Friday, April 16, 2010

I can haz bannerz!

Why are these here? you ask. Because I have a banner fetish, that's why. In fact, I often make my own just for fun. (I made all of those below except the two from Loose Id.) But . . . what am I to do with them? Where should I put them? I don't know. I thought I might pay to put Mobry's up at GLBT Bookshelf, but that place confuses the ever-lovin' hell out of me.

So I'm wondering, do any of you even notice banners? Click on banners? Or are they just visual junk that you overlook because you're already being bombarded with visual junk and can't be bothered with more? Should I just shitcan my banner-making hobby and quit worrying about how best to use them? Should I go back to making collages?



Oh, and while I'm here asking stupid questions, does anybody have a clue how to hook a website to a domain name? I have both but don't know how to marry them. I'm serious. They're just sitting there, dead in the water.

And finally, how did that dumbass LOL Cats lingo get started? You know, the kind I tried to imitate in the post title. What's up with that? Why do people like intentional misspellings? Why do they encourage pronunciations that should be coming out of the mouth of a three-year-old? Is it cute? Am I pathologically incapable of appreciating cuteness?

All right, I lied when I said "finally." Because I still want to know what a "tackle hug" is. People were "tackle hugging" each other on a Yahoo loop where I went to pimp some books earlier in the week. Although it sounded painful, I felt left out. Nobody tackle-hugged me. Then again, I am a crotchety old biddy, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

Okay, y'all have your hands full now, so I'll go to bed.

22 comments:

wren boudreau said...

I'd have to say I'm one of those people who don't really notice the banners. Much like when people get a new hairstyle. I'm the person who says "Hey, did you change your hair?" about three weeks after it's been done.

I'm not tech savvy enough to know about that website/domain stuff.

I dunno how LOLcats got started. My personal story is that one day my son, early in the grips of love, told me his girlfriend got him hooked and showed me and since then I can't get enough of those goofy cats. (He has, of course, outgrown them) So, sadly, KZ, your pathologically incapable of appreciating cuteness. You're like the Scrooge McDuck of cute.

Tackle hug (via Urban Dictionary): something that is often done in chatrooms.
it symbolizes the action of running over to one of your friends and hugging them, yet your momentum prevents you from stopping in time and thus they have been tackled
1
person 1:*tackle hugs*
person 2: well... this is sure awkward

2
person 1: 2!!!!!!!!! *tackle hugs*
person 2: *falls over and hugs back*

wren boudreau said...

Oh. I forgot.

KZ!!!! Hi!!!!
*tackle hugs*

Tam said...

J'adore the Jackson and Adin one. They are all really nice and I like the font in the first one a lot. You are VERY talented. Can I put one up? I like pretty things.

I do notice them. Not sure I've ever clicked on them but I glance at them on other sites.

Websites? No freaking clue. Sorry

LOL Cats. I'm not sure. I find some highly amusing and others less so. Perhaps your sense of humour is just a ad more refined than the average person.

This is the first I've ever heard of tackle hugging. Sounds like something 13 year olds would be into. Not adults.

LVLM(Leah) said...

I like all your banners. I do notice banners but have never thought to click on them. I see them more as advertising.

I thought I might pay to put Mobry's up at GLBT Bookshelf, but that place confuses the ever-lovin' hell out of me.

You're not the only one who doesn't get that site. I was there in the beginning but it seemed so complicated and I couldn't figure out how to post links. Not very user friendly. I've heard other people grumble that they don't get how to use that site.

I don't know domain name and web site merging. If you go to your domain provider do they have some kind of instructions on how to do that? I think though, you probably have a web address associated to your domain name since I think you're paying for that, right?

What are you using to create your web site? Some sort of front page type program? Or are you using a free template like you're doing on blogger? I think whatever you are using to create your web page, there must be a section where you insert your domain web address.

But really I don't know. I created a bunchy of web pages years ago using Front page but of course they are not actually on the web since I never got a domain name or address.

LOLZ cats--- sometimes I like to use some words common to it. Like Haz and Womenz and so on. To be honest, not because it's cute or "cool" or whatever, it's because I find it relaxing how it rolls off the tongue. I often mispronounce words when talking to my DH because they are easier for me to say my way than the real word. This drives the DH crazy. heh

I've heard that phraze tackle hug a lot recently. Must be a trending thing. I just assume it means more than a normal hug. It's an uber hug. LOL Sounds like something guys would do though, not chicks.

K. Z. Snow said...

Thanks, everybody, for your input on banners. (Tam, you can cop the whole freakin' bunch of 'em if you want. Better yet, would you like your own?)

I've always had the strong suspicion that stuff authors spend money on in the hope of getting noticed (e.g. online ads, bookmarks, notepads, pens) are a colossal waste. I know when I go to a site where books covers are pasted all over the place, they become a kind of patchwork wallpaper. I don't really "see" any of them.

I've heard of writers having "banner exchanges," but again, I doubt readers bother looking at the things, much less clicking on them.

Crap. And I really enjoy making them. Maybe I'll just post one here once in a while.

K. Z. Snow said...

Re. my website + domain name problem, I think there are instructions somewhere, but I remember another writer saying they were really confusing and time-consuming for a non-techie. Just effing great.

LOL Cats? I always laugh at them! It's just the intentional misspellings and twisted grammar I don't get. I've always been curious how that weird trend got started. Why not just write the captions in proper English? Are cats perceived as semiliterate or what?

Maybe more to the point, am I overthinking this? :-)

K. Z. Snow said...

Tam, believe me, I don't have an overly refined sense of humor. There's an extended rimming scene in Mobry's Dick that testifies to this. Heh-heh.

K. Z. Snow said...

Finally, tackle hugs. I believe I would only consider this peculiar greeting if a tall, handsome, sturdily built man were the hugger or huggee. (No offense, Wren.) Whether or not he chooses to wear a nut cup would be up to him. I'm flexible that way.

wren boudreau said...

No offense taken. I was just the messenger so to speak.

And, ahem, when is Mobry's Dick coming out. Literary curiosity, I haz it.

Chris said...

Yet another who doesn't pay attention to banners, although I particularly like your "Looking for Some Touch" banner!

To hook a domain name to a website, you need a web host. I use dreamhost, but I see that their base prices have gone up quite a bit from what I pay. I know godaddy is big in hosting. One of the knitting bloggers I read uses ANHosting, whose base plan looks pretty darn reasonable, unless you were looking to use WordPress (which I seem to remember you hate).

K. Z. Snow said...

The Dick will be released May 18. Loose Id. Be there or be square.

And Fugly has just been accepted by Liquid Silver, which makes sense considering who's in it. ;-)

Chris said...

Congrats on Fugly's acceptance!

wren boudreau said...

Yay! Congratulations and whatnot! I'd tacklehug you but I'm not a tall, handsome, sturdily-built man. So *high five*?

K. Z. Snow said...

Chris, I got my domain name through GoDaddy (and did have to pay an annual fee), but it's been a while. I'll have to see if that fee bought me web hosting or not.

I'm trying to feel upbeat about releases and acceptances and all that jazz, but it's a bit difficult right now. Need some kind of pick-me-up, I guess.

Chris said...

Maybe you need to go lie in the sun and absorb some vitamin D...

K. Z. Snow said...

I actually just chased to a yard sale that somebody had told me about, but -- holy crap! -- the wind was blowing like crazy, kicking up dust storms in every farm field. Outdoors is not a good place to be today, unless you don't mind having your body sandblasted. Uh-uh. I'm still trying to get used to tackle-hugs. :-)

Kris said...

*tackle hug attack*

K. Z. Snow said...

Oh, jeez. Why did I have to bring it up?

Chris said...

Well, KZ, I'd say that your bringing it up suggests that you have a deep-seated need for more tackle hugs in your life.

K. Z. Snow said...

Give me a minute to think about that.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Uh . . . no.

Chris said...

It's understandable that you're repressing, KZ. ;p

Clare London said...

No problem to link website to domain name - I've done it, so it can't be! :) You just redirect the website to your domain name - there are usually instructions on your website provider on how to do this, they give you the relevant 'address' to use. Nudge me in email if you have problems.

And I like banners! In fact if I'd known you were so darned good at it, I would have begged some off you before now *lol*. But I don't know how effective they are.

Anyway, I've nabbed one of yours for my Links page, many thanks! :):).