For those of you who are regular readers of The Cheek of God, I’ve got a couple of questions that I hope you’ll take a moment to answer for me by way of a quick comment.
First, how do you get to The Cheek each day? Do you subscribe (which reader)? Email? Bookmark? I have access to some very basic subscriber info, but I’m looking for more specific, personalized reader information. If you’re a subscriber, does the feed meet your needs adequately? Does the formatting make it difficult to read, or is it sufficient as-is? Bottom line, when you get your Cheek on, how do you go about it?
Second, what keeps you coming back? And please be specific. Freewriting? Memoir? Random stuff? You just think I’m a swell guy and hate to miss a thing I post? That sort of thing. What about The Cheek tweaks you?
I’ve got some free time as of late and have made some tweaks to The Cheek that I hope make the blog more user-friendly. I also am debating whether or not to make The Cheek a self-hosting blog. The Cheek is going on three months old and has become something more than just a blog for me. It’s been my pleasure to be here. And the writing is the easy part. Tweaking the experience for you, the reader, is the hard part. I’m simply info-gathering at this point. Call it market research. And your input means a lot.
So fire away. All comments regarding both form and content are welcome and appreciated.
Brian
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May 7, 2008 at 11:13 am
Jim
I subscribe- and it meets my needs- I get a ping on my Blackberry everytime there is a new post, however sometimes the notifications are on a bit of a delay- by as much as a day in some cases. I have Cheek bookmarked under favorites and check in the morning when I get to work. then again in the afternoon so the subscription thing isn’t an issue. Most of the time I read your new posts before I am alerted to them.
As far as why I read- I guess I am really into the idea of a living memoir, and I am fasinated reading your posts. I would love to be able to do that someday.
I find the writing exercises you post to be great. To be able to make posts about couches, dishes, and jello interesting to read is a real talent. You have a great deal of that (talent that is)
I would love to see more posts about your family and how you guys came to be where you are today. An insight into how you ended up at this point in your life and why. I think it would be great to share, and would open up parts of the past that your kids can read about as time goes on.
I would love to be able to share stories of my life with my wife and children and let them know why and how things came about the way that they did. You know- remove sopme of the mystery about the past- and give them somthing solid to refer to rather than depend on hearing stories again and again- Ones that may change from time to time as I forget or try to embelish. Until then I like to do that vicariously through the “Cheek of God” Keep up the great work Brian!
May 7, 2008 at 11:51 am
lissa
i usually read the blog from google reader and then click onto the site to leave a comment. the freewriting posts are my favorite, but i like the mixture of styles you have on the blog. i think it’s great. i agree: keep up the good work.
May 7, 2008 at 12:07 pm
jimsmuse
I’ve got your blog in the ‘blog surfer’ of wordpress. The things that keep me coming back are your writing style and the honesty with which you write about your life.
Keep up the great work!
May 7, 2008 at 2:03 pm
nate
I subscribe via feedburner. I enjoy the variety in subjects but continuity in style and outlook.
May 7, 2008 at 2:58 pm
jane
I didn’t come through the word COUCHES…lol
I was on someone else’s blog- but I can’t quite remember whose…
have you read glenn hagar? maybe his? I know that I clicked on your name where you left a comment on someone’s post- and was reading about your couch- and found it somewhat funny that I had just written on my own couch.
I thought that someone may have posted on my Hannah’s Haven blog and I followed comments- not sure though. I’ll have to figure it out for you and get back.
May 7, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Michael
I book marked you. Lame I know. I should learn how to get rss feeds so that I don’t have to check my favorites each day. But then I kind of like working through my list. Kind of seems quaint.
I come back because you are interesting, easy-going, a good father, and an all around nice guy. A very compelling combination in my book. My favorite posts are the memoir stuff about you and your kids.
Go for the self-hosted. It is cool to have your own site. If you need help setting it up, give me a hollar. I did it for my site. That said, you use word press and it doesn’t get much simpler than that. Once you set up the database, you are golden.
May 7, 2008 at 9:41 pm
bloggingjenny
I subscribe to you via Google reader, and that works for me. What keeps me coming back? You make some interesting comments on my blog, so I figure it’s only proper if I read what else you have to say.
May 11, 2008 at 11:10 am
Prityinbrown
I firt got here by way of Google. But I have you marked as a “Favorite” and I also get e-mails.
May 12, 2008 at 2:32 am
Corina
I added your RS feed to my bookmarks using the sage extension for Firefox. I click on your blog and it shows me about the last ten posts you’ve made then I can go to the ones I haven’t read and read them.
The first time I came here was to reciprocate after you left a comment on my blog. Now I come (I haven’t in a while because I’ve been traveling) for memoir pieces but also because I enjoy reading your outlook on your little corner of the world.
May 12, 2008 at 11:30 am
Maggie, dammit
I subscribe via Google Reader, then click through to comment. I like the mix: examples of fine writing, trips down memory lane. I like succinct, well-written posts, and that’s what you provide.
May 12, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Locust
I get here from the links section of my own blog. I visit because not only do I like your posts, but you take the trouble to respond to comments, and even to check out the website of the person who’s commenting. That’s a basic common courtesy that I appreciate in cyberspace, as it doesn’t exist too often.
May 14, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Kari Thomas
Well.. you gave me the address. Now you are bookmarked. WHy do I read? Well you are my brother! Love ya bub.