This is my third post in four days, wow! Unfortunately, the first two said nothing about writing, so here’s a token on-topic comment. The day before I left on my trip, the dam burst and I added 2,900 words to a chapter in progress, then managed to write a couple hundred more and start editing while I was gone. I hope I can restart that flow of words this next week.
Moving on to WordPress stuff.
When I came home from vacation, I noticed WordPress now adds a “Like” button at the end of our posts (on the actual post page, not the home page) … perfect for when you like a post, but have nothing to add in comment. So, if you read and like my posts, you have three choices: Like, Comment, and ReTweet. Why not go hog-wild and do all three?
WordPress blogs have a built-in spam catcher, which I check regularly. Most days I have no spam, others one or two, but occasionally I have thirty or more instances in a single day … and that usually goes on for days. Some of these leave a generic comment with a link to a website selling something. But most are spammers leaving a comment that is just a string of random English or foreign language words, or most irritating of all—
sexually related words. All those spam comments link to either commercial sites (real or scam) or porno sites. I presume not every blog has a spam catcher activated and these comments actually appear on those blogs for readers to see. Do enough readers click through on these type comments to make it worth these scammers’ efforts?
When I signed up for this blog, I read that WordPress occasionally runs advertising on their members’ blogs, but I have never seen one. A few weeks ago, someone who doesn’t come to my blog very often, ask me about an ad she saw on my post. Have any of you seen an ad on my blog? On any other WordPress blog?
[tweetmeme source=”cassidylewis” only_single=false]
Linda Cassidy Lewis 
That’s odd…I don’t remember seeing any ads on WordPress blogs. However, I read most posts in Google Reader, so that may make a difference.
I’m glad your dam broke!
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Thank you for visiting, Cam? Do you have a blog?
I can’t tell you how glad I am about the dam break! 🙂
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I do, but was having trouble with my log in when I typed the comment.
http://theemptypen.wordpress.com
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Thanks for the link, Cam. Do you usually have that linked to your name?
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I thought so, but I went into settings and found out that I’d turned it off. Silly me!
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I notice small ads when I visit without signed in to my blog. If I click your blog from an email, leave a comment, but don’t sign-in to wordpress, then I usually see some, but not always.
Right now I see a big fat ad from google. It’s introducing the new cambio.com–whatever that is.
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Where do these ads appear, Dayner? Do they pop up in a new window or hide something on my page?
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They hide between the text in your post and the comments. When you scroll to read the comments you have to pass the ads first.
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Yes, I finally saw some, though not on my own blog. Not the worst things, but I wish they weren’t there.
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Linda, so sorry you’re sick and hooray about the ms request. I had to stop and comment here because a reader noticed ads on one of my recent posts. They are at the bottom of the actual post page, not the home page, and they don’t show up when we are signed in. I wrote to WP and they said they have this option of adding ads now and again. For about $30 you can purchase an upgrade that will opt you out of the ad program. I’m thinking about paying for that.
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Thanks for the info, Cynthia. Do you know if a self-hosted WordPress blog is immune to ads? I’m considering switching.
Were you able to see any ads on your blog by logging out of WordPress?
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I don’t know about a self-hosted blog. And yes, I saw them by logging out. They’re not on every post, by the way.
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I finally saw some by logging out and looking at others blogs, Cynthia. I’m not crazy about these ads, so I’ll have to check out the alternatives.
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I’ve never seen any ads on your blog. But St. A works hard to keep ads from popping up no matter what site I go to. I have NO IDEA what he does, but I’m glad he does it…
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Thanks for the feedback. I’m a little annoyed by it and will probably make the switch to self-hosted by the end of the year.
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