Maybe I should change my name and pretend to be new. Think that some dirty pictures would help? This is a good idea and a butt load of work you are taking on.

This would be a wonderful contribution to the OS legacy, Redstocking Grandma. As a newer writer, although I have gotten lucky by steadily increasing comments and ratings, I've been somewhat intimidated by the volume created by some of the more established ones. Thanks for stepping up! Rated.
L

I am just volunteering to be the compiler. This will be only as helpful as everyone is.

I am a public librarian. Librarians can find what you need among 100,000 books and dozens of databases within ten minutes. The internet would be paradise if librarians were the Overlords.What reference librarians do for a living is teach Internet skills.

My four daughters acknowledge I have better Internet skills than they do. Their acknowledging I can do anything better than they can (including mothering) is a miracle.

Changing your name and pretending to be new would be a legitimate strategy for anyone who has never gotten more than 5 comments. Or maybe someone should start an ongoing metapost:
I have been on OS for three months, I only have 5 comments, and all of them are mine.

It's a huge undertaking and I have learned from my own posts that offered links and lists of writers whose work should be read that few people click beyond the first or second suggestion, which is an absolute shame.

Linda, you write, "As a newer writer, although I have gotten lucky by steadily increasing comments and ratings, I've been somewhat intimidated by the volume created by some of the more established ones."

Me too. This is my nefarious bid for more ratings and comments.

Note that because you have commented, I have discovered you.

I thank you for taking up the cause of new writers like myself. It is really hard to put yourself "out there" and end up getting lost in the shuffle. It can be a real let down if you build yourself up for months (as I did) to finally posting for the first time, and receiving no comments whatsoever (fortunately that didn't happen to me). I can't wait to see your first newbie round up (and unabashedly hope I am on the list). Also, getting on the soapbox a bit, I think it's a travesty when I see a blog post that has like 30 or more views and not one single comment. I don't mean those that are obviously spam or just a link to some hollywood gossip or something, but honest to goodness writing. If we are all here to boost one another up, and help each other become better writers, I think we could take a quick second to at least say thanks for writing. Or give a bit of constructive criticism. It's hard to get noticed around here, but I think to some degree we all enable that to happen. So thanks, Red for making a change!!!

What a kind thing to do. Thank you.

I sent you a message... but I'm green enough that I'm sure if it actually "sent"...

Thank you for your efforts... new writers can easily go unread here at OS...

Cartouche, after reading your realistic comment, I decided to pull rank and put OS Librarian at the beginning of all such roundups.

David, maybe I should change my identity to OS Librarian and Editor. From 1968 to 1975, I edited psychiatry and social science books for Basic Books, the original American publisher of Freud.

I never, ever say "there is nothing I can do."

Love the plug for librarians! I am a research librarian and we always claim to find things 10x faster than ordinary mortals (and we do). Looking forward to reading whatever you discover.

luck o' the griswolds, I find the best way to get discovered is to comment on the blogs of a relatively small group of favorites and check out their favorites. Seek out favorites who have some following but not an overwhelming number of ratings or comments. They are far more likely to notice and appreciate you:) I did the post on linking in comments because I think it is perfectly valid to link to your post if it is on a relevant topic.

People have mixed feelings about blog notifications. I think they are only effective if you send them to a small group of favorites and ask them to reciprocate.

Of course you will be on my list. I wonder if it is a good idea to spend much time commenting before you write your first post. I always check out anyone who comments on my posts. If they don't have any posts of their own, I might forget to keep track of them.

Views count people who don't belong to Open Salon and therefore can't rate or comment. After 18 months I haven't convinced my husband to join so he can at least rate my posts:)

I believe in being generous with ratings; I don't always have time for comments. If I think I have written something that shouldn't have immediately sunk into oblivion, I tend to write separate responses to thoughtful comments. If you do a roundup, you only appear in the feed once.

When I discover I writer, I also comment on older posts that didn't get the readership they deserved, also putting them back in the feed.
I realize Oldies but Goodies would be a good Open Call. Some writers do subject lists of their old posts. OS software, unlike something like Blogger, makes this tedious.

NOVAcatmondo, of course you did it right and I got your message. I will quote part of my reply because it is generally applicable.

If you want to be sure I will get it within the hour, use
redstockinggrandma45@gmail.com

That would make it so much easier because I could make a separate mac mailbox for new writers and filter everything into it. It would also make it so much easier to prepare my compilations.

People's reluctance to use regular email drives me round the twist. It takes minutes to set up a new gmail or yahoo email account you only use for OS. Does anyone seriously think my loved ones call me redstocking grandma?

Thanks for the kind words about my picture.My avatar picture of me and my one month old grandson is the best picture ever taken of me. I have discovered the formula--hair, smile, baby hiding double chin.

Incidentally, newcomers, your responding comment counts in your number of comments. Merely writing thank you would not be legitimate. But people post wonderful comments which deserve to be posts, and they merit a thoughtful reply.

I revised the posts after the comments were made. I realize that is confusing. Given the existence of the two new blogs, I found it unnecessary for me to do more than be a team member on both blogs.
Team blogs only work if the team members all take responsibility for stepping up to the plate.