Life Cycle of a Blogger Stage FIVE: Addiction and Obsession

17. I post but nobody is reading my blog so who cares anyway. This is a HOBBY. For me. For being creative. For learning photography.

18. Hey-I have a few followers!!! Thanks friends that know me in real life. I like that I have a few more people on my "list" of readers.

19. I cannot wait to hear what people have to say about what I have posted since there are like 10 people reading my blog now. .
:)

20. Challenges... I love that idea. I can live my life during the week with these ideas in my head and then photograph appropriate stuff and then participate in the challenges! There is a scavenger hunt! Oh-and my friend started a new challenge. I am now thinking about "yellow", "under", "diptych", "lines" and "tangled". I love this and find tons of stuff to take pictures of. I wander around outside and take pictures of stuff around my house and neighborhood. Kids are playing-I take pictures of them and start looking at life in a different way. I want to keep track of this learning on my blog.

21. I have some pictures to send into the challenge now. I push the "link up" button on their site and upload my pictures. Now I am supposed to get the code for that button and put it on my blog? .... I got it-thankfully I know html-wonder what people do that don't understand the code. I get it- my photo is linked to their site, I tell the other people that posted what I think about their photos and then, there is a link on my blog to the host blog. EVERYONE wants more readers. I join more blogs as I give feedback to others. It is so fun to get feedback. I obsessively check my blog to see if I have any feedback at all on my photos. I love it when people comment or give feedback of any kind!!! I remember that I used to feel shy about giving feedback and making comments on other blogs-not anymore!!! And OMG-I have 15 subscribers now!!!! Yeeehaw...there is seriously a skip in my step because of that... wow. I need to get a life.

22. Now people are making facebook pages of their blog names. They want people to join that. Don't I already subscribe to the actual blog? I join in... but I don't Twitter... they do that too. It all seems very redundant to me but I am sure there is more to it than what I can see.

23. Giveaways-they want people to give them items/services that they can offer giveaways to readers. To be in the random drawing, each comment you make about given criteria counts as one "ticket in the hat". Criteria: follow the blog, comment on the giveaway site about what items you like of theirs (gets to you another blog...I subscribe while there...), follow the giveaway blog, follow both on facebook, tweet about the giveaway, follow both on Twitter. I do not do this "twitter". Everything else-yes.

24. I won! Makes my day! Even if it was a used bottle of aftershave purchased at a garage sale..it doesn't matter-I WON!!! People see my name as the winner-maybe they will subscribe to my blog. I am, afterall, up to 19 people now. Maybe I could have 20 by the weekend. I can barely sleep at the thought.

25. It is difficult to balance taking pictures, editing pictures, blogging and reading/responding to others' blogs. I do it though... and LOVE it all. I have 31 readers now.

26. It is summer break and I now get it-more readers=good. More readers=more interaction with people with a common interest. More readers means more feedback on my photos=learning. More readers=more friends. All =GOOD.