The Power of Pinterest

TheQueen (no, not that queen) is being schooled in just how powerful Pinterest can be. She is now experiencing the viral phenomenon, so that I think her days of low hit counts are probably gone.

Phew! food is a powerful tag. LOL!

Pigterest
Posted on February 25, 2013 by The Queen

Yeah, pretty weak but I couldn’t help myself!! *snort*

I created an account at Pinterest last year but saw very quickly that I could lose days, no, weeks…of time at this very addictive site. So I limited my time there. (yes I should get some kind of a medal for self-control!) I pinned maybe 40 or so pics, mainly of cakes. This past week, I became a little more active by pinning another 15 or so pins and joined a group board.

Then I wrote a blog piece last Thursday based on a Facebook share by a friend in Texas. Yeah, it was the pig cake. And it became an instant hit in an unexpected way! Sort of hurt my feelings as I had nothing to with the cake’s creation. At all!!! I gave credits where credits were due, added some translations and conversions…and the traffic..read more here

Even though The Queen’s piece was a mere mention of something else, it is driving traffic to her site and a significant number of people are looking at other posts while they are there. So it’s gone a long way toward building an audience however crazy it might seem to her, and this phenomenon has shown little sign of letting up.

I hope you read her post, but if you didn’t, I want to make a point. Are hit counts everything? Absolutely not. Most bloggers I know fairly well are not primarily motivated by hit counts, and I would submit if someone is writing a blog merely or even mostly for hit counts, they will lose the joy in it very quickly. But I also must say that an increase in hits helps in sustaining someone’s desire to keep at it. So long live The Queen! :D

And one last thing. I hope some of you who have been ambivalent about Pinterest will join us at the Richard Armitage Communty Pinterest Board. I don’t really pin there as much as others, but I love looking at it and think you will too.

February 25, 2013
Categories: Fandom, Tangents . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 2 Comments

Words of Encouragement Never Get Old

I was reading a blog that has become one of my favorites on writing and wanted to share:

Never give up on your dreams by Cristian Mihai

unicorn_hippo_treadmill

One of my favorite quotes goes like this: ”Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”

Ambrose Redmon said that.

Fear is an impulse, or like the tattoo on my arm says, “Fear is the mind killer.” Frank Herbert said that. In Dune. So you can’t stop being afraid, but you can fight fear, you can control it.
I don’t think I ever told you how I became a writer. Or if I did, it was long ago.

When I was a kid, I didn’t really like to read or write. Of course, I made up stories. My father had brought me this Atlas of the World, and I found about this city in the US called Seattle. And I thought, “What a great name.” I didn’t know how it should be pronounced, so I pronounced it seetle or something like that.

Read the rest here

And thank you to all of you who responded to my question in the last post. I did not expect encouragement, but I thank you very much for it!

January 29, 2013
Categories: Tangents . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 2 Comments

A Question to Readers

This blog is now almost three years old, and there is so much I have posted about and seen in the process that I sometimes forget some of you haven’t seen the same things. In that interest, I have a question for you. Should I post more pictures or is my writing enough? Okay, that’s a tough question since to answer you may feel you’re insulting me. But I’m fairly thick-skinned and can handle constructive criticism. So let me know what you think. Just know that I don’t want this place to become mostly a picture gallery (you can go to tumblr or Pinterest for that LOL!) although I do love me some pictures of Richard Armitage. :D

faultmag13
Richard, Fault Magazine, January 2013 (as always, click for a larger format)

Photo courtesy of RichardArmitageCentral

January 27, 2013
Categories: Housekeeping . Tags: , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 27 Comments

And You’re Wondering How to Think About Twitter

Most people I talk to about Twitter are not sure how to think of it. Eagled-Eyed Editor has made a marvelous post explaining it in terms so apt, I chuckled while I was reading:

"You talking to me? Are you tweeting ME?" Dove image courtesy of dzz, Morguefile.

“You talking to me? Are you tweeting ME?” Dove image courtesy of dzz, Morguefile.

I’ve been on Twitter for a considerable time now and I’m enjoying the fact that more and more people are talking to me. At first, it seemed like Twitter was just a giant firehose, spraying thoughts from people all over the world. One friend of mine has compared it to the world’s biggest tea party, with conversations going on in various spaces.

But in a way, Twitter is also like blogging: you have to give to receive. The more I respond to other people’s tweets or send tweets to them, the more likely they are to say something in return.

I like to imagine that Twitter users fall into different bird categories:

read the rest here

If you’re not that interested in learning about Twitter, check out her blog anyway. It’s a good one!

And I have not forgotten the Twitter posts I promised. :D

January 19, 2013
Categories: Tangents . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 5 Comments

When Life Gets Too Much, Take a Holiday

I’ve been busy which should be obvious; otherwise, I would have been here fangirling with the rest of you! Life does have a way of intruding. This week it came in with a vengeance, and in the wee hours of the night and the morning, I wrote about it. It would be a wonderful release to publish, but I’m not sure this is the place for it.

Nevertheless, I have plenty to publish for this blog, and those of you who have worked with me for the last few weeks know what I mean. I’m getting to it! But hang on while I throw a few other things at everyone today. I have SO’s review of The Hobbit, and I’ll intermingle mine with his. I have another post with thoughts on the New York premiere, which I wasn’t going to post, but I feel it needs to be said. Last (or maybe not :D), I have a post I’ve been sitting on since the day I started this blog. It may actually go up late tonight or very early tomorrow, which I realize is relative given many of you are not in the U.S. Whatever. It’s going up last and quite a few hours from now. And of course all of this is subject to change if I get a wild hair or we get a bombshell about Richard Armitage dropped on us. Just sayin’.

And I did not forget about SO’s Ode. He asked me not to publish it. The rat! He thinks it will offend, and although he’s not above being offensive on occasion, he doesn’t want to offend the Army. Don’t worry. I’m working on him. ;D

That’s all for now. I’ve got to head to church. Yes, I said church. Amazing that someone like me could darken the door of a church, but God has a sense of humor.

December 16, 2012
Categories: Fandom, SO, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 8 Comments

There Will Be Typos

November 21, 2012

Some of you are thinking about writing, perhaps blogging, and I look forward to what you will share. Doesn’t matter if it’s Richard Armitage related or not. Just bring it, and I think you will find a group amongst the readers and fellow bloggers here who will not only support your efforts but is thoughtful and dare I say educated enough to give you some helpful input. So what are you waiting for?

If it’s about your identity, start off anonymously. There is no law that says you can’t. And if it’s about making a mistake, then get over that. You ARE going to make a mistake. More than one. Digest that thought as a reality and you’re good to go.

This is getting the ‘Richard Armitage’ tag because Richard has been a great conduit for many of us coming together to discuss many more things than him. Thanks, Rich.

And a picture of our dear boy going for it:

Oh, and I made a comment on Twitter about being on a caffeine high this morning. You’ll believe me sometime today. :D

Screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.Com

November 21, 2012
Categories: Tangents, The Impressionists . Tags: , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 15 Comments

Drawing Conclusions

No, this post isn’t what you think it is. I’m taking a breather for a couple of hours because my brain is on overload. Again, this is not what you think. My brain is not having a meltdown due to the monsoon of Richard Armitage information yesterday. Oh, perhaps I could have a meltdown over that, but well, I’m not. I’ve been expecting that flood. I thought it would come more near the first of November, but what do I know?! LOL!

So here’s what this post is really about. I’ve been coming to the conclusion for a good while that there is entirely too much to write about. I can’t get to all of it. When I started this blog, I was wondering if I would be able to crank out enough writing. Now? I’ve branched into others things and can’t seem to stop! It’s stunning to me what I’ve been doing the last few years. Me, the person who swore up and down I would never write anything unless I was forced to do it, writing and writing and writing and getting high on that! One of these days, I may post a story I’ve written. That will be another major step for me. Phew! I want to laugh that I am actually writing ficiton and enjoying it. Who woulda thunk?

If you’re thinking about writing, but you think it’s too late for you or you’re not a writer because you have this lofty and dare I say ridiculous standard of what a writer is supposed to be, let it go and start writing! You’ve heard people say this, and I’m joining the chorus. Don’t wait. Don’t leave writing to those individuals who supposedly have some gift that’s been granted to a chosen few. That’s all bull. You’ve got something to say. So say it. It may not come out exactly how you want it when you begin. Keep at it!

Not sure how to start? Well, you could write a journal. Or maybe you did that, and now it’s gotten old ’cause you need input. Maybe you can start a blog and if you’re really concerned about looking like a fool, make yourself anonymous. There’s an idea. :D

Yeah, this is getting the Richard Armitage tag ’cause Richard has been a kind of impetus, and I don’t mean of the sexual kind but of something much greater. Thank you, Rich.

© Photograph by Martin Bangemann

October 26, 2012
Categories: Tangents . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 9 Comments

A Good Problem

So I started my new blog, but I have a problem. Actually, until this evening I’ve been looking at the issue I’m about to reveal as a problem. It seems that I can’t shift out of snark mode. That’s supposed to be a serious blog, but I’ve been at snark for so long, I keep straying into it. This evening I decided that a little snark over there is not going to be a bad thing. It is possible to be passionate and a smart ass? Or am I wrong that’s it’s possible to be taken seriously as a smart ass? Wait. Let me rephrase. Can you be a smart ass and be taken seriously?

How is this a good problem? I used to be so serious, I bored myself. Now I just want to write, and if that means a little bit smart ass, so be it.

A picture for your trouble:

Oh yeah, Ricky was a smart ass — especially in this scene.

Screencap courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.Com

September 23, 2012
Categories: George Gently, Tangents . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 13 Comments

Finally Did It

From the time I started this blog, I’ve been talking to my friends about something else I had in mind, and I’ve finally started it. It’s a new blog. Yeah, I am a glutton for punishment it seems, and no, this blog is not going away. For a long, long time I’ve wrestled with what to do about this place, and it occurred to me that I had given myself the untenable position of choosing between this blog or the other one. The other day it hit that God had not come down from on high and told me I had to have one or the other. So I’m keeping them both. Richard Armitage is too much fun to talk about to stop now. How long I can manage this I don’t know, but I have SO‘s support. This is key.

For those who are wondering about my loose ends here, I will get to all of them, and most notably to some of you that I have more to say about my conversation with Todd Garner and my Comic-con experience. No worries! I will share it and soon. Until then, I hope you will forgive my distraction.

So where is this new blog? I’m so glad you asked. :D It’s over here.

September 18, 2012
Categories: SO . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 5 Comments

Thoughts on a Sunday Morning

For some time now I’ve been working on something else, and I’ve mentioned it a few times. I do have some things I need to finish here, and I’m still going to run this blog for a bit longer once I make my jump. How long I’m not exactly sure, but I may make it to my third anniversary next April. Not entirely sure of that, but it’s possible. Frankly, every time I’ve tried to quit this thing, something happens to keep me from it. That’s not a complaint. It’s always something good that occurs. Why that keeps happening I don’t know. I don’t post every day. I’ve inhibited the Google bot. I don’t have RA’s name in my blog name and have seldom put it in a title until recently. I have had significant help from some of the RA fan sites and from my fellow bloggers. I appreciate them all very much! I am also on Twitter although statistically a small number of those who surf the Net are on Twitter. So to all of you who find this place and continue to read it, thank you for that and for continually drawing me back into this marvelous ride. And thank you to Richard Armitage for just being Richard Armitage. LOL!

If someone had told me when I started this lark that so much would happen and so easily, I would have scoffed. Not to say that this isn’t work. It is. But contrary to what some may think, I’ve asked for very little from others in the last two and a half years. Thanks to those of you who answered when I made a request, and to those of you who took it upon yourselves to give me something unasked. Your participation is the icing on this cake, and cake it is because it’s helped evoke and sustain an aspect of me I hope will create something fine with my next project.

Until then, SO continues to smile and quirk his eyebrow at me. It’s the whimsical way he’s always had that makes me want to get in his head, and when I finally do get in his head, it’s one of the most pleasurable things imaginable. This morning is our anniversary, and I can say with conviction that I’ve never been bored. Not once. Irritated or disappointed at times but never bored. And I have it on good authority he’s never been bored with me. I’m very thankful for what’s occurred between us, and after all these years together, it refreshes me to say that this morning.

September 16, 2012
Categories: SO . Tags: , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 27 Comments

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