content

JusJoJan — Contented Cows

Fandango7 Comments
BERJAYA

Do you remember back in the day when Carnation Milk, more specifically, Carnation Evaporated Milk, used to have the tagline, “From Contented Cows”?

BERJAYA

I wonder how they knew that their cows were contended? Were the cows smiling, happy, frolicking around the idyllic pastures as shown at the bottom of the advertisement above? Did they survey their cows, asking them, “On a scale of one to five, with one being not content at all, and five being extremely content, how content are you?”

Oh wait. The Carnation ad explains it. “Carnation milk cows live where grass is sweetest, waters clearest, air the purest. They have every comfort a cow could have — they live in contentment. This makes the milk richer, more digestible.” That says it all, doesn’t it?

Based upon my extensive research for this post, I learned that Carnation Milk used the tagline “From Contented Cows” in its advertising for decades after its introduction in 1907. However, there is no specific information indicating when the company officially stopped using the slogan. It appears to have gradually faded from use by the mid-20th century as Carnation evolved its marketing strategies.

Maybe that was when Carnation moved its cows from paradise to factory farms and the cows were no longer contented.

From what I can tell, Carnation Evaporated Milk, now a Nestle company, has as its tagline, “The Cooking Milk.”

Okay, I’m content with that!

Written for today’s JusJoJan prompt, “content” as suggested by at J-Dub at J-Dub’s Grin and Bear It.

FOWC with Fandango — Content

Fandango15 Comments
FOWC

Welcome to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (U.S.).

Today’s word is “content.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Please check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, ÿplease manually add your link in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. Show them some love.

WDP — If It Ain’t Broke…

Fandango6 Comments

What could you do differently?

If there is a reason for doing things differently, that’s one thing. But I’m not a proponent of change for the sake of change. As the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And I ain’t broke.

If I think about the past, which I don’t often do, I suppose there are many things I could have done differently at the time. But then would I be who, what, and where I am today? Maybe. Maybe not.

BERJAYA

But as things stand, I’m content with my life and see no good reason to do things differently just for the sake of doing things differently.

Share Your World — 10/10/2022

Fandango10 Comments
Share Your World

Melanie is back again with another one of her Share Your World series of questions. So let’s get to them.

Can we really know everything?

Know everything? These days I feel like I don’t know anything anymore.

Where were people before they were born?

They didn’t exist. The were the same place they are after they die: nowhere.

Does the Law of Attraction exist? (Law of Attraction, as I understand it, is a school of thought where positive thinking brings about good changes. Some say it’s made them wealthy. Others say it improves their health or their outlook on life)

Birds of a feather flock together, right? So it stands to reason that positive people attract positive people and negative people attract negative people. Or not. As I said, I don’t know anything anymore.

Do we love ourselves more in the virtual world and less in the real world? If so, why? If nay, why?

I have no idea how to answer this question, as I’m the same person in the real world as I am in the virtually world.

GRATITUDE SECTION

Are you happy?

I am content.

Blogging Insights — Let’s Talk

Fandango30 Comments
BERJAYA

It’s Monday and Dr. Tanya is back with her weekly Blogging Insights prompt. She provides us with a quote about blogging or writing and asks us to express our opinion about said quote.

This week’s quote is from blogger, journalist, and author Cory Doctorow.

“Conversation is king. Content is just something to talk about.”

When I read the quote Tanya highlighted today, the first thing I thought about was that song from Jesus Christ Superstar that starts out with the line “What’s the buzz, tell me what’s a-happening?”

It seems to me that, in his quote, Doctorow is suggesting that the content of your writing is less important than the “buzz” it generates. Conversation being king may be great for late-night talk shows hosts, but when it comes to blogging, I couldn’t disagree more.

When I started my blog, it was a vehicle for self expression, a way for me to put my thoughts, opinions, and perspectives in writing. As I got into writing flash fiction, it was a means to flex my imagination and to hone my writing skills. I never expected to attract much of an audience for my writing. That there are those who read and comment on what I write is a bonus, one that makes blogging that much more worthwhile as a pastime.

That said, I think content is king and if the content generates conversation (i.e., buzz), so much the better. If you truly believe that conversation is king, then you must consider what you write to be little more than clickbait, and were the name “Buzzfeed” not already taken, that’s what you should name your blog.

That’s my opinion and I’m sticking with it, so let’s get this conversation going, shall we?

Blogging Insights — Window Dressing

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BERJAYA

For her weekly Blogging Insights prompts, Dr. Tanya provides us with a quote about blogging or writing and asks us to express our opinion about said quote.

This week’s quote is from Gary Vaynerchuk, a Belarusian-American entrepreneur, author, speaker, and internet personality.

“What you do after you create your content is what truly counts.”

I agree with Tanya when she says that the relevance of this quote depends on the kind of blog you have and what your blogging goals are.

For me, personally, I love writing and I love publishing what I write on my blog. That said, I don’t actively or aggressively promote my blog, and that, I believe, is what Gary Vaynerchuk is referring to when he talks about what you do after you create your content.

My blog has become relatively popular among a small group of people and I’m extraordinarily thankful for that. But it happened organically, not out of any definitive efforts on my part to promote it. I’m not on Facebook or Twitter, so I don’t share my WordPress posts to either of those social media platforms. I don’t try to incorporate Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, by posting in such a way that would make Google like my posts. I’m not sure I would know how to do that even if I wanted to.

On the other hand, maybe what the quote is referring to is reading other bloggers’ posts, liking and commenting on them, and reading and responding to comments other bloggers make on your own posts. If that is what he meant, then yes, that is important.

But is that truly more important than the content you create? I don’t think so. You can promote your blog on other social media platforms all you want. You can use SEO tricks until the cows come home. You can read, like, and comment on other blog posts morning moon and night. But if your content sucks, by any measure, your blog won’t succeed.

My bottom line is that content is what truly counts. All the rest is window dressing.

Blogging Insights — What’s In a Name Part 2

Fandango11 Comments

Blogging insightsThis week’s edition of Blogging Insights from Dr. Tanya is a continuation of last week’s edition, where she asked if we use all or part of our actual names for our blogs or if we use pseudonyms. This week she’s asking about our blogs’ titles. She wants to know…

Why did you choose your particular blog title? Was their a reason behind it or was it just a random choice?

My blog’s title is “This, That, and The Other.” I chose that title for my blog because it doesn’t have a specific niche. It’s about whatever I feel like posting at the time. Sometimes that involves writing flash fiction posts. Some of my posts are political in nature. In some I’m expressing my observations, opinions, and perspectives on a wide array of topics. Some of my posts are word and/or photo prompts meant to inspire other bloggers. Sometimes I write posts in response to prompts from other bloggers. So, since I write about this, that, and the other, I thought that “This, That, and The Other” would be the perfect title for my blog.

Do you think that a catchy, “click bait type” title does better or is a blog name that indicates the general purpose of the site more attractive for readers?

I guess that depends upon the nature of the blog and each blogger’s intentions. If the blogger has a specific niche and the blogger is trying to attract others who are interested in that niche, then the blog’s title should probably give prospective readers some clue about that niche. But if, as is the case with my blog, there is no niche, then I’m not sure what the blogger titles his or her blog is that important.

That said, sure, a clever, catchy, or memorable blog title might pique some initial interest on the part of some readers. But it’s the content of the posts, more than the title of the blog, that will keep readers coming back.

Some bloggers have the same user name and blog title. What is your opinion of this? Or, are you one of them? If so, could you share your reason for this?

This blog is my fifth blog and, in all five instances, my blogging pseudonym and blog title have been different. I think it’s relatively rare for a blogger’s user name and blog title to be exactly the same. But I’m fine either way. My philosophy of life and my philosophy regarding what bloggers use for their user names and for their blog titles are the same: whatever floats your boat.

In Other Words — Contentment

Fandango11 Comments

CE8AE2FE-D786-4BEB-8A11-A4A5E6454F69You ask me if I’m happy in our relationship and I answer that I’m not particularly happy.

You ask me if I’m unhappy in our relationship and I answer that I’m not particularly unhappy.

You want to know, if I’m not happy and I’m not unhappy, what, then, am I?

I tell you that I’m content.

You smile and tell me that you’re content, too.

In other wordsWritten for the In Other Words prompt from Patricia’s Place. The challenge this week is to write a story or poem of five lines or fewer using the picture above and/or the word “unhappy.” Today I used only the word, not the picture Patricia provided. I substituted another image I found on the internet (credit: iStock/Monsterstock1) that I felt better illustrated my story.

Share Your World — I Scream for Ice Cream

Fandango16 Comments

BERJAYAMonday has rolled around once again, and you know what that means, right? It’s Melanie’s Share Your World time.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person?

At the risk of coming across as sexist, it’s gender. What can I say? I notice if a person is male or female.219C9E8B-FD3A-40AB-AF9E-8EBFDD100E49

What three habits do you feel would improve someone’s life?

A good night’s sleep, a healthy diet, and plenty of sex.

What takes up too much of your time? Would you stop that if you could?

Blogging. Duh! And, yes, I could stop if I wanted to, but I don’t want to.

Cookies (biscuits to those elsewhere), pastries, pie, or cake? If not, what does your sweet tooth crave?

Ice cream. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!BE6CBE8E-C341-4EF1-A311-6B4D7B963D15

Are You Happy? If so, why? If not, why not?

Happy? That is so subjective. Let’s just say that I’m content.

Premature Evaluation

Fandango17 Comments

38F6467F-E4D0-4968-993A-FC6FB84BD290“It’s been a year and a half and I have yet to see anything that would cause me to think my assessment of him was inaccurate,” I said. “He is the worst president ever.”

“You’re being premature in judging his presidency,” he said. “He’s not even halfway through his first term yet. You have to give him time; give him a chance. He’s not your typical politician. He’s still learning the job.”

“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘death by a thousand cuts’? He’s slowly chipping away at our democracy, destroying it from within, and doing to our country what Putin couldn’t do on his own,” I said.

“Not true,” he argued. He is keeping the promises he made to the American people, the promises that got him elected.”

“You’re like that frog in the fable,” I said.

“What frog? What fable?” he asked.

“If you throw a frog into a kettle of boiling water, it will jump out,” I explained. “But if you place the frog into a kettle of tepid water and then bring it to a boil slowly, the frog will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death.”

Written for today’s one-word prompt, “premature.”