern about me than my real ones ….. such as when I “disappear” for awhile I know I’ll have a few online friends checking on me (you being one of them), whereas my real life friends may not. I don’t even want to think about the social implications of that one!

    So now I’ve rambled one and I’m not even sure if this comment will be accepted. I do understand your frustration but I also think there are many components to the lurkers. And at this point, I’m too busy to let it really bother me. When I have more time for leisure, then I can get irritated, lol! Great post and wow, look at all the interaction it generated!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks for taking time to comment Cleo. I love long comments like this one. That being said, I probably won’t reply to every point 😀

      I know what you mean about people making themselves busy. I see this more and more and it really bothers me. I had one friend who I lost touch with, and it was on my end, but when I tried to reach out and reconnect, I found that she was so busy that I had to schedule meeting up times with her 6 weeks in advance. She was doing something every single evening of every single week every single month. I just let her go because I didn’t want to become one more “thing” for her to schedule in.

      As for online vs real friends, most of my friends are at my church, with a couple of exceptions like JBT above, and our church is small enough that someone is missing for even a week, everyone knows and somebody reaches out to find out why. Probably the ONE benefit of going to an extremely small church.

      Thanks for the encouragement and thoughts on how people act. I know that not everyone thinks/acts like I do, but I can’t imagine it so having others literally spell it out for me helps tremendously 😀

      Like

      Reply
  20. Pingback: December ’17 Roundup & Ramblings | Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road

  21. Absolutely brilliant post man. I love the emphasis on distinguishing “understanding” and “knowing”. Personally, I never really understood WordPress’ numbers. Nothing makes sense. The gap between number of followers, number of views, number of likes and number of comments is just INSANE.

    I too roll my eyes when I see the whole “Love this ARTICLE, check out my blog.” Come on… Try harder.

    I’ve recently cleaned up my “followers” and have an email dedicated just for books and everything blogging related so that I can follow specific peepz who I just don’t want to miss out on any of their content. I usually aim to comment and leave any kind of feedback, but there are indeed times where you simply can’t cause there’s really nothing to add or say. I also sometimes go on a streak of no comments with someone who I have realized barely wants to talk to me. Their replies are short (not because we’ve established a nice relationship though) and they don’t check out my posts, ever. I just assume that my content does not interest them and will stick around for their stuff until I’m tired of the “unilateral communication”. There are a gazillion other folks out there who’d be much better to hang around. They help make you get better as a person and they appreciate you as an individual. I guess blogging for a couple years now has made me apply the whole filter process of “friendship” that everyone goes through in real life hahah

    As for ever understanding the invisible reader… Good luck, sir. I think they’ll always remain in the dark. 😛 I just assume the folks that visit but don’t do anything else (like, comment, share, etc.) are just random peepz looking for a particular information regarding a book for an assignment they have at school or something. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. “unilateral communication”
      Dang, I know EXACTLY what you’re talking about and that is a great description. I tried to really stay with one person this year who was like that but by the beginning of December I couldn’t take it anymore. So I just dropped them. It didn’t seem like they were blogging to communicate with other people.

      My goals are as such for numbers:
      10% of total follower numbers for Likes.
      2-3% of total follower numbers for Comments.
      Views are just to make me feel good 😀

      As long as I can really keep to that ratio, I’m generally satisfied. I’ll still complain once in a while, but on the inside I’ll be smiling while I’m complaining, you know?

      Thankfully, most of the books I’ve read aren’t the kind people are going to write reports on, not unless schools have TOTALLY changed 😀

      And on an unrelated note…

      Bro-fist bump for your comments over this past year. I think you’ve consistently been the most verbose or are neck in neck with Manuel Antao and I love it. I don’t ever feel like I get an empty comment from you and I really appreciate it. So thanks!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Love the sound of those numbers. Careful though… As the number of followers grow, you’ll be shocked by how much you’ll have to change those goals. 😛

        Okay… You cracked me up with that comment on schools hahahahahhah It would indeed be a New World if schools had all the books you were reading as required reading! 🤣🤣🤣

        Hahahah I gotchu man. Your content + humour are gold. I doubt I’d ever skip on anything you write up. Props for also being so active on my posts to man. You always have something insightful, constructive and awesome to say. I appreciate that.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  22. Pingback: Bookstooge Reviews 2017 | Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road

  23. Given that the vast majority of my readers, even regular readers, are Invisible Readers, I really don’t mind. It can be disconcerting, as I do often feel like I’m talking to the empty ether at times.

    There’s one person who follows me who has never commented, never liked a post, and doesn’t follow me on social media. But they have shared links to my posts on Reddit several times – something I only became aware of due to the sudden influx of readers.

    I guess I’m just happy to know that the people following my blog enjoy my stuff enough to get the regular emails.

    Unless they are hate reading. Which I just don’t understand.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  24. This post is so accurate! Reading comments is one of the most satisfying parts of keeping a blog. It’s a shame that not everyone spends the time to drop a line or two.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. Obviously the people who read your posts but don’t give you a “like” didn’t like what you wrote. 🙂

    I think of my blog as a resource for people, and I pretend that even though very few people like or comment everyone enjoys what they read and find value in it.

    My delusions keep me happy.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hahahahaa. Actually, sometimes I DO feel that way. Which is why I end up writing posts like this.

      I wish I had your outlook. I know it would change how I view everything here if I did. But I don’t. So I’ll happily wallow in my misery 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  26. Starting a blog not for the purpose of money, nor as a career alternative is wise. Creating unique content, writing about the subjects that interest oneself versus following the popular, trending topics will yield excellent writing. Passion always prevails over profits…I always imagine Anne Frank as a teenager writing in a blog that I’d be following…

    I’m with you here., Some WP blogs look like facebook…bloody hell! I’vbe read somewhere that people tend to scan web content. the average attention span in 2012 was 8 seconds, down from 12 seconds in 2000. I think this number might have shrunk to 0,00001 seconds in 2017…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  27. Pingback: Book Blogger Insider Tag | Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road
  28. Pingback: December ’17 Roundup & Ramblings – Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road
  29. Pingback: Bookstooge Reviews 2017 – Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s