Welcome back to Introductions over Coffee, where we meet new bloggers (and some more established ones). We also explore guidance and insights for novice bloggers, and maybe as a refresher for us all.

Introductions over Coffee (IoC) has been running for about 11 months already. Despite my plans to post something weekly, its clear with 15 posts (including this one) I’ve not achieved my objective. However, as I get back into my routines, I thought it a good time to review on the new bloggers covered to date. Its a few months since we’ve featured a new blogger, so its a good time to see where we are. Firstly, some statistics:

• It was September 2023 that I last featured a new blogger
• Since May 2023 IoC has brought you 9 new bloggers and 3 more established blogging friends
• Of those 9 new bloggers, more than 50% are still blogging (5 out of the 9) although one last posted on 2nd February, so I’m not 100% certain she is still blogging.
• 1 of the 4 inactive bloggers has their site set to private, so they may still be blogging, just not sharing.

I’m going to share links to those who are still active but this creates a dilemma for me.

The Dilemma

We all know its important to deal with any broken links on our sites and I want to keep all previous posts in the IoC series. However, what do I do about the inactive bloggers who may have broken links. I might have to remove the featured bloggers from the posts so we keep the guidance in each post.

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Re-introducing bloggers

I’m providing the links to the previous editions of IoC for each of the bloggers who are still active, alongside a link to their most recent post.

• The Bohdi Buddhi – IoC#1
• AJ Schenkman writing in History made Seamless – IoC#2
• Write in Shining Armor from Citrus Poetry – IoC#6
• Geneva from GLO (last posted February 2024) – IoC#10
• Maningisylvester of ManiningWrites – IoC#11

In addition to the above new bloggers, I also featured the following blogging friends:

• Hugh’s Views and News – IoC#12
• Devang at Fat Guy Workout – IoC#13(2)
• Michelle at Boomer Eco Warrior – IoC#14

How many of these bloggers have you checked out? Did you start following any of them after reading IoC. Did you have a favourite blogger and why? Let me know in the comments – feed my curiosity 😁.

Introductions over Coffee: Beginner’s Tips

In each edition I share thoughts, advice and tips that I hope my fellow bloggers will find useful. Today, however, I’m not going to do that. I could list all the different topics I’ve covered so far, but I don’t want to overload you with lists, so I won’t. I am going to ask another question though – would it be helpful if I created a page with a list of the contents/guidance covered in each of the posts? Let me know what you think in the comments.

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Over to you – with Coffee?

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It’s important to me that Introductions over Coffee reflects the needs of the community, and new bloggers. Leave me a message in the comments or send me an email via the Contact Me page to suggest future topics, themes or questions you’d like to see covered.

How can I be featured in Introductions over Coffee

I try to feature new bloggers in most editions. Some bloggers have asked how I decide who to feature. As a result, I’m going to answer that question, outlining my criteria below:

• I’m looking for bloggers who interact with their readers, engaging with them through their comments.
• Are you posting regularly? Regularly can mean different things, but I’m looking to ensure that the new blogger is posting consistently rather than 2 or 3 posts, then stopping.
• Do you produce quality work – if its text, is it full of spelling/grammar mistakes; is it well structured, flowing well? Do you give credit for images you use?
• Is there sufficient information to encourage conversation through the comments section and are your comments meaningful?
• You should never spam, its never acceptable. Consequently if you spam I will delete any comments you leave on my posts and you will not feature in Introductions over Coffee. That said, people can make mistakes when learning, so they should improve and adapt their practice to avoid spamming.

I accept that this process is subjective, based on my opinion. However, if you have any questions about these criteria, please ask.

If you’re a new blogger and would like to appear in a future edition of Introductions over Coffee, please send me an email through the Contact Me page. Likewise, if you spot an interesting new blogger be sure and let me know.

Introductions over Coffee is only one series on my blog where I also write on a range of other topics and I’d love for you to check them out. Some of my posts are highlighted below, but to ensure you don’t miss any, why not sign up to my blog today. 

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