Our Education System Stinks from the Writing Collection of Paul Butters, UK

(Picture Credit - Bigstock\TeacherVision)

Just posted on VoicesNet - a slightly amended version of my "Planet Paul" blog entry...

Our Education System Stinks from the Writing Collection of Paul Butters, UK

Writing Online

(Picture Credit - PSUCA)

Writing Online is what I do most these days. On Facebook it's every day, of course. But otherwise on “Hello Poetry”, “VoicesNet”, “Poemhunter” and several of my own Google “Blogger\Blogspot” blogs.

The other day I did some checking-back. I thought that the “Triond” writing site ended years ago. I Googled to find out. The best source I found on this question was myself! From what I can gather, Triond vanished from the web around March 2016! Not long before that, they got rid of their vaunted “Forum”. Then their domain licence ran out and they couldn’t be bothered to renew it.

From about 2008 or so, Triond was everything to me. I wrote many blogs\articles on there because they gained far more views, comments and money(!) than stories and poems. But I still posted lots of stories and poems on Triond too. Then, of course, there was the Forum. I found it utterly addictive, even though it was full of junk. Someone later reported that a “Magog”, a Troll-like destroyer named after a race of “baddies” on sci-fi series “Andromeda”, took down that Forum. I was “there” and still “fighting” that Magog when the Forum disappeared.

Triond bought me a few good table tennis bats, but not much more. But back then it was where I “lived” as an online writer. I miss it. Still have a fair number of “Trionders” (fellow-writers) as Facebook Friends and still play “Fantasy Premiership” with some of them.

“After Triond” it has been just about all poetry for me. This week I wrote three table tennis blogs for a change, but this was exceptional. But I think I need to get back to some blog and story writing. That’s partly why I am typing this right now.

For the record I now have 427 poems on “Poemhunter” – just about my whole “portfolio”- 431 officially as 3 of them are stories and one is by my sister Joan Priestley. There are 281 of my poems on “Hello Poetry”, along with 3 by my pub-lunch-buddy Norman Stevens and 1 by Elizabeth Squires (unnamed). (Sorry for the Americanism there ha ha). On VoicesNet I have 350 poems (it says), Viewed 145,936 times (all of them being on Poemhunter too) and 125 “Others” (stories and blogs), viewed 92,794 times. My Poetry Blog contains 266 Poems (it says) and my “Story Blog” has 28 pieces. My main “blog blog” has just 18 items but there are maybe 50 more blog entries around my more “specialised” blogs. Needless to say, all my blogged-poems are on Poemhunter too.

My most Viewed Blog Ever was the fake news special “Crake Cake”, which as reported earlier received 217,390 Views on Triond by September 2015 – about 6 months before that website vanished like a modern day Atlantis. As regards poetry, “Me, Paul Butters” is my most-Viewed poem – On “Hello Poetry” – at 18,600+.

Enough of boring stats. After all, my best viewed pieces have been a spoof blog about a “health food” and a self-centred poem. Which brings me to a slight concern: are these online writing sites an extension of that worldwide phenomenon called “Social Media? 

On television they keep telling us that social media is “addictive” and potentially harmful. The theory goes that getting “Likes”, “Comments”, “Shares”, “Views” etc. gives you a Dopamine or Serotonin High. Or if you prefer, a boost of Endorphins or Oxytocin. Which of course is addictive. Getting few Views or Likes of course has the opposite effect on you. Apparently mobile apps etc. use bright colours and other “temptations” to brighten up your online experience.

I must admit, I personally “use” “Hello Poetry” more than any other site because there my poems usually “trend” and receive many views and favourable comments. VoicesNet is quite good to me too and Poemhunter has improved recently after a bad slump (for everybody active there). Interesting too that Poemhunter bucked up when it got rid of its Forum. On the other hand I confess that on sites where I’ve received harsh criticism, I haven’t gone back. All this is surely “human nature”.

But worry not, dear reader. I still have a sense at the back of my mind whether a poem I write is “any good”. Sometimes people even agree with my judgements. At other times my more “inspired” and “hard worked” poems just get ignored. But having done an English Literature Degree I’d like to think I learnt some “Critical Sense”. Yes that’s a James Reeves reference. I recall that he described true poetry as “magic”.

At the end of the “Critical Sense” book there are some “samples” of poetry from a wide variety of poets. Reeves merely numbers them and invites you to “tell” who has written what from your instincts. I was very good at that. I did much the same on some “University Challenge” questions the other night.

But I digress. What I’m trying to say is that I still have a sense of what might be “good poetry”. “Me, Paul Butters” as a poem is not very good and no number of “Views” from others will convince me that it is.

So from now on I feel that I need to stop being such a “View Whore” and strive instead for more Quality. Do I feel another poem coming on? Maybe soon. But when it comes I will be unable to resist it. I can barely stop myself from writing. It is a compulsion. I have to do it. And do it I will.

Paul Butters

© PB 3\8\2018.

TUSH at Bukisa

This morning I discovered that my old blog "Introducing The Game of Table Tennis", as published on Bukisa com, is now "By Thomas Neal". Yet my name remains at the bottom of the script. I have duly commented there about this, though said comment is "under moderation".... Watch this space. Grrrr. It was bad enough when they 1) switched to Adsense payment only, 2) stopped authors from publishing there. Indeed I now see no Log-In button. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Paul Butters

Marinia Seven

See that on "StoryStar" my story "Marinia 7" got 24K Likes! I know, I'm not bothered about such stats. But hey, I'd forgotten all about posting the thing.... Just shows. Nuff Said.

Some History

From an old Facebook post -

Paul Butters: 19th September 2015 at 10.37 - My most Viewed blog with 217,390 Views to press, which happens to be on Triond:

"Crake Cake - Amazing New Health Food - Have you heard about this amazing new health food? I hadn’t, so I checked it out. A simple cake. Yet it increases your lifespan by reducing bad Cholesterol and giving you bags of life energy. Read on for more.

notecook.com"

 

Those Views! Maybe more later, before Triond shut down. WOW. Though it's not all about Views of course. It's about HAVING to write because you just can't help it! 

Paul Butters

Poem Posting

(Picture Credit - MacMyth)

 
2.05 PM BST (roughly) - I'm typing this "live". Usually I type on "Word" and paste. Just before lunch I "wrote" a poem called "Spring" and posted it on "Hello Poetry". "VoicesNet", "Poemhunter" and on my Poetry Blogger Blog. Every new poem will be posted on all these 4 sites straight away from now on. Okay, I might be competing with myself, but hey...

Today, however, I did NOT have time to "Share" my URL addresses on Google Webmaster, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google Plus, Digg etc. I see now that my Views on all sites are rather disappointing. This shows the importance of "Promoting" your work through these and other Sharing platforms.

I will now do all that Sharing and see what happens. On HP I have usually "Trended" by now but have a paltry 31 Views (tho 5 "Likes"). Over and Out.

2.40 PM - Within minutes of me Sharing my URLs as above, my Views shot up. Interesting experiment. "Promotion" works. Nuff Said Fer Now. Out.

6PM Update - Well, promotion doesn't work that much! Here are the stats for my last 2 poems... On HP - Spring 70, "End Of" 385; VN - Spring 55, End Of 74; Blog - Spring 21, End Of 17.

The Poemhunter stats are more mysterious. My Poet's page says 106 Hits yesterday (no mention of today). On the "PH League Tables" I have 16 "Internet Providers", 4 today. The Member Page stats have 0 Views for End Of and a blank return for Spring.

So "Spring" has bombed on HP - that's very unusual. At 2.40 I recall the Views for HP and VN being identical at 51! Is this a common readership??? I know Poemhunter is quite highly ranked by Google, so that promoting might have worked there.

Interestingly Spring has done better than End Of here on Blogger. The plot thickens. Out.

13\4\16 Update - At 2 AM this morning "Spring" started Trending!!! It has now had 275 Views. Late yesterday my no. one fan Elizabeth Squires (NSW, Australia) Reposted it and again that did the trick! Trending of course adds to the Views considerably, but its getting it to trend that's the thing.

I call Elizabeth "Beth" on Facebook to avoid confusion with my cousin Jim's daughter Liz. Nuff Said. Out.

13\4 - 11.35 AM Update - "Spring" - HP 276, VN 70 (but 3 great comments), Poetry Blog Here 23, Poemhunter 0 Yesterday, 0 Today; 73 Total Hits (Down from 106), ISPs 15: 4 Yesterday, 1 Today.

Poemhunter has been a graveyard for years. Even their Forum has gone. But I keep "storing" my poems there. HP remains the best for me: I ignore all the politicking and trolling that goes on there. Nuff Said. Out.

14\4 - 10AM Update - "Spring" 376 Views on HP. Out.

15\4 - On HP: "Spring" 398, "End Of" 402.

18\4 -Spring 433, End Of 425!

28\4 - For the record: 298 poems on Poemhunter now - just about all the poems I've ever written. Oh and "Me, Paul Butters" has had 10.9K Views on HP now.

1\5 - Comparison - VN - End Of 94, Spring 116, Living the Dream 133, Death row 230, Some Men 106. HP - End Of 511, Spring 536, Living 327, DR 230, Some Men 228.

24\5 -  65 Views from 13 poems on "Poetfreak" com. lol. That's why I hardly bothered with them.

22\6 -  Have 312 poems on Poemhunter now: believe that's my complete collection.

24\6 - "Me, Paul Butters" has reached 11K Views on HP.

5\7 - Have had  87179 Views in Total on VN. The top poet Lee Emmett (female) has had over 4 million!

How Do I Successfully get an Audience for my Poetry? - My Quora Answer

(Picture Credit - G Salahuddin)

Getting an audience for your poetry. Well, here are some first thoughts. The easiest way is simply to Google some online poetry sites and post there. I happen to favour "Hello Poetry com", "VoicesNet" and "Poemhunter", but there are many more. Such sites are "communities" of poets who love to read and comment on the work of others. 

Poets also like to have THEIR stuff read etc. too, so it's very wise to read and "support" poems by your "colleagues". My most successful poem on Hello Poetry has so far had 10.8 K Views. On VoicesNet my top one has had 7,700+ Views.

By the way, I favour typing my poems on Word then copying and pasting onto the poetry site. That way, I keep a copy of my original for safekeeping.

I also happen to run a poetry blog through Google Blogger\Blogspot. It is quite easy to use. The tough thing though is that "Views" do not come so easily as you are operating in relative isolation. One of my poems did get about 7,000 Views however. You just have to soldier on with such a blog... I also use WordPress blogging site which is easy too.

When you post any poem on the internet it helps to "share" it with search engines and social media sites. I share mine with "Google Webmaster Tools", Bing, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Linkedin, Stumbleupon, Google Plus.... In fact most blogging and poetry sites offer links to countless sharing platforms like these.

So there you are. An introduction to getting your poems Viewed and commented on (and even discussed).

Paul Butters