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Posts Tagged ‘writing’

Banana Scoop Returns from Massive Break with Massive Changes

Posted in Maintenance, tagged , , , , , on October 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »


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The unexpected maintenance update definitely warrants something new or crazy here at Banana Scoop.  As a matter of fact, it’s a little bit of both.  As bloggers I’d imagine each and everyone one of you who is reading this [all 4 of you, hi Mom and Dad], might understand the emotional and invigorating feeling you might get when you try to overhaul your blog for the better.  In the past, Banana Scoop made a humungous jump when I first tried to include 15 – 18 posts a week on a regimented schedule and then another big jump when we tried to make that 20-24 posts a week.  Next thing I knew, I had quadrupled the amount of writers on the site [4 x 1 = 4] and we were pumping out so much content weekly.  With so many humungous changes in the past and each as [semi] life changing as the last, we now make another big change, hopefully for the better of the future.   Today’s post is focused on the main point of those changes..And to those I still have on a leash at this point: interwebz points for you.

We’re Reducing Post Frequency by over 80%

Big one.  The number of scheduled posts a week was 24.  Reducing that by 80% brings you to about five posts.  Five posts a week.  That’s a big change and I don’t think we’ve had that since towards the beginning of this blog.  That’s a big change up from 24 and I think it will bring us in the right direction.  The 20 or so posts we’re cutting out are the pictures, videos, and links-related posts that used to litter our site.  Those short posts were essentially the praises of other persons on the internet for their good work and while we liked to praise them for their dedication to pop culture, their promotion made me feel as though Banana Scoop didn’t provide enough of it’s own good work.  So by reducing the numerous posts of others, we’re only doing our original 1000+ word articles.

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Weekly Update: Slow Progression, Another Writer, and Borderlands 2 Preparation

Posted in Maintenance, tagged , , , , , on August 26, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Another week on Banana Scoop!  The schedule is going strong despite school trying to muck it up.  And with Ben’s arrival, I’m having an easier time juggling all the maintenance, writing, and drawing.  I may also be scheduling some designated maintenance based on my test schedule that I’ve already written in my calendar.  But otherwise, here’s the rest of this week’s news.

What I’m Watching/Reading/Drawing This Week

  • Watching: Firefly/Serenity Marathon, The Wire Season 5
  • Reading: Mockingjay, Jurassic Park
  • Drawing: SoGoCJE, About Us Drawing

Mockingjay Got Delayed a Week

Mockingjay review was slated to be published last week, but school kinda held me up from reading the book.  And as I’ve found out with the rest of the masses, Mockingjay is a bit of a drag.  The first two were high adrenaline and fast paced, but this particular book is one of the slower ones, and a bit whiney.  A full review hopefully this Friday.

The Possibility of Another New Writer

With Ben getting settled in and possibly taking in more than just his scheduled Wednesday primary article, a new possibility of another writer has arrived!  That would bring our ‘staff’ to 4. This mystery writer would not be a regular poster, but would contribute whenever they could.  We’re very excited at this prospect and we’ll update you all soon again.

Weekly Preview

 

  • Borderlands 2 Preview and Preparation
  • Reasons to Watch The Newsroom
  • Good TV Shows Becoming Video Games
  • Deadpool at Comic-Con

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How to Maximize Viewership on Your Blog [The Gritty Way]

Posted in Articles, Maintenance, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on August 14, 2012| 1 Comment »

There’s a very specific reason I chose this image of Jennifer Lawrence, read below to find out

About a month ago, I was moaning and groaning about how upgrading this blog from Banana Feed to Banana Scoop reset our indexing and essentially sent us to ground zero.  Well I’m more than glad to inform you that we’re back on top getting a healthy 300 – 400 hits a day and growing.  In my opinion, as vain as it is, I see page hits as a measurement of success, and in my eyes, what we’re accomplishing is absolute success.  I’m sure big name blogs and entertainment sites would scoff their heads, but success is in the eye of the beholder, and I’m going to share with you how I got my ‘success’.

This article will talk about how I get the most viewership out of my blog.  Forget the cheesy page on WordPress that tells you how to get traffic or any of those other posts that talk about that, I’m talking the dirty, under the table stuff people tend to overlook.  We do real talk here.  This isn’t for bloggers who write poems, anecdotes and post quotes hoping to get noticed.  Take that shit to Tumblr.  If you legitimately want a successful blog in terms of viewers, take a look at these points.

Adjust Your Target Audience to Maximize Viewership, Talking About Your Feelings Isn’t Something Everyone Wants to Read

From my perspective, the successful blogs are the ones that entertain the most.  And if you don’t have your target audience in mind and understand the numbers that encompass that audience, then you’re going to be very disappointed.  Take the example I pointed out above regarding those who post quotes about life, write poems and colorful anecdotes about their experiences.  Don’t get me wrong, there are probably some of the greatest soulful writers hidden as a gem from some of these blogs.  But in a sea of absolute crap and garbage, who has the time to read every Philosophical Penny and Deep David out there?  And just how many people a day did you think they’d want to read about the ups and downs of someone else’s life?

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Maintenance Update: New Writer, Impending School and Universidaze Withdrawal

Posted in Maintenance, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I’m really starting to like these Maintenance updates primarily because I don’t get to write much creative writing anymore because between school and writing about Youtube videos I found, there isn’t much room for creative flair.  But it turns out I can dish out some personality through these updates.  So instead of the usual straightforward talk as seen in the eighty word descriptions that usually circulate this site, there’s a little bit of sarcasm and wit.  I’m sure as I keep doing these, they’ll get more and more outrageous.  But enough about that, let’s get to the exciting news.

Maintenance Update on a Sunday?  Where’s my Weekly Preview?

I’ve decided to roll a Maintenance update every week by combining it with the Weekly Preview.  So on Sundays, you’ll have an update with everything we’re doing here at Banana Scoop as well as a a look at what we’re cooking up this week.  Granted, the combination of the two means the both will lose some content than they usually would have alone [shorter updates and smaller previews], but combined, I think we’re killing two birds with one stone.  And besides, that just means I can write Tuesday articles again!

Read On Below for More News!

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Maintenance Update: School Coming Closer Means More Breaks, New Poll, and Calenders

Posted in Maintenance, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 31, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Maintenance Alert!  Time to learn what the scoop is on Banana Scoop.  It’s a relatively light week this week.  This newsletter primarily talks about school coming soon and how things will change in response to that.  Read on below for all the latest news with us.

School Incoming Means Less Banana Scoop

Truth be told, I’m both excited and distraught that school is starting soon.  I get to move back out of my parent’s house, live autonomously for a year, be in the company of other intellectuals, watch a ton of movies and television, party every once in a while, etc..  But there’s one drawback…it’s fcking school.  Studying, studying, studying is the other end of the spectrum.  Huffington Post just recently labeled Georgia Tech as the 24th best University in the World and while I’m definitely proud of that, it entails how competitive the school must be to keep that ranking.

So when all the studying comes around, I’ll likely have less time to do Banana Scoop which means there will be a break or two every couple of months during the hard test weeks.  I’ll do my best to stay on top of things, but you know how things catch up.  I do have a solution or two in mind…which brings me to my next point.

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Maintenance Newsletter: Incoming Buttons, Edited Banners, and Live Discussions

Posted in Maintenance, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Last Tuesday, I gave a maintenance update regarding the state of the blog and what we have in store, and I kinda felt as though we should do that every week!  I like keeping you guys updated with how I’m doing and some of the personal feelings I have towards this blog sometimes.  I’d like for you guys to think that this blog is more than just me posting a lot of cool stuff I find, and that it’s about discussing/geeking out about how much I love popular culture.  Reaching out to you guys almost seems meta.  So like many other scheduled events on this blog, Tuesday Maintenance Letters will try to be a thing these days.  There’s always something I want to be doing for this blog, so I think sharing with you guys what I do will not only tighten our cyber bond, but also make you notice all the effort I put into things that aren’t necessarily obvious XD.

List of Scheduled Events

Sunday
Weekly Preview – A preview of the more exciting articles that will be posted on Banana Scoop in the upcoming week
Sunday Sketch – Amateur drawings that I create and upload to share with you all

Monday
____ Review – All good television is premiered on Sunday [Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Dexter, etc.], so it’s only natural that I post reviews on them the following day

Tuesday
Maintenance Newsletter – A post regarding what’s new with Banana Scoop in the format area as well as what’s to come

Wednesday
Universidaze – A webcomic created by me that features the [mostly] fictional lives of two college kids

Saturday
Saturday Reblog – Anyone who posts a comment throughout the week gets put into a pool where I choose a lucky winner to get reblogged by us!
Weekend Funnies – 24 hilarious images collected from the deep corners of the interwebs.

Read on below about what’s new with our blog as of recently.

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Maintenance Newsletter: Live Discussion Page, No Universidaze this Week & More Writing

Posted in Maintenance, tagged , , , , , , on July 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The changes keep coming here at Banana Scoop.  I’m trying to stay on top of things more than ever now a days.  It seems like we’re gathering much of the strength we haven’t had in a while, and I’m hoping that’s a good thing.  By no means is that a reason to stop.  I’m using the momentum we’re gaining as a fuel.  I’m finding all my old contacts of blog circles and updating my information to get the Scoop out there as much as possible.  Besides these updates,  there are a couple of announcements I’d like to mention.  Read below for some of the highlights and the pertaining details.

The Opening of the Live Discussion Page

The Live Discussion Page, located at the top, is a place where casual conversation about ANYTHING can happen.  I’ll gladly partake in the conversation and I hope you will partake in any other threads we have going on.  Movies, TV, love lives, anything you wanna get off our chest to the internet world is in your grasp.  Wordpress only allows 10 indentations per post, so if discussions get wildy, just create a new thread for us to go off of.  I’ve already started if off by asking what you guys are watching on television this summer.  Go here now and get involved!

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How I Prepare My Blog Every Week

Posted in Articles, Maintenance, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 26, 2012| 1 Comment »

As many of you know, we here at Banana Scoop try to post four times a day five days a week and then four posts total on the two-day weekend.  That’s nearly 24 posts a week.  We usually don’t take holidays and we’re fairly consistent with how many times we post.  But as many of you must realize this takes time.  “But it’s your job,” some might say.  This is NOT my job.  I’m a chemical engineering student at a demanding top engineering school and writing a blog about pop culture is not considered a smart use of time when there are tests, quizzes, and optional homework that needs to be done.  This blog is my hobby.  My temporary escape from a rather creatively stifling school.  But that’s another story for another time.

I once recorded the time it takes to prepare a week’s worth of material for Banana Scoop.  It may take anywhere from 8 to 10 hours a week.  That’s a lot of time for something you’re neither paid for nor graded for.  I still manage to have somewhat of a social life, have time for my 30 hour a week job, and of course to do other things I enjoy like reading or blowing off some steam playing video games.

I’m dedicating today’s post to how life works for me and Banana Scoop.  While we do have one other contributor here, my inability to pay him forces me to carry about 85-90%+ of the workload of maintaining the aesthetics and punctual aspect of this blog.  I have a very long system that originates from daydreaming into a castle to cramming minutes before my deadline.  Read below on how I organize my life to run the very gratifying website that is Banana Scoop.

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