Most Read Articles on Gather

I've learned to send an email to my connections whenever I post something new. Also, the more groups you post to, the higher the number of readers. Good luck!

I don't think i've ever made it to the top ten.

I seek out articles on spirituality, yoga, or about going green for the most part.

Hmmm this is strange.
I hunt down your comments on other peoples pages but I've never seen an article by you. From now onwards you will see comments from me.

My view is that the number of comments is of little importance.

I think that it is totally wrong to send emails to all and sundry.
What works for me are the number and the quality of the comments that you leave other pages. They WILL lead to comments on your page.

Secondly there are styles of writing. Some will draw in comments while others won't.

BTW I thoroughly enjoy your style Terri.

To counter Jan's comment, I delete 98% of those mass emails without looking at them. If your article is something that will interest me, it will catch my eye as I go through the list.

I never look at the most read or featured lists either. In fact, I never go to the Gather homepage.

I go almost entirely by the "headline" and first check the articles by my connections and then occasionally go to the recent article lists. Sometimes, I see a comment float by that makes me curious enough to check out the article.

That said, I have no idea why some articles get read and others don't. Some articles just seem to strike a chord with a bunch of people. Some strike a chord with only a few who then go on to have a spirited discussion.

I also know that I am much more likely to read an article with less than 20 comments than I am to read one with 30 or more. It takes too much effort to follow the thread of thought when there are many comments. Gather's format makes it difficult.

If an article is well-written with good spelling and proper formatting, it jumps to the top of my list. If I run into too many misspellings in the first lines and the entire article is a single paragraph, the only comment you will get from me is that I would have liked to read it but between the poor spelling and the poor formatting, it was too difficult. People think that is very cruel. So be it.

i get e-mail notifications on articles my friends post and I usually get to about 90% of it :)

Oh, and the idea that an article about writing would get more readers? Wishful thinking. Your articles demand that the reader think about his writing and perhaps put some effort into it. Effort is in short supply on gather.

I raerly get more than 15 comments and am over the moon about that number. I read a lot of different articles and really don't give a hoot where they stand on the chart.

And I obviously need to read an article on spell checking my comments! How embarrassing!

First, I go and read the articles of the folks who've commented on my stuff and I try to comment on one of their images as well. Sometimes, I'll look at the new articles and if a title grabs my interest, I'll check it out. If I like the font and the first line grabs me, then I read the whole article. I usually prefer articles of four paragraphs or less. I also look at the comments and if the comment makes the articles sound interesting, I check out that article. If I like a person's style, I read all of the articles. I guess the bottom line is if your name pops up in my comments, I'll go and comment on one of your short articles or images. Salud.

Thanks Jan. I'm trying to stay away from the mass emailing unless I really, really want to get the word out.

Awww...Ghost...I'm sorry. ;-)

Those are good articles to seek out Jerri, thanks for stopping by here too.

Fred you're so sweet! And I've looked forward to reading your comments. I can't believe we weren't 'connected' before now! I'm so sorry.

Nanci, I check subject heading as well....but when an article has been read like two hundred times, my curiosity gets the best of me so I check it out. Most times, though, I don't read the article.

Denise, I used to get the email notifications, but I turned it off....it was too much email to weed through in my personal email account. Now, I just hunt my connections when I can.

Nanci, it's a shame. But, as someone mentioned to me before...no one likes to think they're manuscript isn't perfect.

Har Allison....thanks for stopping by. ;-)

Hi Mariana, I'm the same way about returning comments....mainly because I don't want the person who commented to me thinking I'm dissing them. Of course, sometimes I get sidetracked and forget....four kids, a dog, a house full of dirty laundry and a manuscript to finish will cause that. ;-P

Thanks for reading all.

I sent emails to some of my connections and a few of them comment on my article and pictures..

400 comments? Good heavens Julie - I can't even count that high!

Ok I'm back - you see how fast I operate - lol...yes, please join any of my groups - You may enjoy G.R.I.T.S. but they all have something to offer...Nice to meet you! Salud.

I've never made it to the top ten either, but I have a few friends that come back and read me a lot. I have a lot that I seek out also.

I have a small list of connections, on purpose, and I look at all their articles and comment on the ones that interest me. I also review their comments and follow the ones that seem interesting.

People who send mass e-mails are "generally" ignored. If I get hit with too many from one connection (especially if I don't see them except to troll for responses), unless they are fascinating articles. So far, they haven't been. Eventually, if they're irksome, I cut the connection.

Quality over quantity.

This is definitely food for thought. Usually, I read anything to do with writing, as I am always working on improving my writing.

The Scent of Humanity

Some people have a lot of connections who support their connections. So that may be why somehting gets a lot of reads. I never check those lists though.

As far as what I read, I look for something that interests me or is posted by someone whose content I like or is a connection of mine.

I've been gone most of the summer and lost some of my readers because of that.

But I have my favorite writers that I read every time I see that they have posted a new article (I get announcements for all I choose to have a connection to and I HATE to get mass emails) I will block from my mail box on Gather anyone that sends more than one of those things per month. I don't read everything in any group, or even look at the most read posts.

I'm interested in progressive political writers, all articles on writing, several people who consistantly post good life essays, several people who blog interestingly about their lives, such as Ruth macGill. I could go on but I think I'll stop there.

I do not count comments so I don't look up and comment on something written by everyone who comments on my stuff. Perhaps that's a cardinal sin to those who are counting comments but I want someone to read something because they liked the way it started, not because they "owe me a comment."

I never really check those list, but I have been told a couple times that I am on them. Usually I can tell how well an article is doing by the number of comments I get. Its always the ones that I put very little thought into, pieces where I ramble on about daily occurances. The ones I would like to have more comments on, don't get them.

Oh well.

hah...that's funny Sophie.

I think the most comments I've gotten were 50 and that was on my Wombat Horror story entry.

I don't use mass email either. I get a lot, but I've learned the ones I want to read and the ones I don't and delete those.

There are a lot of factors. For instance, chats often make the "most read" list due to the number of comments. Remember, "most read" is not always "most popular' or even the best material. Many bestsellers are books which are not loved by many readers, just a certain mass number.
I try not to do mass emails. I am so tried of gettiing spammed for contest entries. I know people want to be published, really, but if you do mass emails, at least use the BCC button so people don't have to scroll through a long list of names. Someone passed along this tip to me.

Of course, I have to say that sometimes "most read" IS the bet article. There are exceptions to nearly any rule ;)

Articles that grab my attention:
Ones that seem to have info or emotional resonance that grabs me
When I write I always have this question guiding me:
WHY would someone want to read this? How can I let a reader know that this is worth reading and hook them right away? I think of it as the "make a good or bad impression right away" factor. If you want to horrify readers (horror authors do) the grab them with that factor. If you want to have them relate to a parental memoir, find something to help with that. And so forth...

Ahem- "A reader" should go with "him or her" . Sorry for that error above.

Just go and read in the main article list and hope fot the best,I read that and hope that I hit on most of my friends and I try to do several pages a night.

I don't understand it either

I guess people are just capricious.

There appears to be no rhyme or reason. I rarely see comments above 10-20 and that is with a friend-base of 300+. I've published similar articles to many groups then turned around and published the same thing to NO groups and received a nearly equal response. Time of day does seem to affect readership. Publish too early or too late in the day and you'll see fewer comments.

Well that makes sense Landen. Thanks for the input. =)

I will catch them Terri...

I think those in the most read are usually those with the highest comments,such as the good morning Gather things, or some of those that get a lot of comment going back and forth , I have a lot of readers but have never been in the most read, and my readers are those that regularly comment on me and I comment back on them, and you must have commented on me, because here I am, or did I get a mass email, I doubt it because I don't usually get to reading all of them , Thank you Terri for your comment, I appreciate it very much.

lol...you're funny Elsie...and I try to read and comment on you as often as I can....cuz you crack me up! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by.

I try and return comments to people first, but I get sidetracked. If I see a title that interests me, I will follow it. There are certain writers that I look for daily, because I enjoy their work. I will read and comment regardless if the read mine. I do not read articles from emails. I find them terribly annoying, so I just delete them. I found you because you have posted to my group, and I like to support those that post on them.

I agree with Nancy, I also delete mass emails, touting is not my style, Spirituality is my style first and foremost, but I do read others.

I don't check the most read lists. I have been involved with the crime writing contest ever since joining gather, and that takes up all my time!

More Deaths Than One - Chapter Two

There are many tricks to making it look like you have a huge audience, but there is no accurate way to know how many people actually read what you have posted to Gather.
My Youtube channel gives me more direct feedback and tracking concerning how many people come to watch, but all the search engines are basically connected and Gather gains far more than any of it contributors.
Dialogue does not always mean audience, it only indicates comments by those few that choose to respond and has nothing to do with actual audience tracking.
Gather respectively has a very small narrowcast audience compared to other venues and even smaller when you break it down to subject matter.
Those looking for acknowledgement from the masses should reconsider if they want to find literary success through sites such as Gather.
And if you are here just for the points then its a whole nother situation- just go for those book cards!
Nigel for President
" The Real UnderDog!"

This is the first mass email I have read. lI usually delete them without reading. I watch new articles going up and if they interest me I read them. If they are long and boring I just leave without commenting. I do in all fairness give them a good rating for effort.

hmm...I didn't send this out as a mass email...did I? Thanks for stopping by, regardless.

Hope you're having a great 2008! ;-]

Terri, please keep in mind the most popular are not always the best reading!

I look forward to reading some of your writing tonight.

I came here to congratulate you on your being published and the article I chose - this one - is REMOVED!!

Interesting... why has it been removed? The above comments seem pretty good. Hmmm - another mystery to me about Gather...

Anyway, congrats to you!!

Hi Tom. Thanks for stopping by. I don't remember why I removed the article. haha The kid in the picture is adorable!