Comments on Revealed! Why I Joined Blogit And Why You Probably Did As Well

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Talion--- No dollars for you or me, but you strike me as someone who

enjoys writing--- and writing well --- when the spirit moves him. You're one of my favorites.

posted by Jazwolf on September 19, 2006 at 10:56 AM | link to this | reply

8-Ball--- That's very kind of you to say that. I hope that I have helped.

posted by Jazwolf on September 19, 2006 at 10:54 AM | link to this | reply

Jayci--- Thanks for reading.

posted by Jazwolf on September 19, 2006 at 10:54 AM | link to this | reply

Love your perspective

I've recently written a book on external influences and your angle is very much along the same line

posted by Jayci75 on September 14, 2006 at 4:24 PM | link to this | reply

Jaz NZ is tiny with the population of a small US city (4.5 million).

problems are on a smaller scale, but no better than the rest of the world in a way. America is larger than life, fascinating and infuriating but always interesting. I found americans quite a generous and hospitable people generally speaking, very open and loud, kind but materialistic to a fault. It is only my impression.

posted by marieclaire66 on September 14, 2006 at 12:26 AM | link to this | reply

Jazwolf

Well I am glad you are here for mere pennies. Your knowledge in writing had helped out a lot of bloggers here.

posted by 8-ball on September 13, 2006 at 3:53 PM | link to this | reply

Jazwolf

It was the promise of money that lured me here, no doubt about it, and I envisioned dollars instead of the pennies I'm getting. Only the Blogit powers-that-be are cleaning up around here. Oh, well.  

posted by Talion on September 13, 2006 at 1:42 PM | link to this | reply

You are right it's true!

posted by Whacky on September 12, 2006 at 8:23 PM | link to this | reply

I knew it, I misspelled "connoisseur".

posted by Blanche. on September 12, 2006 at 3:09 PM | link to this | reply

What puzzled me, Jazwolf, was that when I worked in another book/gift

store, customers would find a piece that was marred or damaged in some way, and ask the manager or asssistant manager to discount it for them, in order to give it as a gift.  She groused about it, and said, "if it's damaged, why are you giving it as a gift anyway?"  That seems to reflect on their value of the friendship or relationship, to give a damaged item as a gift.

I'm of two minds on the subject of art complementing decor. When we moved in, this was a typical bland apartment, white walls, grey carpet.  I didn't feel comfortable until I'd painted one accent wall citrus orange, and found paintings to hang.  I'm not a conoisseur of art, but I like what I like, mainly vivid colors, so I ended up, unintentionally painting the accent wall, the same citrus orange as the light spilling out Van Gogh's Cafe At Night, which I bought an oil reproduction of.  Then gradually accumulating more Van Gogh-like pieces and one faux Monet.  I think I developed the decor and chose the art in tandem.

posted by Blanche. on September 12, 2006 at 3:07 PM | link to this | reply

Blanche--- I couldn't agree more. For most people, it's all about saving

a dollar, or even a dime. Then again, I guess that is their priority. It's certainly not mine, except maybe with things that are not so important. But when it comes to furniture and, especially, art, no way do I start with what is cheapest. And speaking of art, I also have seen that quite a few people buy art based on how it complements their decor instead of choosing something that they truly like. I buy (if I can afford it) and then find a place to put it.

posted by Jazwolf on September 12, 2006 at 3:02 PM | link to this | reply

Jazwolf, reading your other comments, reminds me of bargain hunting as

the opposite extrreme, valuing something because it's a bargain.  My boyfirend gets that all the time, working in a furniture and home design store, people will ask about the price before they've even decided on the item, and he'll say, "Why don't you decide what you want before we argue about price". 

Valuing something because it's cheap, or a bargain, makes as little sense to me as valuing it because it's expensive. A thing should have intrinsic value on its own merits, valued according to its use and enjoyment to the owner, I believe. (Although, I do love to bargain hunt at thrift stores and nothing gives me more pleasure than finding a great bargain of something I think is highly underrated).

How this relates to blogging I'm not sure, just musing on the psychology of value. 

posted by Blanche. on September 12, 2006 at 2:27 PM | link to this | reply

Marie-Claire--- People always look for bargains in the U.S. also, as well

as "something for nothing." The big difference between U.S. and most other countries is that money drives absolutely everything about our society. The U.S. is a wonderful country in so many ways, but just as it is bigger and better, it also is bigger and worse. More of everything.

posted by Jazwolf on September 12, 2006 at 2:20 PM | link to this | reply

Tigerprincess--- I hope that my posts will help you achieve that goal.

Thanks for reading.

posted by Jazwolf on September 12, 2006 at 2:17 PM | link to this | reply

yes Jazwolf, money talks.... but in different ways...

Here in NZ attitude to money is slightly different, people are "cheapskates" and love anything for free, and swoop on the bargain, they go for the cheapest price at the expense of quality. People are more stingy here. Do you have "the tall poppy syndrome" here?  NZders hate showy signs of wealth, and are quick to put down any one who made it to the top. 
I think we get paid one cent per page at Blogit....feeling rich? Yes the money lured me in, but I soon realized that the money was insignificant and irrelevant in the end. I have learnt a lot about writing, people, and American culture. I also see the pitfalls, and there are some.

posted by marieclaire66 on September 12, 2006 at 1:47 PM | link to this | reply

Actually I wasn't thinking in pennies, I was thinking in dollars. Seriously though the reason I joined Blogit was just to improve my writing skills.

posted by tigerprincess on September 12, 2006 at 12:25 PM | link to this | reply

Blanche--- I agree. The system appears to work well here, although it

certainly is confounding at times trying to figure out the specifics of how it works.

posted by Jazwolf on September 12, 2006 at 12:23 PM | link to this | reply

Pat--- Good example. And I think that much the same thing happens in

grocery stores, with the "name" brands commanding (and getting) higher prices than the generic, even though the products essentially are the same.

posted by Jazwolf on September 12, 2006 at 12:21 PM | link to this | reply

Mademoiselle--- Hey, the networks can do it. So why can't I? At

least I don't call them "very special" as they are wont to do. Actually, I've been awfully (and wonderfully) busy of late, as is often the case for me during late summer. Lots of deadlines and traveling.  So, I offer the encores. I've learned that those who are reading them now didn't see them before. Or, if they did, they've forgotten. Or they're just being polite.

posted by Jazwolf on September 12, 2006 at 12:20 PM | link to this | reply

I've seen identical raincoats in a ladies' department

actually hung side by side. One was priced at about 3/4 the cost of the other. People would bypass the bargain and pay 25 percent more, because they thought something must be wrong with the cheaper one. The saleswoman actually told me marking some of them down had doubled the sales on the full price coats. She was shaking her head, bemused and confused.

posted by Pat_B on September 12, 2006 at 12:00 PM | link to this | reply

Jazwolf, I worked in a bookstore for a curmudgeonly man who arbitrarily

assigned seemingly outrageous prices to some of his books, and sometimes artwork.  What amazed me is that the higher he priced them, the more interest people would show. He'd take another long drag on his cigarette,and smile as he was counting his money, and say, "There's no substitute for high prices".  It gave me a sense of people's unconscioius evaluations of goods. 

 The same goes for people, I think.  If someone sees a person, writing, or a book as being unwanted, or something no one values, they treat it likewise, with disregard.  So, even though we write for pennies, it's the overall valuation that's the reward.  I think Blogit knew what they were doing when they created this system and that it's worked relatively well. 

posted by Blanche. on September 12, 2006 at 11:08 AM | link to this | reply

You sure post a lot of "encore presentations" ...

I wanted my best friend to maintain my blog while I was away, but she flatly (and loudly)refused. I guess I should have just gone the "rerun" route, as well.

Meanwhile, I joined Blogit for the opportunity to interact with people who I would almost certainly never encounter otherwise.

And by "encounter", I mean "speak to".

Many people think that history is a dull subject. Dull?
Is it "dull" that Jesse James once got bitten on the forehead by an ant,
and at first it didn't seem like anything,
but then the bite got worse and worse,
so he went to a doctor in town,
and the secretary told him to wait,
so he sat down and waited,
and waited, and waited, and waited,
and then finally he got to see the doctor,
and the doctor put some salve on it?
You call that dull?

posted by Mademoiselle on September 12, 2006 at 11:07 AM | link to this | reply