I Like Your Blog; So.... How Do I Follow? How Do I Comment?

RS:  I've been reading your blog over your shoulder as you write it and I find it very creative, entertaining and informative.  I know Dana thinks she's one of your biggest fans; but I beg to differ....AND, neither one of us appears to be "following" you, so exactly how do we do that?

SS:  Ahhh, thanks, Honey.  You know, when I had lunch with the girls yesterday, they all said they're following and loving the blog and so are a few of their friends.  They all thought they were "following" because they are seeing it when I share it on Facebook, and since you don't "Facebook"...I see your dilemma...not that I mind you looking over my shoulder.  I'm new at this too, so let's see if we can figure this out together.

On my blog page, look in the right column and you'll see the heading "Followers".  Just below that is a Google icon and a blue box that says "Join this site"; click on the blue box.  A screen will pop up that says, "Sign in using an account you've already created".  Below that are choices:  Google, Twitter, and Yahoo, (I'm familiar with those) and below that AIM, Netlog, and Open ID (don't know what those are).  Since you already have a Yahoo email account, I'd go with that.  If you had gmail, you'd choose Google, or if you had a Twitter account you could use that.  Otherwise, where it says "Don't have any of these?" Click on the blue, "Create a new Google Account".

When you click on Yahoo, your email popped up because you were already signed in.  If you weren't signed in, all you have to do is sign in and then there's a box that says "You are sharing the following:" and it lists your name and email address.  Then you have to click on "agree" because you would be following my blog using that identity.  Basically, me or anyone else who wanted to know who my members are would be able to identify you that way.

If you didn't have one of the accounts listed and you had to click on "Create a new Google Account" it would just ask you for your email address and password.  Simple.

Once you've agreed, you'll be taken to a blogger screen that gives you the choice of following publicly or privately.  That's up to you.  Basically, you're following using Google Friends Connect which is like their form of Facebook.  I think you'd have to sign in to Google to see the blog updates.....so I'm not really sure why you would "join" except that I like to see who my audience is.  For you, since you don't do Facebook I don't really see you signing into Google Friends Connect to see my blog either.  So, unless you want to check my blog every day to see if I've posted anything, you can sign up by email.  There's a box for that too; just below all the "share" stuff.  It's pretty straightforward.

RS:  Well, I do check my email everyday, so that's probably the best choice for me.

SS:  My sister joined so I'd see I have a friend and she also chose to follow me by email; that way she gets an email when I post something new but says she likes to go to the actual blog to look at it because it's prettier.  A few other friends said that's how they are following...by email, which is really convenient for them but I don't get to see who my audience is.  So, I guess if you want to remain anonymous, it's better to follow by email, but if you want me or other people to know you're following, please do the "join this site."

RS: Okay, so say I want to ask a question or leave a comment?

SS:  Well, I tried this out myself because some friends said they were having a problem.  I don't know if that has to do with their browser or what but I signed out and left a comment from my Mac and all I had to do was go to the bottom of a particular blog post and there's a box to post a comment.  Type in your question or comment; then where it says "Comment as" click on the "select profile" box and choose how you want to be identified.  You can just click on "Name/URL" and type in your name and leave the URL blank and then click on "publish".  If you had a URL you wanted to list, because maybe you're another blogger or have a website you'd like people to find, then add that.  If you want to remain anonymous, that's okay too...just be nice because if you leave anything inappropriate, I can just delete it.

I also tried to leave a comment from your PC using your Firefox browser and it worked the same way.

It's good to leave comments and questions, because if something's unclear or you have additional information to share, it's helpful to everyone.  I want my blog to informative and useful to the people who read it.  I know I'm new at this and just flying by the seat of my pants so I can use all the input I can get.

Thanks, Honey, for your support and offering to be my model tonight.  I just couldn't do a post without a photo...you're awesome...and now you're famous!