gather
SYLLABICATION: gath·er
PRONUNCIATION: gthr
VERB: Inflected forms: gath·ered, gath·er·ing, gath·ers
TRANSITIVE VERB: 1. To cause to come together; convene 2a. To accumulate (something) gradually; amass: b. To harvest or pick: 3. To gain by a process of gradual increase: gather speed. 4. To collect into one place; assemble. 5. To pick up and enfold: 6. Printing To arrange (signatures) in sequence for bookbinding. 7a. To draw into small folds or puckers, as by pulling a thread through cloth. b. To contract and wrinkle (the brow). 8. To draw about or bring (one thing) closer to something else: gathered the shawl about my shoulders. 9. To conclude; infer: 10. To summon up; muster: gathered up his courage. 11. To attract or be a center of attraction for:
INTRANSITIVE VERB: 1. To come together in a group; assemble: 2. To accumulate: 3. To grow or increase by degrees. 4. To come to a head, as a boil; fester. 5. To forage for wild foodstuffs.
NOUN: 1a. The act or an instance of gathering. b. A quantity gathered. 2. A small fold or pucker made by gathering cloth.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English getheren, gaderen, from Old English gadrian. See ghedh-
I am writing this because I am in a quandary. I originally came to Gather to help someone else out. What I found I liked. There seemed to be many people who liked to think and discuss things on Gather. I really enjoyed this. So I started publishing some things I thought were interesting. At first it was just news articles I found that I thought were interesting or amusing and my comments on them. Being on a very restricted, tight budget I have shared some freebies I have found with other Gather members. As time progressed my writing has become more and more my own work. It seems that the more it has become my own, the less people read it and comment on it, unless it is something silly or absurd. I am not here for points. I am not going to give you the high and noble points don't mean a thing to me speech, because they are a nice fringe benefit. But they are not the main point. In my humble opinion the main point is to share the things you think about, the things you wonder about and the experiences you go through with others on Gather. In essence to share life experiences whether they be good or bad.
I was talking to another person on Gather yesterday on the phone and she told me I am one of the most popular people on Gather. I thought me? I don't think so. Let me tell you why. As I said over time my writing on Gather has become more personal. I will admit I have a very hard time with my writing. Basically I am insecure about it. Many of you have read about the family I grew up in and in what high esteem learning and thinking was held. What you have not heard is how hard it is to have two brilliant parents (and grandparent and siblings), both published and the need to make the grade in a family of accomplished artists. It was and is a daunting task. The only thing I can think of using to explain this is a two edged sword. Why? Because saying it was a one edged sword does not make sense. That part of it is just my own frailty.
The rest of it is because over time as I have also said less people read what I write. I find it a little interesting that as I bring more of myself here less of you are looking to see what I have to say. That is probably the main way I find people that I wish to be connected with by stumbling across someone's article or reading a heartfelt comment. Someone on Gather wrote an article and the title was a question about who you are. Here is part of my response I saw your comment on Lisa Frost's poem about who she is. That came from a writing prompt which you can see if you go to Autumnrose's page and look for her post You [BTW I think everyone should go to her article and try it.] . My name is really Chana. Why do I use the avatar I use? Well first of all I don't have a digital camera and since we moved into a much smaller space I cannot find my Nikon. My most recent picture of myself (if I could find them) is probably at least 10 years old. There is also a story behind it and if anyone wants to know that they can read my article If you could be anyone from a book, TV show or a movie, who would you be and why? If you really want to know something about me I suggest you read my profile, articles, poetry or look at the art I have published on Gather. Because that says alot about who I am. It says alot more than I can say in a comment. I think I put myself out there with the work I publish on Gather. So it is not about the points but about growth as an individual and as part of a community. I belong to an art group on Gather (as many of you know) its called Post Art - Any Medium. I do have a hard time keeping up and now have a co-moderator. But I try to comment and nurture the spark of creativity that the members possess. The reason is nurturing is part of a communities function. It takes a village to raise a child. And our work whether it be in the arts, politics, health, what have you is our children.
BUT, what is the point of writing something that comes deeply from my heart if very few people are going to read it and share their feelings on it? Or in another case writing something about society from the heart such as my article Republicans Are... Democrats Are... if people are still going to comment about political parties on it and ignore the point of the article (not everyone did that). I recently published an article about a quote from a movie and what it said to me I Want To Run Through The Streets Naked With Green Jell-O All Over My Body - Musings (and I grant you the title is rather over the top) and got some interesting comments. Some of these comments Dammit, I prefer red jello, LOL and I haven't heard much about that movie, thanks! lead me to comment Okay, so nobody has actually read what I wrote yet. I admit I do not have time to read everything everyone publishes on Gather. I don't even have the time to read what everyone on my friend's list writes. Sometimes I make a comment saying that I am commenting so I can find my way back. And periodically I do go back to these articles. There are times when I am inundated with things I have no interest in at all (which I read anyway because you never know) or I just don't know what to say, so I just thank the author and move along.
So what is the point of this exercise? I can hear some people saying Oh boo-hoo, stop whining. And that is your right to say that if you wish. I defend your right to say that. I just find it very sad when some of us put our hearts and soul on the line with what we write and no one, okay very few seem to be interested. I know I am not the only one who feels this way on Gather. I have seen comments mirroring my feelings before. When a wonderful poet like John Doyle gets three comments on his poems and then articles like Name something That Starts With M or 300 Pictures Of My Pumpkin Patch get one hundred, well I just have to wonder. As you can all see I have given the definition of Gather above. What is it to Gather? To me it would be these three things (1.) To cause to come together; convene, (2.) To gain by a process of gradual increase and (3.) To draw about or bring (one thing) closer to something else. Some may be here to see pictures of kids swimming in pools, or flower gardens, others may come to play word games, but it saddens me that there is so much talent on Gather (I hope I am one of the later) and it is overlooked. I am starting to see why so many who write have left Gather. But, I still think there may be room here. While the people who are here for the content need to open their minds to the fact that the games etc. are not going to go away no matter how much you despise them, I think the people who are here for the games etc. need to open their minds also. Embrace the amazing content on Gather and lift your life out of the everyday, mundane and ordinary.
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Comments: 46
It's sad, but short, not well thought out posts probably do better just because there's less in them to absorb or think about.
Unfortunately it takes quite a while to build up readership here. I don't remember how I met you, but I'm glad I did. One of the things I appreciate most about you is your humor. You have a wicked sense of humor.
You truly are a wonderful write, don't every doubt that. There are some ways to tweak your content for this site.
You may want to look at what some of your favorite writers on here, in any genre, do to attract readers.
I have a very close friend on here who is a marvelous writer, but wasn't getting read.
I made a couple of suggestions to him and it did work. He has become much more accessible without dumbing down.
You also expand your readership when you get to know more people. They'll start look for you and what you write.
Keep on trucking.
The problem to which you have referred has an answer with five main points.
Number one...in no order...is that most people in this country are as shallow, in the philosophical area, as a mud puddle. The membership of Gather reflects the general cross section of America with the exception of the extreme lower end. (The "extreme lower end" is my judgmental characterization of the misfits of our society...gang bangers, muggers etc. who I just can't picture logging onto Gather.)
Secondly, in some instances, some very high quality work that is published on Gather really leaves very little room for comment. While a story about "How I Found My First Dog" may be well written and even an interesting and entertaining read....what suitable comments really apply? "Oh, nice story" or "I really enjoyed that" could and are commonly left as comments. So, if 20 people read your dog story and 75% left a nice "thanks for a great story" comment...you have 15 comments. Not too shabby, but far from a runaway "best seller".
Thirdly, if you post one of those stupid, "what your favorite TV show polls...you'll find that a bunch of folks know that they can drop by, take about 5 seconds to read your "wonderful" post, another 5 seconds to post the comment..." My favorite show was "The Avengers"...and move on. It's an easy way to gather Gather points...they think. Maybe you'll get 50 or 60 "comments"...but they aren't really comments...they are answers to very simple questions.
Number 4...you could post a well written poem...same scenario as the dog story except fewer people like poetry....(I'm one of those)
NUMBER 5...This is the biggie. You post something controversial. This is the stuff that sells. Politics, religion, birth control, gossip....you know what I be talkin' 'bout.
People just HAVE to jump in. You've hit a nerve. You've tapped emotions. But the best part is...as far as comments...people keep coming back with follow up comments. Yo have started a conversation or a debate. Maybe 5 or 6 people will leave a total of 150 comments. Throw in another 10 or 20 people who post a comment and move on and you've got yourself a Gather best seller.
These are my thoughts. I can't prove nothin'.
Go around at look at more people's articles. Compare.
You'll be pleasantly surprised.
You remind me of myself a little bit. And, I think I have a similar article from a long time ago. Another word you should look up and define is "evolve."
As you've probably noticed, as YOU have evolved as a Gatherer and writer, Gather has evolved as a website. People's interests evolve as well. What I like today, I might not like next week. Some of these things are cyclical. Others are dead and buried without even an attempt at CPR. Just the way it is.
The only thing you can do is keep doing what you want. No one is going to convince you to stay if you want to go. No one is going to convince you to stop writing if you want to write. Just do what you do and don't worry about the rest of the people.
I suppose it's important to answer that. Are you writing it for you or for other people? I know it's annoying to write something that you think it pretty good and have it ignored. Still, I think it's the act of writing it that's most important.
Yesterday my wife spent 6 hours trying to make pear chutney. It turned out awful. She was disappointed. Still, she knows more about making pear chutney than I do. And next time, she will make it better.
I've spent a lot of time playing live music. And much of that time was spent playing to people who weren't listening Sometimes they'd be cheering in the middle of the song. It turns out they were cheering the for the basketball game they were watching and not paying any attention to us. It's gonna happen.
So, the question is, are you doing it for the result, or for the process? A happy result is good. But, the process itself is also quite rewarding to me.
Gotta echo Joseph's comment. I've had the same musical experience. In one bar people got mad at the bartender for turning off the jukebox when we started to play. (No, they hadn't heard us yet. )
I think almost everyone who's written something that took some thought, research, and revision on Gather has seen that sort of content fall flat while silly stuff that took more time to post than to write get a long string of comments. All of my most successful (by number of comments) pieces have been game parodies.
Don't worry about the length of your paragraphs unless you're writing an executive summary or something in the AP inverted pyramid style.
And, if you want lots of comments, just mention Lainie in your title. It gets lots of traffic.
Yet I really don't want to post "name a brand of vacuum cleaner" articles. Shares. Whatever.
Aren't there 500,000 Gatherians? Where??
I am one of those "anything goes" members. I don't start games myself, but I participate in many. I am happy with all content I get, but for the more serious among us, my check box idea might be a good one.
http://friendsofdanh.gather.com.
Our goal is to help you further your exposure and to support other gather members.
Truthfully I prefer to read and write prose over poetry. Poetry is often so obscure that I just can't seem to grasp it and I find that frustrating. Fortunately not everyone feels that way.
I do have a close circle of friends here that are very loyal to me and I to them. I have found that the key to loyalty is to be loyal.
Yet another reason that your readership may have fallen off is because it is summer. People tend to be busier outside when the weather is nice.
I have also found that I have "lost" a lot of my connections with all of the Gather changes. I'll admit to not looking very hard for them though because I am swamped with the loyal friends that I have managed to keep in touch with.
Anyway, just a few ideas about what may be happening to decrease your readership.
It's a lot easier for them to "Name something with the letter 's'" than to actually go into an article and read it, then spark a decent conversation about what they've read.
Once you build a little readership, you'll get your connections to come in and comment and then hopefully their friends will follow them in.
Now I'm off to go see what else you've written.
You are always one of the first writiers I look to find. I have some people marked to have Gather send me notification when they publish, and you are one of them. In fact, very few of them play many games. (though they do play them) I agree that it is sad that so many talented writers and artists on Gather. Because of school, I don't always make it to all of them either, but I do my best to get to most of them; unfortunately this has been a long standing problem on Gather. It is a fact that number of page hits helps Gather sell advertizing, and so they are not going to worry about who writes what, or that some are just after points. The major thing is to connect to the people that you find interesting, that are interested in what you have to say as well. That is all you can do. As some have pointed out, many don't like poetry, but I am trying to connect to many poets as I can, and I comment on their work as well. Most people will reciprocate, but there are those that don't. I like John Doyles work, but there are those who only comment on people that comment on their stuff. Everybody has to set their own priorities. I have seen people that ignore the ones that comment on them too for odd reasons. I stopped trying to figure it all out, and just started commenting on as many as possible, with the ones I know best first.
I have only been here a little more than 8 months,and its becoming increasingly more apparent, that this gathering of people is more to the fast food service industry than it is to the opera houses. They want to look at it fast and be done with it. that's why there are so many more comments left for pics than there are for articles...the other reason is that more than just a few of the people here are in it for the points...I am not in it for the points, and like you, I was brought here by a "friend". I started writing articles, when I first joined, and it seemed good for a while, but then it tappered off. Maybe you and I just need to write articles, and see what happens.
You are not going to find a lot of thoughtful responses to writings. Readers are often uncomfortable giving critiques or sharing, in depth, how an article made them feel.
It's a fact that games appear more often and have bigger comment lists than poetry or short stories. I don't play games at all. So I just ignore them.
I write my stories and poetry for me. I always hope someone reads them But if the story doesn't get a huge response, I don't get too upset. I have some friends who will read AND critique, which I really love.
You got to give us all a little more time. Give yourself more time too, to build a readership. One thing that I did, I found some writing groups that offer challenges. In responding to those challenges I find that my writing is improving, I am getting read by a consistent small audience and I am connecting to a small group of talented people that I can learn from and possibly help from time to time.
It depends on what you want from this site. I want to learn more about writing, connect with talented people and have fun. So far, I am fulfillig my expectations.
Also, I love the things you write. ;o)
Thank you for posting to The Clutter Bugs
Is exactly why I don't post/publish/whatever very much in the way of articles. I enjoy reading other's articles and discussing a myriad of different topics here from the silly, like my friend Joy's SQOTD, or political satire, to the serious, like David McGill's < a href = http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977432243&nav=Namespace> Contrarian articles.
I tried to go on the cash option, but Gather didn't send me a an e-mail. I will write an article about that matter, as Kevin is wrong. People need to know that I am not on the cash option.
Please do not become discouraged. I always look at and read your articles. Often, though, I don't feel ready to give a well thought out response, so I give a rating with the full intention of going back to comment. But, with the way life is, I never seem to find the time and you are a very prolific writer.
I rarely view the posts that are obviously just games and only view pics that are submitted to my group and look interesting to me.
I have a difficult time commenting on poetry. I often fell like the point might have gone over my head a bit and don't want to offend by submitting a comment that is completely off base.
Please, don't give up. I post very little, but when I do, it is more to throw myself out there. And, since I am a very choosy person, I am okay with getting responses from only those that are truly interested.
1.....I saw your article about the jello naked and it turned me away. sorry, but the picture was not one I wanted to see.
2...if you see your thread on this article, notice how many...you received more than most articles that are not about politics, gay issues, abortion.....because you asked something like....'What am I doing wrong?' Peiple like to tell you what you're doing wrong...and they stop by
3...there is just so much time to go to make comments.....the art group i 'own' has been joined by someone who sends multiple pics of ANYThing....and this contest...she posts hundreds and since i comment on every post,.....too busy for serious things.
4...he's right above who said if you say something controversial..etc.....but then you get attacked ..as I have
There are people here who write and feel very strong about their writing. I know that you are one of the people on Gather that have recently inspired me to stretch my own writing. I know that I let my master's degree brother intimidate me from writing poetry. Something about a class he took on poetry, and how it should sound and do. I don't know anything about all of that stuff, which is probably why Gather is the only place I will be published, but reading your articles, John Doyle, Vinay Benjamin, and Selene has been inspiring. Having some of you comment on my things and in a positive light, has helped me to want to reach out again. I hope things turn for the better for you.
Especially since, my kids have gone back to school.
But, I do what I can.
If any friend needs a view, they can come to my profile, and leave me a message.
I will answer the call, if I have the time.
I am sometimes amazed at what gets the most comments.
I do read a lot of writings here but I also have a very hard time expressing my feelings and opinions from childhood/adolescent/family issues.