HOW DID I...? THINGS I HAVE LEARNED

While I have been going on this 'blog journey', I have come across such inspiration, knowledge, links and general experimentation.  I have been asked a couple of times for some advice and thought, you know what, why don't I just set up a page that people can click on and then go on to the sites that I visited along the way, a page where you can see the solutions I found that were plain speaking and the knowledge was basic and easy to understand.  

This page no doubt will be constantly updated as I am always changing something on my blog and it will be a bit all over the place at first while I am thinking of specific things at the time of writing, but if you look at the headers there may be the question that you need answering.  So here goes and please, if you have any advice for me, please please please let me know because I am still new at this and learning and I am sure others would equally want to know the little tweaks here and there.

So, what have I got on here so far:

 

• QR Code for Smartphones
• Are you a 'No Reply Blogger' - meaning can the bloggers you comment on contact you?
• How are you set up on Google Friend Connect?
• Link Parties...Don't be shy!!
• Create a Grab My Button

ARE YOU A 'NO REPLY BLOGGER'? 
DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS WHEN YOU COMMENT ON OTHER BLOGS

 Isn't is upsetting when you comment on another person's blog with a question and you receive nothing back? Please don't take it personally, it is probably because your settings show you up as a 'No Reply Blogger'.  Now this took me a long time to realise.  I just felt that I just wasn't being heard on some of the bigger blogs, but you know what?  they were reading the comments and trying to reply, but due to one little box not being ticked it meant that they would reply and the answer would disappear into the air never to be seen again. 

So, here is a little tutorial which I have just tested.  It takes about five minutes to do:

Google+ Users:

• Firstly, if you are a Google+ user, you will need to revert back to a Blogger profile for a moment.  It won't take long I promise.  See the little wheel on the top right, click on this to switch to a 'limited blogger profile'.
• You will see a box come up saying 'you will be seen as'.  Just type in your display name or blog name if there is nothing in there at the moment.
• Now, go back to your blog and you will have noticed your profile has changed

Now you have a Blogger Profile:

• Click on your profile.
• Click on edit profile
• Now, can you see the second box down saying 'show my email address', this needs to be ticked.  If you are not happy with your personal email address being shown, create a new one specifically for your blog.
• Save your profile and come out of this screen.

If you have a Blogger profile and want to keep it that way, then you are done, you are now able to receive kind comments back from other bloggers.

If you want to revert back to Google+ then follow me...

• Click on the wheel on the top right and click on 'connect to Google+'
• Tick the box to say you have read the terms and conditions and then click 'switch now'.

There you go, back to normal for the next month, when you will probably have to do this again.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when you get reverted back to 'no reply', but I am going to keep doing this the first of each month while I use Google+.

QR Code - (For Smart Phones)
I've just found this which allows smart phones to pick up your blog address!!  How great is that!

Link: Go QR Me


GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT - ARE YOU SET UP CORRECTLY (go and check):
Now, one thing that I never thought of when starting my blog was to check the way people see me when I joined their followers list on Google Friend Connect (GFC), I thought I was automatically showing my link...but no!  For months I was 'Sweetbriar Dreams' no link to my site, just 'email me' which they couldn't because I was a 'no reply blogger' (a vicious circle).  This was no help whatsoever in connecting with others.  Again, I was saying to myself 'hello, I am here, please come and visit too' but nothing.  So do me a favour, go and have a look at one of the blogs you are following...and:

• Go to the bottom of the box where it says 'Already a member? Sign in', click on this.
• A box will come up asking you sign in (I use Google so clicked on Google)
• Put your password in for your account.
• Now the screen returns to the blog you are following and you will notice your photo and 'Options' have appeared above the blogs followers.
• Click on options and then click on 'site settings'
• NOW, this is the point where you find out how people can interact with you.  If you have just a plain title that you can't link on and 'email me' underneath, then there is no link to your site and this makes it harder for people to follow you using this medium.  What you need to do if this is the case is go to the part where it says 'Already have a profile on the web - Use it Instead' (please note if you are already set up correctly, this will not appear and you will have all links already there so need to read on).
• Click on 'Use it Instead'.
• Now you will have options to choose from (I click on Google which then brings up your blog plus other links too such as Facebook, Twitter, Ravelry etc, whatever you have set up on your Google+ account, but Blogger is also good as it gives the link to your blog).
• You will now be told that it has connected successfully and you can click on 'Done'.  
• There, you are all connected now and you will see a little icon on your photo (B for blogger and G+ for Google+).
• Now, depending on how many sites you follow, depends on how long you are going to have to go through each and every one to do the same thing.  I didn't come across any way to make this faster, so you need rather a large cup of tea and cake(s) to get you through this.  However, any new sites you follow will automatically show you with all the connections.

LINK UP PARTIES

Don't be shy!  I have found so many new blogs that I wouldn't have found otherwise.  These are really simple to join, just make sure you are pasting a URL to a relevant blog post not just to your blog as a whole.    Then put a link to their party in that particular blog post (I also set up a page to put their icons etc for my own information too).  I have 'met' so many lovely, like minded people from all over the world.  Take a look at my page here or on my page bar for Link Parties.  Remember to comment on the other sites that have joined and also look at the older posts that the blogger has created.  A fun way to meet others!

GRAB MY BUTTON 
There were a lot of different pages with how to create these, but I found the best site was My Cool Realm.com.  They have a code generator where you just enter some simple things.  I did create my photo first though on Photobucket and edited it to 125 x 125 first, but I am not sure if you still need to do this when you go through this code generator as this was really easy to use.