Blogging | Piss and Moan

Shadow banned?

Posted on February 9, 2022 by backuphill

Anyone else kinda feel like when they talk about certain topics that they are getting shadow banned? I am starting to get a bit suspicious of WordPress.

For those who don’t know what a “shadow ban” is, you can read more about it in lots of different places. You hear about this taking place on lots of different social media platforms & accounts these days – mostly in regards to topics related to events, facts, data, and personalities of significance over the last 2+ years.

I don’t know if there is a way to really tell on the WP service, but I have noticed that certain topics definitely get fewer clicks/views than other topics. Maybe it’s because people are bored with the topics. Maybe people aren’t stimulated by certain subjects any longer. Maybe people are just to overly apathetic so the disinterest wins out. I don’t know.

Could it be the Categories I am using, or the tags? Is it the actual subject matter? I haven’t a clue. I guess I could try reposting a blog with different tags and categories and see if there is any different response.

Anyone else feel like they don’t get as much interest when it comes to certain “controversial” issues?

Payment plan

Posted on November 12, 2021 by backuphill

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

Just curious here…

What do you think of those “Buy me a coffee” buttons?

Are they annoying? Have you considered “buying a coffee”? Have you “bought a coffee” for anyone?

Do people really make money with those things? WordPress is advertising this type of thing again and I am wondering what people think of this?

What kind of content do you think warrants a “donation”?

Truly curious if you have used them (on your site) or if you have thought about it or if you have have used them (on someone else’s site)?

What do you know?

Add title

Posted on July 7, 2021 by backuphill

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Anyone else find that empty title line prompt intimidating these days?

I go to write a post and then it just sits there waiting for a title…and body…really the page just sits there and then I get busy doing other stuff and I decide I’ll do it another day. Then the next day rolls around, I open the page to do another post and the “Add title” prompt stops me in my tracks again.

Honestly, it isn’t the title that is holding me back though. It really just comes down to whether or not I really want to put the effort out to say what I want to say. Do I really want to put a post out there that will step on toes? Rile people up? Piss people off?

Is anyone even really reading these things? Is it worth my time to create if no one is actually consuming?

Questions I can’t really answer and certainly the stats area doesn’t tell you all you need (or want) to know about who is visiting your page, how long, where they go and what they look at, etc.

Something is lacking and I can’t quite put my finger on it.

So, add title…stares back at me.

Still staring…

Rarity

Posted on February 12, 2021 by backuphill

I am staring at the screen and I am not sure what to write. This is a rarity. I always have something to say!

So, either I am having writer’s block, I have run out of things to Piss & Moan about, or I am dead.

Could there be another option? Probably not.

So, what’s up with this? It feels weird. I am not sure what it is or how to feel. It’s kind of like when you’re blindfolded and have to reach into something to identify and unknown, squishy and slimy substance. When you kind of know what it is, but you don’t really know what it is. That’s kinda how it feels.

I need topics! Give me topics! Drop some comments about stuff that bugs you and I will give you my take on it.

That should work.

Or flop. Probably flop.

You’ll never participate much.

That’s kinda like sitting in an empty room talking to myself. I’m talking about important stuff, but no one is listening.

OK, GO! Do it now! Really, I mean it. GO FOR IT!

You must think…

Posted on January 22, 2021 by backuphill

You must think I am an idiot.

No, seriously, you must think so because you (and that is a collective “you” because there are a lot of you) seem to think I am going to be interested in your stupid money making scheme, scam, hustle, whatever. I don’t care if you’re the heir to a throne and need to dump money to hide in the US. I don’t care if you’re stranded in a foreign land and can’t get home but will double my “gift” when you return home. I don’t care if you have money to give me from some lottery I never entered as long as I pay a fee to get the money. I don’t care if your relatives are sick. I don’t care if you can’t feed your family. I don’t care if your crops or livestock died. I don’t care.

Stop following the blog.

I am not interested and I never will be – no matter how many times you change the name of the blog.

It doesn’t do any good to follow me because I won’t be following you back, not matter how good the “deal” or offer sounds.

So, if you must think I would be interested in your thing, think again.

I’m not.

Mic check

Posted on January 15, 2021 by backuphill

Photo by Dominika Roseclay on Pexels.com

“Testing, testing, 1…2…3…check, check,…”

I have noticed a trend. One that is a bit strange, but a trend nonetheless.

Do you all not read the blogs you follow on Fridays?

Just curious.

I have noticed over the last several months that my stats for Fridays are down from other days. As though no one is interested in reading anything, or clicking on anything.

So, I am just wondering, is it me or is it you?

Do other bloggers notice the same thing? Are your followers just not checking you out on Fridays? Are they checking out for the weekend early and ignoring your posts?

Or is it just me? *sniffs armpit…sniffs other armpit* Do I smell?

What’s the deal? Am I uninteresting on Fridays?

Am I…boring on Fridays?

What say, ye?

Search what?

Posted on December 18, 2020 by backuphill

I am not sure if you take a look at the stats page for your blog. There is some interesting stuff on there. Which of your blogs was read, how many site visitors, likes, comments, where people are from when they look, and in some cases even what someone was searching for when they found your site. Look for “Search Terms” on your stats page. It might just be entertaining!

Yesterday, for some odd reason and obviously not known to me, someone found the blog by searching for “office piss.”

I’m not joking. I serious, though keeping a straight face may not be possible.

What are you searching for when you type that into the search bar?

Looking for directions to the office bathroom?
A comment about the quality of coffee in the staff break room?
Incomplete sentence?
It it some kind of slang or urban dictionary thing about gossip?
Code words for the watercooler?
Reminder about a staff meeting?

So, I tried it. I searched for it. I would recommend not actually seeing what you get in the search results. I looked. Unless you are looking for porn, that’s what you’ll get as top results…which then leads me to wonder, how did they get to my site?

One will never know how the algorithms work. It’s mysterious magic, or voodoo. Probably voodoo.

Take a look at your stats and see if you get a chuckle from yours. What are some of the weird “Search Terms” used to find you?

500+

Posted on December 14, 2020 by backuphill

Over the weekend Piss and Moan reached a milestone! This is kinda significant but not at the same time. I am having a hard time deciding.

Should I just be excited because of the number? I mean, 500 is kind of a milestone and in the last couple months the site has been “growing.”

But on the other hand, as I have mentioned before, most of the 500 are likely not even real people. They are most likely BOT sites that are generated for “likes” and “follows,” an issue I am sure you all have seen too.

So, I am going to have to choose to view it with some satisfaction I suppose.

The issues to Piss and Moan about this last year has been overwhelming, to say the least. Rest assured, I’m not going anywhere and there will me more to get off my chest. Keep on following and spread the word!

For the love

Posted on November 20, 2020 by backuphill

of spam.

No, not the meaty and gooey pork product, though I do love me some of that stuff fried and then put into a grilled cheese sammich! But, I digress. Distracted by food. That’s easy to do…

Anyway, I have had an increase in followers the last week or two. While it is nice to see that number go up, it’s kind of irritating to know that a large number of those are just really spam accounts. They aren’t real followers. Just garbage producers of crappy, repetitive, and unhelpful marketing advice and products. Oh, and throw in the motivational and weird stuff too. You would think that WordPress would have a way of detecting and eliminating this garbage.

Someone once said there was a way to limit this (I think it was something about requiring an email address, but I can’t remember for sure), but at the time I didn’t want to do it because I wanted to give the best, most wide-open access possible. Maybe that is a bad idea, maybe not.

Anyway, rather than going that direct, I thought I would try an experiment. Wanna help with the social media test, an unofficial survey of sorts? It’s gonna require that you do something…

If you are a real follower and actually read the blog, leave a comment – a very specific comment – “Not spam.”

Seriously, I wanna see if this works. I may use this to weed out the followers who aren’t really following. So, if you wanna stay in the know, DO IT!

Stalked

Posted on November 18, 2020 by backuphill

Should I be worried? I have a feeling like I am being stalked…

Thanks for the clicks.

Someone is going back and reading my old blog posts, on both blogs. I have no idea who it is because they don’t leave a comment or a like. I even got a Facebook referral yesterday, and I haven’t had the original account connected to Facebook in more than a several years (I have no idea what the referral was for since apparently we don’t get so see how those clicks translate to traffic) and the newest blog (now four years old) has never been connected.

So, who is stalking me? Who is going WAY BACK in the archives and reading the old stuff? Who, or whom, is doing this?

Show yourself. Come out of the shadows. Reveal thyself and stop stalking me. At the very least, show me some love with a like, share, or comment. Sheesh.

Or, not. Whatever. If you find stuff so interesting, share it. Pass it around. Maybe others would find it interesting too.