New blog posts 2nd October to 8th October

[PetiteRaleuse]

Happy Sundays everyone. I have started the week with a rant about the Zara Mike non story in the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. Here.

mlkitchen, you copy and paste the link address of your post into the space for it on my page. Then a little picture and description of your post comes up on my page along with the other blogs taking part. People on my blog can then click on your image to go to your blog.

Does anybody include pictures on thier blog that doesn't have obvious pictures? ie, my blog isn't really about, say a thing that I have made or a place I have been, so any pictures would be more abstract - do you think it is a good idea to include pictures to kind of break up the text, or is it daft unless they are actually needed?

I'm still on a standard template, but keep thinking I should do more with it.

I never ever post anything without pictures, which is usually easy because of the subjects that I write about (writing, art, history, fashion etc) but can sometimes be a challenge! I struggled for ages to find the perfect picture for today's post as it was a bit of a departure for me - however, I eventually remembered that actually I have the perfect picture stashed away! :)

I think it makes a blog look nice and also breaks the text up into more enticing little snippets. I also try to bear in mind that I personally am much more likely to carry on reading a blog and add it to my Google Reader if it has pictures.

SoE, I don't really have a choice as I am predominantly a foodblogger. Its always useful to have pictures of the recipe (even if its just to prove you made it, hehe)

I think it depends on the topic. But even a random image can add interest to the post, and keeps it from looking too much like an essay.

That said, I have a new blog post on.

Saffron and Rosewater Kulfi

I taught this dessert in my class yesterday and I think it was a hit... its technically quite easy to make, and really delicious too.

SEO
I try to include a picture as it makes the blog look more interesting. I also get hits from google image search quite a bit.

MmeL I think something went wrong with your blog post - the text seems to be in the wrong order

Petite I was just coming here to tell MmeL the same thing!

I rarely use pictures unless it is something I want to show people. I write a lot about my mental and physical illnesses and find stock pictures to be ridiculous in those instances. I have been told that I am wrong to not use pictures, but I don't agree. Perhaps it would up my hit count, but that's not why I blog!

So I feel it is up to you if you want pictures and do what you think is best for your blog. As someone once said (it might have been MmeL) it's the difference between a newspaper and a magazine.

OK hesitantly late to the party, my blog post this week was a really well written article someone sent me from the New York Times, my blog is really probably only of interest to people like me who have had mental health/medication ishoos but here it is anyway: prozacwithdrawal.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-middle-ages-self-nonmedication.html and this was my post from the week before: prozacwithdrawal.blogspot.com/2011/09/chill-pill.html

Hello all.

You have to be careful with pictures that are not your own don't you? As you may be infringing copywrite. Wiki is quite good for pictures as I think they are all freely licensed. I mostly use my own pictures as mine are usually of my crafts.

Great tips MmeG, thanks for sharing.

Morning all

I don't use pictures in my blog because I don't have the ability to place them properly, see that they look ok etc from a visual perspective so I stick with text only.

I like textual blogs because obviously pictures do nothing for me. but obviously I can see why some blogs lend themselves more to having pictures than others, such as food/craft blogs etc.

This morning's offering is

\link{http://attheheartoftheopinion.blogspot.com/2011/10/money-money-money-ever-too-much.html\here}

Next week sees the start of the Jo Yeates murder trial, as someone who blogs about news events I'm hoping to blog about that..

There is a photo thread on this bloggers topic somwhere.

Dilly - if you search Flickr and do an advanced search so that you're only looking for creative commons licensed images, then you can use them as long as you make an attribution on your blog.

Images are good for long posts as they break up text and, as MmeL said, you can get hits from ppl searching google for images.

I've just blogged about the most delectably divine Chocolate Guinness cake. If you have never tried this recipe, you should! I don't like Guinness, so had my doubts, but it is heavenly, with none of the horrible bitterness of Guinness.

A week where it felt as if not much happened, but actually it did! Although it's all relative, I guess....

here

overmydeadbody I am a guiness conevrt - not to drink but for cooking with. Shall be trying your recipe very soon (without the icing)

You know the BREASTFEEDING BIBLE they call "The Politics of Breastfeeding", well they've just put a link to my recent blog post on their Facebook page! Result! :) I'm very pleased as this post took weeks to research and write:

15 Tricks of Formula Companies

Poor Beeb, and poor 2000 to get their jobs cut.... another BBC denfence [http://pint-sized-rants.blogspot.com/2011/10/bbc-part-three.html here]]

Oops here

Alpha pretty at a lot of the content of your post but congrats on them linking to you.

But I'm a formula feeding banshee so you can't expect me to agree on much of it

Update on my health.

Apologies to Alpha if she was offended by what I wrote above. This is not the place I guess to discuss content.
Sorry.

Scared I had no idea how much you were suffereing I am sorry to hear that.

Thanks for the tip flamingo.

Well done Alpha, you must be pleased.

A little sycophantic from me today

On the picture thing. When your new post comes up on say on the Mumsnet network, or soemtimes if someone has added you on their sidebar, it gives the post title and a picture from that post. I think maybe people click on something a bit quicker if they see an image.

costume number 4 mumofalltrades.blogspot.com/2011/10/mad-scientist-costume-4-no-creative.html you'll all be pleased to see this one requires no cutting, sticking or anything arty!

dilly I loved that post. I was actually going to link to it on chat as I think everyone would enjoy reading it. would you mind?