Wednesday, April 6, 2016

The Baxter Stockman or Is blogger dead? edition



wasn't very long ago that this was my average per post : +8 likes on google ,21 comments, 721 page views for the post from 4/12/15. now Im getting this : +1 google like, 0 comments, 9 page views for the post from 4/4/16. Do I need to just show the same toys that every other blogger is showing at the moment , sticking only to what everybody is posting about (aka the fad of the hour)? I mean that seems boring to me but I guess that's how its done now? I have always tried to show a large variety of stuff so its interesting  but I have noticed that the only posts that get any attention are the ones for the really common run of the mill basic stuff that everybody and their uncle owns.I know that I don't like looking at pictures of stuff I already own over and over but am I in the minority on this? Controversial Wednesday , lets hear what people have to say. are the blogger numbers down across the board or am I just doing it wrong?


33 comments:

  1. I think numbers are down.Your right about having to post about things that are relevant to the minute in order to get views.I think Instagram might be one of the reasons why toy bloggers have taken a back seat.Vlogging has become more popular too.People like to make that visual connection with the collector.Remember when Reis was around?Blogger was jumping back then.

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    1. Ah yeah Instagram, I dont have a cellphone so a lot of the hip new things are beyond me.I met Reis a really long time ago , has to be at least 8 years ago now. He was the writer of the toy column on Ask,com back then.I guess the way I collect these days puts me behind the rest of the crowd because I for the most part wait till things hit clearance or once they become common,I gave up trying to beat the scalpers to the store a long time ago.But thanks for the response , Im glad to know its not just on my end.

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    2. Instagram is definitely killing the blog scene a bit. I have avout 400 followers on Instagram, which is small compared to more popular users. 10,000 followers seems to be the magic number of followers. I do still prefer to post to my blog when I want to go into more depth on a certain toy/topic, but my numbers are down on the blogging front. For me it's okay, because I never look at the numbers.

      I myself hardly touch new toy offerings, with the exception of the occasional LEGO minifigure. I like to read about vintage and bootleg finds found at thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales. If I come across a vintage Baxter I would definitely snatch it up! I have missed your posts and its good to see some posts again. :)

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    3. I also frequent littlerubberguys.com and these 2 Facebook groups:Vintage Toys & Action Figures group (created by Brian Heiler of the Plaid Stallions blog) and the Action Figure Identification! (The Original) group.

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    4. Instagram is what Im hearing these days , it was just such a sudden decline I thought maybe blogger was shutting down and I missed the announcement XD Thanks Im glad to be back posting, I had some pretty serious health issues last year and the entire blogging / toy collecting took a side line while I worked on getting back healthy.I post on Reddit and 4chan from time to time myself , I have been to littlerubberguys many times but Im not really active there.

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  2. I haven't found overall views to be down, but I do think fewer people are using google plus - I rarely get any likes through that. I do see a lot more people coming in through Tumblr (I'm not a heavy tumblr user myself, but occasionally a post of mine gets linked by someone over there, and that always gets me quadruple the views. If I really wanted to take advantage of that, I think that's where I'd focus. I haven't done it yet myself, but maybe one of these days).

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    1. I dont really us google plus either but blogger automatically posts my blog posts there and onece in a while one of my posts will go crazy on there and get like 300 likes for no real leason.Iv never used tumblr or even really looked at it, I think its another one of those things directed at cellphone users.I Often post pictures on 4chan's /toy/ board but I would never ever link to my blog there.

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  3. Hope that you are well, good Sir.
    Cannot figure out Google + either... A great day to you...

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  4. We Like your posts very much...
    The Baxter figure was the only Turtles figure that I wanted... was told that I was "childish" to waste my money on it... so never got one. (The Fly , 8 inch action figure was a favorite toy of my youth)... Finally obtained a 12 inch figure (Return of the Fly) Take care... and post on the things that You enjoy... Oh, we already had the Krang figures..

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    1. I am better now then I was a year ago for sure , I havent been doing to much on the computer in a while because of health reasons.I basically got this guy because he is the fly.

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  5. I think the entire blogging climate is changing. Like others have said, more folks are moving to different formats, such as vlogging and Instagram. And, I think some folks just don't have the free time anymore, whether it's because of works, kids, etc..

    As for what to blog about, do what makes you happy. I'm sure there are trends out there that are more popular, but if you don't care about them, then what's the point? If views and numbers are important to you, one thing you can do is self promote your blog, either on Twitter or Facebook. Unlike Instagram, neither one of those requires a smartphone, so you could do it right from a pc.

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    1. I agree its not what it was in the past , looks like I might need to look into one of these other outlets. It was just shocking to me how fast it took a nose dive. I mean its not really numbers Im interested in when i post but it was really curious to me how much it had died since last I posted. I figure at some point Ill be the last nutty person posting toy picks on blogger though it might come sooner then I had figured.

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    2. Another thing to consider, some of these folks have been blogging a long time, and it may just be a good ol' case of burnout. I know I always seem to get into a blog right before the author up and disappears or decides to hang up their keyboard.

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    3. Due in part to different life events Iv been away from this blog for extended points in time so I havent had the chance to burn out in the 4 years this one has been around. I have seen many logs come and go though. Seems like our little community is really starting to dwindle down from a large group to a small hand full here. I guess one day I might migrate over to something else.

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    4. It always makes me sad when yet another blogger shuts down. I'm glad to see you've kept it going over the years.

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    5. I did miss all of 2013 and about half of 2014 then the end of 2015 and the first few months of 2016 , Im hoping nothing comes up this time and I can keep up a steady pace with posts from now on.

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  6. Blogging just isn't what it use to be anymore when you have Instagram around which i do a lot on now myself...simple and easy to connect with people and show your pictures off...Sad but true but times are changing i mean still blog but i think at some point am going to be shutting down mine but am not for sure when that will be happening.

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    1. Well that will be a sad day for sure. Im going to keep plugging away at this blog when I can I guess even if nobody is looking anymore just because it gives me something to do other then shaking my angry fist at Instagram .

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  7. Back in the day it seemed like conversations were being had on blogger sites. Now its just the usual one liners like "Nice" or "Great pick up".I'm guilty of it .Frankly it just gets boring.I just started up a tumbler account and I'll be posting again on my second blog 5 points and proud.It does get a little dull sometimes. Maybe tumblr will allow me to meet new personalities and collectors.

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    1. thats one thing I noticed a long time ago ,its mostly short comments now no really back and forth these day. Im going to look into these other places but Im still going to keep my blog, I really always wanted it to be a site and not just a blog but life gets in the way.

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    2. I've looked at Tumblr a few times now, and it doesn't seem like I see much conversation going on on other people's sites. It looks like Instagram for PC's, and seems a little clunky. I wonder if it's different if you actually have a site on there though.

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  8. I have noticed alot of bloggers are liberals. I turned them off with my conservative views for me. And frankly alot of bloggers are kinda selfish. I have noticed I comment ALOT more on theirs than they do on mine. And I definitely do not feature run of the mill stuff. Most of my stuff is made.

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    1. yeah I haven't been really commenting so much but I also haven't really been around in like 7 months so i do have an excuse ;) peoples views dont really bother me because everybody has them and thats fine. I also stole you're Controversial post idea.

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  9. 21 comments? I've been doing this blogging thing for almost ten years and I am lucky to get three or four comments every fourth or fifth post! And I pretty much get nothing out of G+. But hey, I post about what I feel like posting about and that's the only reason I have been able to do it for so long. Do what you want and what makes you happy!

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    1. See your blog was the one that got me interested in blogging in the first place, I remember back in like 2008 with your huge he man score that contained wonder bread heman :) yeah thats pretty much what I do , I post what takes a good photo or what Iv just got and cant stop messing with at the moment.

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    2. Ah yes, THAT was one hell of a score! Well, you can count on my stubbornness to keep me in the blogger world long after all the cool kids have drifted off to new and better things. I'm pretty sure I'll be Last of the Mohicans.

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    3. I dont plan on going to the next big thing ,Ill stick with blogger.I was never a cool kid so why start now xD

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  10. In terms of blogging, Blogspot isn't the only platform, there's Wordpress as well, my own site is a self hosted site independent of these networks, so I don't get a lot of views or comments, which is understandable as it's a bit out of the way and I don't comment much on other people's sites as much as I really should.
    I will agree though that the blogging scene has died off a bit across all platforms. For me I post about what's hot for me at the moment and at annoyingly infrequent intervals that I couldn't maintain readers anyway lol. But I like to do it and that's that.
    I'm going to keep my site and if I wanted to branch out to a newer audience I'd think about getting an account on Instagram or Tumbler or somesuch new nonsense with a single picture and a link back to a blog post on my site.

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    1. hah! I have that same issue friend. I posted in all of 2012 then not again until the middle of 2014 then I missed the last few months of 2015 and the first few months of 2016. I always wanted Green plastic squirt gun to be a stand alone website but I just never had the spare funds or funds to make it happen.I to am bad about not commenting but really Iv hardly looked at blogs in the last 7 months and I plan to jump back into commenting asap.

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  11. How about starting up a forum?Is that even a thing?I'll look into it.Maybe we could start one with everyone who's commented here and then branch out.We could have toy,life,sports,politics threads,just to get things off our chest.It could be a place away from our blogs just to talk shit :)

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    1. sounds like a fun idea but then Im drawn back to the painful memory that was toy swamp and I wonder if it could work. Im still curious what ever because of toy swamp , its gone but when and why. I would love to get something going like the league of extraordinary bloggers. The legue was a great time for me and I really miss it.

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  12. Bro!
    We still visit your site as often as possible.

    Sure Blogger isn't as popular was it was and the "rage" is all Instagram but tomorrow it will be another thing. For us, Blogger is still fine.

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    1. thanks and I agree , Ill stick with blogger .Blogger serves my needs and is easy enough to use and its no cellphone required

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