Blogging Baptism

*Warning: Non-bloggers will most likely not give a whip about this rant. Neither will many bloggers. But it’s my blog, and I’ll rant when I want to.

Twelve days into blogging, and I’ve experienced my first bug. Actually two glitches, and they both happened early this morning. I think this means I’ve been baptized as a blogger. Maybe. Advice welcome.

The first problem was something I was readily expecting having read others’ blogs for months. My trusty Blogger in Beta (up until now) wouldn’t let me add pictures. How rude is that? But even more inconsiderate was that it didn’t actually say “We can’t add your pictures right now” or “Please try later.”

There was nothing out of the ordinary to even warn me. Instead, obviously in denial of its own shortcomings, B in B acted like nothing was wrong, like we were peaches and cream, like, well, you get the picture.

It let me put in the link, it let me click “Upload Images.” It even told me that the picture was added and that I could publish it to my blog by clicking “Done.” All the same stuff it normally says. Only there was no picture.

Can I add here that I’m on a dial-up connection, so it took a good chunk of time just to learn that I was wasting clicks? Because, of course, then I had to try sixty schmillion more times to be sure.

Even if it doesn’t seem so, I assure that I’m pretty much over this one now as things are back to normal. But this minor snafu *did* throw off my posting intentions. Now you’ll be a day behind forever! But moving on…

The other problem was much more disconcerting. I use Google Analytics to keep track of my number of visitors, where they’re coming from, etc. I clicked this morning and there was *no* data. I’m not just talking from yesterday or even the day before. All of the data that had been collected from when I started blogging was gone. Zeros. Donuts. My blog is a big fat nothing, and I have the columns of inadequacy to prove it.

Now, to be clear, I’m not very concerned with the number of visitors, but I do find it interesting to see where my readers are, where they’re directed from, and how many return. Thank goodness I now have that nifty map over on the right for partial backup at least. (Kudos to Katerina Fiore for the silent inspiration!)

So I emailed Google’s help desk or whatever, and I got back a form message of potential causes of the problem described in my message, which no one even read. One of the possibilities was that all those goose eggs may be because of routine maintenance, and that everything should reappear and be back on track within 72 hours.

Uh huh. Ci credo quando lo vedo.

So, fellow bloggers, I feel initiated now. I feel baptized as a blogger. But my question is this: should I? Or are there more “normal” problems I should be prepared for before I get my wings?

I don’t like to expect the worst, but I do like to be prepared.

For now, though, I just kinda feel like doing this:

8 Beans of Wisdom to “Blogging Baptism”
  1. Annika
    12.16.2006

    … and this is why I hate Blogger. What I finally did, after getting completely sick and tired of Bloggers unwillingness to let me post photos, was to upload all my photos to Photobucket and then add them manually using that link, rather than uploading them straight into Blogger.

    As for the visitor stats, I recommend StatCounter. Hasn’t failed me yet.

  2. sognatrice
    12.16.2006

    Ooh, new pic! How pretty!

    You know, I already do put most of the pics in Photobucket anyway, so yes, it’s only one more step to just add them manually. Good point. And Statcounter was my next choice, so I think I’m on my way there now. Thanks Annika ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Shirley
    12.16.2006

    What a pain! I’ve just switched to beta, so I hope all goes without a hitch. Like Annika I have statcounter, you can zoom in on the map to see exactly where people are coming from.Its all fun!

  4. sognatrice
    12.16.2006

    Thanks Shirley, I just signed up and now I’m playing around. I love that they make these things so easy even for those of us who really don’t know what we’re doing ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. katerinafiore
    12.17.2006

    Blogger can be a pain. But I find that since I upgraded to the beta version it is easier to use. I dont know….i am not a computer genius and I am learning how to code more things and how the html works. Anywho, I think it will get easier for u. I still have trouble making things look right on my sidebar. Someday it will work perfectly. You learn something new everyday! ciao amica!

  6. Elle
    12.17.2006

    I love the pic of your pooch! ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. something...
    01.19.2007

    The pup looks like ours only a bit bigger. Could they be related??

  8. sognatrice
    01.19.2007

    Well, something, you know how big Italian families are, so it’s a distinct possibility ๐Ÿ˜‰

Michelle KaminskyMichelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived. 

Calabria Guidebook

Calabria travel guide by Michelle Fabio

Recipes

 

Homemade apple butter
Green beans, potatoes, and pancetta
Glazed Apple Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins
Pasta with snails alla calabrese
Onion, Oregano, and Thyme Focaccia
Oatmeal Banana Craisin Muffins
Prosciutto wrapped watermelon with bel paese cheese
Fried eggs with red onion and cheese
Calabrian sausage and fava beans
Ricotta Pound Cake