Wednesday, April 2, 2014

B is for Bitching 'n Blogging


How was the first day of A to Z for you? Good? Yeah? WELL, if you must know, MINE SUCKED.

Hey, I've been down this A to Z road before and usually it's a happy, frenetic time of visiting and yapping and following new blogs. You might say the challenge is all about fellowship and goodwill and visiting and shite, but YOU'D BE WRONG. It's all about collecting new heads for the "Join This Site" box. The more heads the better. We're like fecking Amazon headhunters trolling for new shrunks to go with our fava beans and chianti.

No matter how dorky a blog is, I donate my own shrunken head to every Join This Site box I come across. It's what you do. You go trick or treating to someone else's blog and instead of getting a treat, you leave a treat. Your shrunken head. That way bloggers build their audience and everyone's happy. Honestly, they probably don't give a crap if I ever come back – they just want head(s).

If I really like a new blog, I'll add it to my blogroll. That way I'm more likely to drop by in the future and see what's going on. But even if the blog is about hamsters (not that there's anything wrong with hamsters, I just don't like the way they poop in your hand), or video (gak) games (I'm not a 21-year-old boy-man, sorry), even if I find it obnoxious and gross, I still leave my happy head behind as a parting gift.

Yesterday I set out with my bag of Cathy Olliffe-Webster shrunken heads in hand, ready to populate the bloggy world with my black and white face (I'm nothing if not arty) and what do I find? I CAN'T FOLLOW ANYBODY. Google Friend Connect would not work. I was like, WTF?

So I asked my bloggy friend JoJo Smartie Pants, who knows everything in the universe, and she said the fecking Google Friend Connect has been busticated for a few weeks. Seriously? Doesn't Google know that the A to Z Challenge is the biggest blogfest in the WORLD? And it's BUSTED???

Well. Isn't that special ...

JoJo told me to eat a Xanax or four, and then she pointed me towards Klahanie's blog post which helpfully provided a work-around for the following debacle. He pointed out that you have to be patient for this to work – eventually it will work, most of the time, but sometimes it won't, because, well who knows, you might as well ask why the earth is flat – but patience is something I don't have a lot of. It took me four or five tries to follow people yesterday. It was sooo frustrating! If you actually see my black and white shrunken head on your blog, consider yourself fortunate. I really WORKED to give you that head.

So.

Anyone else having this bloody problem with ol' Googlio?

(And if you tell me to go to Wordpress I shall SPIT.)

84 comments:

  1. I've run into that same GFC problem while trying to unfollow inactive blogs but so far I've had no problems following new blogs/bloggers. It is quite annoying, and the timing could not be worse, but for all the headaches Blogger can cause Wordpress is a frickin' migraine. I can't even comment on WP blogs at the moment; i cringe whenever someone with a WP blog follows me because I know i'll have to jump through rings of fire just to leave a comment.

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    1. I was so happy to see your little head on my block, Chris. I'm hoping you didn't have to jump through too many rings of fire to get 'er done!

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    2. I've found that wordpress will not allow me to comment so now the first thing I do is check to see if the blogger I'm about to read is "blogger' or 'wordpress'...if it's wordpress I just forget about it there and then.

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    3. I actually started a Wordpress blog a couple years ago - because I was teed off with Blogger - but I never took to it. However, I still have the account and I use it when I'm visiting Wordpress blogs. It really helps!

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    4. I refuse to read Wordpress blogs too. I have made a note to suggest that this be a Blogger-only event next time because WP is a major league pain. I don't get the big attraction to that site.

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    5. You're a WP snob, you know that right?

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  2. Not only is it busticated but you can't add it to new sites (thus it's missing on mine - lost all my old followers - and I have two new dorky ones). They want everyone to use the Google+ Connect - and I refuse because it's meaningless. Even more so than the original.

    Like you, I save the blogs I want to follow, especially during A-Z. I made so many new friends during 2012 and I miss them! Fun to visit them again.

    D.B. McNicol
    A to Z: Romance & Mystery...writing my life

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    1. "Two new dorky ones." You crack me up, Donna! :) :) :)

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  3. A-Z boggles my mind. Maybe before I die I'll try it. I won't get to google plus any sooner than that, either. I just wait for blogger to quit hiccing.

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  4. I have no idea how to find my way around Google. I'm lucky I finally figured out how to post. (Except I still can't figure out how to schedule to post something) What can you do?

    I frickin loved your line "and if you tell me to go to Wordpress I am going to spit!" I almost fell of my chair. I hate that too.

    Wishing you a much better "B" day and a happy A-Z.

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    1. I know, right? Wordpress is just harder or something.... and I want to read and write, I don't want to frig around with teckie stuff!

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    2. @Jaybird - When you're on the "compose" page, on the right, click on "Schedule", then select "Set date and time". A little calendar will appear. Click on the date you want the post to be published, and you can also change the time if you want; then click "Done" just under the calendar. Behold! You have a scheduled post :) It will automatically publish itself on the time & date you chose! Hope this helps :)

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    3. If you're on Blogger, after you click "done" under the calendar you also need to click "publish" at the top to be sure it goes up at the chosen date and time. It then appears in your post lists as "scheduled".

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    4. THANK YOU SO MUCH Sunflower and Cathy! I will try and attempt this again!

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  5. Yeah, I had a helluva time trying to take a bunch of my heads back last week -- that's right, take them back. I know that's blogging taboo, but I only have so many heads to go around (I actually use google reader). And that's why I'm so popular.

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    1. "And that's why I'm so popular." hehehehehehehehe...

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  6. I have an admission to make....I always end up doing A to Z but since the first year I haven't played the 'you follow me I'll follow you' game. I have my followers (my second family) and I'm quite content. I also can't handle any more people in my blog role. I also noticed, by the by, that when you try to click on a commenters name it takes you straight to google+ instead of to their blog....quite the nuisance.

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    1. I would like to crack the 500 mark... just because I'm self-centered and shallow ... but I DO admire the way you run your blog, and quite honestly, I sort of do the same.

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    2. "just because I'm self centred and shallow' BAHAHAHAHA

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  7. You see, I'm slightly worried that what you're saying in jest (I hope it's in jest), might actually be true. In which case, we're all just a bunch of strangers shouting randomly at one another, and we might as well give up on blogging.

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    Replies
    1. YES jest! I am the queen of sarcasm, seriously. And sometimes I rant. A lot. :)

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  8. Wooooooordpress. Woooooooordpress. Heeheehee!

    I'm with Delores: I don't trade heads anymore. If I go to a blog with only a few sad heads, I'll nail mine up there just to keep company, but otherwise not.

    And I always drop a link to my site if the comment form permits it, so people can pop over there IF they want to.

    Marian Allen, Author Lady
    Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes
    A WORDPRESS blog

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    Replies
    1. There's that nasty W word again ... isn't that one of George Carlin's seven dirty words you can't say on TV?

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  9. It's a feature that was de-supported many months ago, much to my frustration. It's so handy for blogging. It still works on occasion, but only on occasion. Sorry it so frustrated you yesterday.

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    1. But for some reason it's working today - it must be that sassy photo you posted of yourself on FB that fixed it.

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  10. OMG I am laughing sooooo hard!!! That was a great post for B. I really haven't had trouble using that. I click on 'join this site' and a few seconds later I'm connected and my own shrunken head shows up. Then I add the blog's URL to my Blogger Dashboard to ensure that all updates show up.

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    Replies
    1. I swear, I love how you GET me! I had such a laugh today - awesome!

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  11. I'm not doing A-Z this year...and I lost a shrunken head. Does this mean people will be taking them back???

    Seriously... if that's the case... I'm doomed.

    I'm going to have to start collecting stamps or something...

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    Replies
    1. You're collecting boys! Geez, they're a pretty big handful all on their own!

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  12. Hiss and spit. However, Gary's work around is the ONLY way I have ever been able to add my tiger to anybody's blog. Friend Connect was never my friend. It hated me and wasn't friendly at all. And blessed Blogger didn't care.

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    Replies
    1. Gary deserves a Blogger Medal. He does. Can you arrange that, EC?

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  13. Yes, when I go to follow it says it can't but is pretty blue it offers 'options' and I go from there - it's worked every time, but the extra step is a pain! Making the bloggosphere harder to use is an indication that soon they'll want us to pay for the privilege! Then, I'm out!

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    1. It's so random, whether stuff works or not. Oh well, it's working for me at this very moment, so shhhhhhh.

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  14. Eeeek, I hope that doesn't happen to me, but I think I just follow using blogspot...that google stuff scares me!

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    1. Me too ... worse than mice ... it's the EEEEK thing, makes me think of mousies.

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  15. As far as I was aware they're phasing it out, they stopped non-blogger sites using last year some time. It's all about g+ which isn't about blogging but social networking. I think the problem is that they bought blogger but haven't actually done much with it, they left it running as is without any real change to keep it up to date.

    Rhi
    scruffy-duck.net

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    1. Lord love a duck ... especially a scruffy one!

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    2. :D I am the scruffiest of ducks indeed.

      Rhi
      scruffy-duck.net // Welsh Bloggers

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  16. I daren't even comment since I'm on wordpress but I have no idea what the difference is. Sorry to hear you had a bad day one here's hoping it will get better. Great post very funny, I hope.. Thanks for popping by and commenting. No need to even try to leave shrunken heads..

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  17. OMIGAWD, THE BLOGGER THING IS WORKING FOR ME NOW! Unbelievable. OK, so now ignore previous rant... :)

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  18. Yeah. It's rubbish. Never wants to work when I click the button and then those new found blogs are lost forever. And I don't like it when I click on someone and get their Google+ page either. I want to shrink my head and read their blog damn it!
    Oh, hang on... it's working you say? Whoopee! :-)

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    1. Yes, it goes to their Google+ page, which is annoying!

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    2. It's a goldurned miracle of bloggin', I say.

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  19. .....ha ha ha ! I'm just about wetting myself, Cathy, imagining you marching out into cyberspace clutching a fistful of shrunken heads (probably by their hair!!)

    (note to self: make sure I have my inco-pants on before I attempt to read another CO-W blog-post...... ! :-o)

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    1. It paints quite a picture, doesn't it? heheheheh *passes you some Depends*

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  20. Glad you asked! Gary over at http://klahanie.blogspot.com/ figured it out! He's amazing, in case you don't know Gary or Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar. Not sure which post explains how to get around this, but it'll be fairly recent. Thanks for the laughs.

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    1. Gary IS amazing, and I love Penny's "most internet superstar" title. Cracks me up.

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  21. Replies
    1. THE ABSOLUTE COOLEST!!!!!! You should win, like, a new car or something.

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  22. Several people have said this was a problem, but I've not had any troubles following anyone with GFC. I see in your comments that it's finally working for you now.
    Shrunken heads. I'm going to be thinking about that for the rest of the day...

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  23. I'm relieved to know that I'm not the only one with this probelm! But, yes, it does suck. There's always G+ or linky adds...

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  24. BTW, I'm checking out your Green Eggs and Weezie!

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  25. I've had the same problem with Google Friends Connect over the last few weeks (in fact, it just did it to me when I tried to follow your blog, so I'm gonna try again), it's a right royal pain, I agree. I actually prefer using a 'follow by email' if folks have it on their blog, because it means I get updates on their posts in my gmail, which, being old fashioned, I check more than the shiny web interfaces. Also, means wordpress and blogger blog updates all appear in one place, not on two dashboards.

    I hope day 2 went a bit better for you.

    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
    Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

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  26. Saw your shrunken head rolling down a path on my blog and decided to follow it here. Glad I did:-)

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  27. I hope it continues to work, as I like the idea of you spreading your shrunken head around!

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  28. Google Friend Connect hasn't worked for me in at least a year. I don't follow blogs when I visit, unless I really like them. I read the blog posts, leave a comment, and return again if I enjoyed my visit.

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  29. And it's fixed now...or so I heard. Even left my head on a blog for the first time today in weeks. Couldn't believe it, and can't stop laughing about your post! Good one, Cathy :)

    MJ, A to Z Challenge Co-Host
    Writing Tips
    Effectively Human
    Lots of Crochet Stitches

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  30. People evidently don't like to leave shrunken heads for me. So far, my A-Z tally is -1.

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    Replies
    1. I'm right there with ya. Hopefully things will pick up.

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  31. I was having the same problem, but I just tried to follow someone and it worked. I got around it by clicking the More Options link and clicking the follow button from there.

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  32. Well, thanks for explaining the rules to me, but I forgot to bring my shrunken heads to trade. I'm not one to follow the rules anyway. I haven't enjoyed most of the blogs I visited today....so I didn't sign up. I did enjoy yours...gee too bad about blogger.

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  33. Hi again, I signed up to follow. No problem with google.

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  34. I have had it the last two or three weeks when trying to add a new photoblog to my list- they're so much easier to comment to than writer's blogs, I find- that it won't take. I have to copy and paste the url and add it into add on the blogroll. Then it takes. But clicking follow? Not a chance.

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  35. Being a wordpress blog, I lost GFC years ago. I got over it. Now I just add the blogs I want to follow to my feedly and actually follow them. That's where you are now, and how I found my way back.

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  36. Yeah, I only follow people that I really want to follow.. Not just everyone I visit. I love the way you described the shrunken heads :D

    AJ @ Naturally Sweet
    An A-Z co-host blog
    @ayjaylauer

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  37. The shrunken heads were too funny! I feel a bit guilty about the new shrunken heads, because apart from A to Z, I don't blog very often. I feel like they're gonna be let down after the A to Z ends and nothing new shows up on my blog for weeks.

    But who knows, maybe A to Z will get me in the groove to blog regularly again! One could always hope!

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  38. So, Cathy. Have you ever thought of trying Wordpress? :-D

    *KjM runs and hides*

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  39. I usually just click on "join this site", a window comes up where I enter my google password, then I click on follow and the window changes to done. Then my little coffee drinking dragon shows up where others have their heads (or tigers).
    I don't like google+ though, I tried it once and switched back to plain google within the hour.

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  40. So that's why I had no joy with Google friend connect. I am sharing all my posts with the A to Z community on Google+ and adding some bloggers from other platforms to my circles there. suestrifles.WordPress.com and I despair at the hoops I have to jump through to comment on blogger blogs!

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  41. A-Z for me is about commenting and reading fun/informative/touching posts. I only follow blogs I want to follow and I love blogging too much to bitch. But I get that it's annoying when it feels like a numbers game or rat race.

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  42. It won't let me change my piccie on Google friends, but other than that it seems to be working for me. Sorry you're having so much trouble.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings

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  43. "I really WORKED to give you that head." My God, Cathy, what are you doing to me? :-)

    Seriously, I have tried to follow you via Google Friends just now, and I clicked on the bloody image in your post, right? Thinking it was a link to do it!!! How dumb am I? But I will try again - although I might have done so already.

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  44. Um. Thanks?
    You gave me my first smile of the day. And yeah, Friend sucks cornchips sometimes. Looks like its back on track today.

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  45. You know, believe it or not, I have not yet tried Google friend connect. I always just copy and paste the blog url into the field under "add new blog" on my feed reader. And I do not recommend Wordpress just for the reason that last year I couldn't comment on several Wordpress blogs unless I had a Wordpress account. I found that just a tad annoying.

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  46. This might possibly be my most favoritest A to Z blog post ever. Donating shrunken heads *giggle snort* Since my blog is self-hosted, GFC stopped working on it a long time ago. Which was fine, since my head collection was embarrassingly low anyway, so I was glad to remove that monstrosity. I figure if people like my posts they'll come back even if I don't have a spot to leave their shrunken head offering (since I offer other ways to find out about new posts).

    Hope you’re having fun with the A to Z challenge,
    Jocelyn

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  47. Hysterical! Love your blog and thanks for the shrunken head-follow. ;-)

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  48. And here I was just thinking this was an opportunity to challenge myself on new topics as I am working on my own writing since I started a challenge this past January.. When I decided to do this, I didn't even know about the role of blogs. I am glad I added to it though. I have found some interesting blogs I enjoy reading. And have had some visit by people, like you, that actually notice what is there. Thanks for the visit and for not leaving the face, whatever it looks like.

    I enjoy your tongue in cheek humour.

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  49. Thank you for leaving me your head. I left you mine in thanks :) Happy A to Z-ing!
    ~Katie
    www.thecyborgmom.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. I wanna say, "Don't you just LOVE giving head?" But I figured I'd better not because, um, it's really rude. ;)

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