Three weeks in, what’s up, Nano Poblano?

/ November 20, 2014

Fish of Gold

Officially, we’re one day away from the three-week mark of NaBloPoMo, or, as we’ve been calling it around our houses, Nano Poblano. I decided to throw in this team check up today, though, because for the first time since a few days before Nov. 1, when I woke up today, I saw no views on any of the posts I’ve headlined with the NP words.

Nobody’s clicked over to check on links or leave comments or say they’ve posted.

I’m wondering why.

Coincidence?

Nano Poblano fatigue?

None of my darn business?

You didn’t think you’d get away with that last one, did you?

Counting today, around the world there are 11 days left to post and read stories, poems, photos, illustrations and combinations of all of the above under the banner of Nano Poblano. That’s a lot of potential for the rest of us to see and consider whether or not we want to talk about them.

The past few days, there has been some strife about blogger goals and expectations within and outside Nano Poblano in several of our teammates’ comment sections.

In the comment section of my friend Sheena of Not a Punk Rocker, I offered my basic guidelines. I wrote, among the 146 comments on her post:

Read when you have interest. Like when you mean it. Comment when you have something to say. Converse when it makes your life better for the seconds or minute or more. Not rules. Just little guidelines to make it more pleasureable, I guess. And you can find bloggers who become friends. That’s the cool thing about the community of WordPress. On the opposite end, if it’s not happening, move on, no hard feelings.

And so I wonder …

What were your expectations going into this Nano Poblano exercise? Have the first 20 days of Nano Poblano been better, worse, or what you expected? What can be done in the remainder of Nano Poblano to make it better for you?

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66 thoughts on “Three weeks in, what’s up, Nano Poblano?”

  1. Im really glad that I did it. I’ve followed a blog or two from the experience. I think in order to understand, the best way to do it is to volunteer and jump in. Was good to get out of the comfort zone. I appreciate the time you have invested in it, too.

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    • I was glad that you jumped in, Apple Pie. I can see a few new faces that have checked out your blog, being a regular visitor there before this month. Others: Apple Pie has an interesting take on country music that has branched way way out to embrace life.

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  2. was glad to jump in for the story, so thanks for letting me participate even though I wasn’t playing by the Nano Poblano rules. It was fun to meet new folk and stretch myself a bit. Who knew I could write something that wasn’t about food?

    Sorry if there is strife. Wasn’t it all about fun? And chile peppers? 😉

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    • I think it was just a short aberation the in the middle of the month. It happens in most families, right, Liz. It was great that you were able to hop into the Hop and feed the tale. Nano Poblano was not about the rules, it’s about meeting new bloggers. 🙂

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  3. Honestly Mark I didn’t think I would do more than what I do now, write/draw/post. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t have time to do more.

    I sometimes feel bad I can’t “participate” any more than I do. But I like being “part” of it. 🙂 I like our world here.

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  4. I regularly post every day but didn’t sign up, as November is a bit of a difficult month. However I am enjoying reading some as they pop up especially as I see for many it is quite a difficult task to think of something to write about every day.
    Maybe next year I’ll do it formally.
    I did read your prompt links which was extensive. Maybe I’ll revisit it for fun someday soon.

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  7. I’ve been really pleased that I decided to participate. Must admit I finally missed a day yesterday. It has been a huge challenge to write every day and I’ll be very glad to go back to my normal pattern of skipping at least a couple of days a week. But I’ve met some great bloggers, expanded my subscription list and gotten some new followers on two of my blogs.
    One day someone with a major blog reblogged me. That post exploded with likes and comments and followers. Which was great, thrilling even. But it also took me something like 8 hours that day to go look at all those blogs and reply to all those comments. Made me wonder, if keep doing things like this and expand my “platform” will I have to devote my entire life to it? How do people with thousands and thousands of followers keep up?
    Aside from that question, I’ve enjoyed it and am so glad I joined in. Thanks so much for being our leader!

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    • That is a serious question, Leigh. How do the big bloggers keep the connection if they want to remain in touch? I’d like to find out first-hand. 🙂 I’m just happy to meet people like yourself, really, in our Nano Poblano land. I’m glad you’ve found thrills and satisfaction. And you’re welcome.

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      • Feed readers, Mark. 🙂

        I’m not a “big” blogger by any sense of the word, but I do use a feed reader to keep up with the people I love to read.

        In my personal feed reader I have 650 blogs (yours is in there, as is most of the people posting here) so when anyone posts something new I get a copy of it. I can click through to the post and comment, if the inspires me to do so.

        I’ve been putting all the NaBloPoMo blogs into Inoreader so I can try to keep up with them, and Inoreader has a nifty function where I can bundle up the blogs and provide a link to people so they can view the latest posts from those bloggers.

        I did a post about it yesterday on my blog and provided three links to bundles – one for the first 700 or so blogs on the list, one for the remaining blogs which I am still in the process of adding – I added 330 feeds yesterday and will try to add the remainder today.

        There is also one for the blogs I have found thus far which are keepers – and y’all will have to forgive me for some administrative issues here, because I found all of you *before* the blogroll appeared and added you into *my* personal feed reader, which means most of you are not on the keepers list. That list is only for keeper blogs I found as I was adding them from the NaBloPoMo blogroll and commenting on them.

        Anyway. if you do not have a feed reader I do recommend having a look at Inoreader, it is very functional and useful and there is a support forum where you can actually receive assistance, which is awesome.

        Also too, if you are a blogger, you might want to subscribe to your own blog and see how it looks. You also want to decide between partial feed – which I despise, people should not have to jump through hoops to read your content but I will do it for bloggers I love – and full feed.

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  8. Hi Mark. It has been quite an experience. When I started out I was not sure if I could keep up with daily posts. I have been pinging back here and hope you are seeing it. I has been nice to be part of Nano Poblano which is a smaller community of bloggers related to the big, big one of NaBloPoMo. I have connected with some new people. I have been through quite a learning curve lately. But I am coming back out of it. http://notestiedonthesagebrush.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/the-dust-has-settled/ I want to thank you again for your support during this Nano Poblano month. Especially went I felt a bit shell shocked. I keep tagging The Peppers and I think I have to go back in a put Team Pepper. Thanks Mark. I hope we will stay connected. It has been nice to meet you.

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    • We will stay connected, Deborah, on my part, at least. 🙂 Glad to meet you on Team Pepper. It IS an experience. Thick skin, like I said a few days ago. Everybody as different goals and methods and communication tools. I’m glad you met some worthwhile connections. 🙂

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  9. I have been posting at least once a day since last March, so it’s really not been anything different for me. I have been tagging most of my posts with “Nano Poblano” and “Team Pepper,” but I don’t know if they’ve shown up as pingbacks, Mark. But I have tried to be diligent. I have met (and followed) some new bloggers thru Nano Poblano and Team Pepper and I’ve enjoyed the three blog hops that have been circulating. So, yes, it’s been fun and I appreciate what you have done to keep it going.

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    • I have read every one of your posts this month Doobster, and I had not heard a whisper of your place before this. Your posts are coming to me via email notification because I have followed you in that manner. The pingback happens, I think, when you paste the link of that original post in the copy of each post. Tagging lets you find it by clicking in categories. I think …

      Note to Peppers: As December nears, don’t forget to click on “email follow” for your favorite teammates if you haven’t done so yet.

      So, ahem, sorry for shouting. I’m glad it’s worked for you, Doobster, and you’re welcome.

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  10. I did the traditional blog contest last year, but I think I’ve gotten a lot more out of Nano Poblano this year–I even convinced my husband to blog with you guys (I won’t tell which one he is : ) I think I’ve found some quality folks to follow, too. I hope I’ve followed the “rules” of Nano okay–first time pepper here. 🙂

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  11. Although this week has been a challenge for me, due to my insane work week, the month overall has been wonderful. It has broadened my idea of what I came on wordpress to do. My original goal was to write a blog about parenting a child with mental illness and hope to help other families go through something similar. Now, I have found that if I don’t have such tunnel vision, and stretch my imagination, I can reach so many more people and make wonderful connections with some amazing people.

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  12. Actually this Nano Poblano thing has exceeded my expectations. There were quite a few more people participating than I originally thought, so much so that I probably still haven’t been able to manage to follow all of them yet. I will say that doing NaNoWriMo and Nano Poblano all in the same month has diminished my ability to follow and comment on all these blogs as much as I like.

    I will say that I have met plenty of new bloggers that I like, and I can promise that whenever December comes around I’ll be out there in force pounding the like button on everyone’s posts. In that regard, my goals of meeting new people and reading new points of view has been a smashing success.

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  16. Hi! Just to be clear, two of the links in my post (and my post) had to with non-poblano posters.

    I think at this point people are either using the tags to find those posts or they added followers up front. I know I added several blogs during the first week so I get those updates directly 🙂

    I’m in a meeting, be back soon re: expectations.

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    • I know that the lines surely crossed regarding Nano Poblano and the rest of WP in those posts and comment threads of yours and others to which I referred to here, Sheena. Also, that some people now Nano Poblano-function without the need of my posts, most surely. Yet until today, one or all of them had double-digit views by the time I rose. Today, zero. That, combined with the the aforementioned discussions, tweaked my curiosity. And so I asked.

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      • OK, good. 🙂 Thanks for clarifying about the numbers. I will say site stats are strange, I’ve lost views in a day before, but I can’t say for sure that is the case here given that it’s such a stark number.

        Expectations: Meet other bloggers, some who blog every day already, others just starting out in blogging and using this as a way to learn what works for them. etc. Follow other like-minded blogs or blogs I would never have followed before because it didn’t occur to me.

        Another site “hosted” a subchallenge last year. All participants were put on a link-up grid. You were asked to follow/comment on the five other participants in your row and then, if you had time, visit others in your column (maybe 15 or so that way).

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      • Hmmm. The subchallenge is of interest to me. Not for the rest of this year, but 2015 … I know you have been a steady Nano Poblano member, and your goals and expectations are very illustrative for many new bloggers, I think, Sheena. Thanks.

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  19. I am enjoying it. Yep some days are more difficult but when they are I Google stuff for ideas or read some of the other blogs. I have found some really interesting blogs and writers and explored different styles in my own stuff. I don’t feel obligated to a team just to my own challenge although it is fun to share with others. Thank you for heading the team can’t be easy sometimes.

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  20. I’ve enjoyed it, yet some days are more difficult than others to choose just what to write about. It has been a good experience having to dig deeper for topics.

    Also, I’ve found many new bloggers that I may not have otherwise and for that I’m grateful. Now several Nano Poblano folk show up in my reader, which makes reading a breeze.

    As a side note, I didn’t realize that we were to comment on your old post regarding our new posts each day. I just link back to it. Does that work?

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    • It does work. Pingbacks show up, mewhoami. I approve them every day. 🙂 Then people who aren’t doing the Reader thing can go there if they wish and click the pingbacks to find posts. The pages are there for references, an in-case fallback for links and comfort. I can ditto what you’ve said. I met you and am now reading your work, for example. 🙂

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  21. I think that WordPress has some problems. In the mornings here in Spain I have had problem for several days. I can post, but my Reader is much behind, around 10 to 12 hours. I have seen several posts for your prompt in the last days Mark, so maybe you just need to use more patience.
    I prefer to drink my early coffee and read in the Reader, but this has not been a possibility the last days here.

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    • That is a problem that has occured to me here in the States, too, Irene. Therefore, I no longer rely on my Reader. I utilize the email notification for those I choose to follow. Thank you for reminding me that others may be having the Reader delay, though. 🙂 Have a good morning tomorrow. You will have coffee!

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  22. I don’t really know what this Nano Poblano / NaBloPoMo business is, other than sensing it’s some ghastly ‘initiative’ that aims to scoop us all up and behave as one. That is probably well wide of the mark, though whatever the intention of it, I simply have a pathological aversion to any such ‘initiatives’, of whatever hue. Count me out – NoNo PossibloNo.

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    • It’s been an eye-opening experience for me, Hariod. I have been the host of this Nano Poblano team, an unofficial position that I have taken to heart. The goal is not to get everybody to act as one. The goal for our little pocket of the much bigger movement called NaBloPoMo is to allow bloggers to meet, read and interract more easily. And with that in mind, I have encountered new blogs and bloggers within Nano Poblano. Success.

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      • So, there are ‘teams’ involved then; that only feeds my pathogens further I’m afraid Mark. I’m all for interaction of course, and argued the case for it with commenters at Doobster’s place during the recent spat-a-thon. I’m a hopeless autocrat I’m afraid to say, though one problem this does not seem to present is in disabling my ability to encounter blogs and bloggers – isn’t that easily done in any case?

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      • I can’t speak for the sweeping “all.” This is my first year involved in any of it, Hariod. I was curious. I had already very much appreciated the community aspect of my blogging experience, and thought this would be a manner to further that joy, throw more logs on that fire, if you will. And it has.

        Yes, the discovery of blogs and bloggers occured without this event and will continue after this event. But this month and the team Nano Poblano accelerated the process.

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