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Personalization Is The Key

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Elle Knowles
Personalization Is The Key

Sprucing up your sidebar is the topic for the day. All I have done for two weeks is spruce up. My life in general has been put on hold, but my blog is dressed to the nines and ready for action!

I’ve added color and taken it away, added text, then removed it and added something even better. My header picture was like a revolving door, constantly circling and eventually coming to rest as is.  Yesterday I  added a new menu tab! See it up there under my header? Yep!  That little baby goes into effect next week. Watch for it.

So now it seems the sidebar widgets need to be tinkered with once again. Sigh 😦   I know…I know…There is always room for improvement and I do have a couple widgets I want to tweak.

It’s all about the personalization if you think about it so while I have your attention let me throw this out at you. I’ve read, liked, commented, and re-blogged a bit this week. Really it’s been more than a bit.

Sometimes when someone comments to me, especially when they are new to my site, I have no idea what their name is. I mean their given name, the one they answer to when beckoned. Right there hovering over their gravatar  it may say Xtimes4 or ontheroadagain, or even seeyouinmydreams! Hummm? I’d love to call them by name to make it more personal when I answer this comment, but what in the H E double L is it?

You could skip on over to their blog site before answering to snoop around in the about page and maybe, but not always, come up with a name. OR… they could sign their comment with it! That sounds good to me!

It’s a plan. I’ll start signing my name ~Elle when I comment on other blogs – if I don’t forget!  What do you think? Too much trouble? We’ll see!

Just a thought that skipped through my brain today and I thought I would give it a whirl!

Elle

 

26 Comments

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About Elle Knowles

Elle Knowles lives in the Florida Panhandle with her husband and off-at-college-most-of-the-time son. She has four daughters, one son, and eleven beautiful grandchildren. 'Crossing the Line' is her first novel. The sequel 'What Line' is a work in progress. Recently published is Coffee-Drunk Or Blind - a nonfiction story of homesteading in the Alaska wilderness with her parents and four siblings, told through letters by her mother and remembered accounts from the family.

26 responses »

  1. jackiemallon | January 17, 2015 at 5:10 pm

    Your home improvements look wonderful! Thank you for the shout out the other day 🙂

    Jackie 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Donna George | January 16, 2015 at 7:59 pm

    Enjoyed your humor. Nice blog. And you are right about the name idenity being a problem.
    -Donna 🙂
    http://www.donnageorgeblog.com

    Liked by 1 person

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  3. Celebrating Sunshine | January 16, 2015 at 5:53 pm

    Your blog is great and you are so right (and funny!) about signing your name when commenting! I’m sure I’m going to visit again soon. 🙂
    Ana

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. Judith StClaire | January 16, 2015 at 12:25 am

    Loved your post, Elle. Your site is good. I really like your banner. I have several banners on my site. — You can see it at https://humboldtbayhome.wordpress.com/
    The banners display randomly. I have to see if I like this.
    I, too, have dedicated hours and hours to sprucing, un-sprucing, and then re-sprucing. Tonight, I added a bunch of stuff to my sidebar and took most of it off again. Furthermore, I think my eyesight is permanently adjusted to the distance from my nose to the computer screen. I’m done for today. Tomorrow, I think I’ll do the housework that has been piling up while I have been otherwise occupied.

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    • Elle Knowles | January 16, 2015 at 8:21 am

      I think that’s a good plan Judith. I too have unfinished work and actually some paying work to get done today. This just doesn’t pay the bills, but it’s fun isn’t it? I’ll drop by your site sometime today! ~Elle

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  5. WagginTailsRV | January 15, 2015 at 10:19 pm

    Good point about name, Elle. I’ll be signing my future post with my real name (Jerry)

    Liked by 2 people

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  6. Loretta | January 15, 2015 at 10:02 pm

    I agree Elle, it’s tough not knowing how to address a person, I like to be more personal when someone comments on something you’ve written. But so often you need to click on their posts to find out. I don’t think you need to sign your name, yours comes right up, just like mine does, Loretta. You’re going great guns with your page, sprucing it all up and making it look good. I haven’t completed this week’s assignments as I was too afraid to tinker with anything that looked fine to me. Having said that, I am gonna have to have a drop down menu tab up front that should break down some of my foodie into maybe sweet/savory etc.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Elle Knowles | January 16, 2015 at 8:03 am

      Yeah, Loretta, that tinkering makes me nervous too. That drop down menu sounds like a good idea. I guess I need to practice what I preach with that name thing though! ~Elle

      Liked by 1 person

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      • Loretta | January 16, 2015 at 8:17 am

        Would love to get some feedback from you (the expert) on my blog. I like today’s topic on widgets, there’s just so much to explore on there, but that’s for another day. I think I’ve spent waaaaay too much time the past 2 weeks on here, time for me to get off my hiney and do other productive jobs :). Anyway, I’ve changed my entire About page, I’ve made it short and sweet. I now want to add some sub-headings under the header (like you have), but again, I need a clear mind to tinker with that, it looks a tad complicated. I just need to break down my Recipe category into Sweet & Savory, then go back to past posts and separate them, an arduous task for another day. Ha ha, I love procrastinating! You’ve been a trooper thru this entire process though, me? I’m a bad student, choosing just what suits me LOL! Thanks Elle

        Liked by 1 person

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        • Elle Knowles | January 16, 2015 at 8:28 am

          Thanks Loretta, but I’m hardly an expert! I just do a lot of research and won’t let this computer technology get the best of me! H doesn’t understand why I complain about having to fix an issue with the computer or printer or fax machine, etc. It’s because even though I eventually master it, it could take all day – or two or three days sometimes! You know what I mean. 😉 ~Elle

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  7. janetberridge | January 15, 2015 at 9:16 pm

    Looking good, site is sharp! Cheers Janet~

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  8. Jessica Rodebush | January 15, 2015 at 9:11 pm

    Looks great Elle! I need to get elbow deep into some of the assignments and really get things going. I have been putting all my effort into my posts! Thanks for the motivation! ~Jessica

    Liked by 1 person

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  9. bee love | January 15, 2015 at 8:49 pm

    I am impressed and inspired by your energy! I am stuck on a couple assignments back, but stay up eight yours!
    C you around
    Brenda

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  10. Karyn | January 15, 2015 at 8:35 pm

    Hello, I like your front page (the gray is soothing) and all your widgets. I love the drop down menu you have added also. You’re a professional writer so I’d expect you’d want your page all spruced up and sophisticated and you’ve done a great job. I would ask for advice but I don’t have time to play right now. I will visit you later and ask about some of your widgets. BTW: you should be able to see my name 🙂

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