Following and Subscribing

I wrote recently that I had only one subscriber, and about five people said they were "it."

I should have said I had one follower, which is a Google thing. You can follow by going down to the bottom of this blog page (waaayyyy down) and finding where it says "Followers." Click on "Follow this blog." It will ask you to log in or create an account with Google. It will then tell your Google home page or Google Reader when there is something new here.

"Subscribing" is more generic; it doesn't require Google. Use the buttons on the right above my picture and you will be told when there is something new here, on your home page with Google, Yahoo, or some other options. If you pick "RSS" or ATOM" then the little "Feeds" thing-a-ma-jig will turn orange when there is something new.


Whats the difference between subscribing and following? If you follow anonymously or subscribe, nobody knows but you. If you follow publicly then people can see below that you are doing so. My two followers so far are of a caliber FAR above the audience I ever hoped to attract. No offense to the rest of you; feel free to bring up the average.

I don't want to go all serious and informative on you, so here are some greetings to try on people.

• Passing two friends chatting in the hallway: "One of you guys is keeping a lot better company than the other one."


• On approaching one person; especially if you haven't seen them in a while: "You remind me a lot of [person's name here] but you're a LOT better-looking." For variation use "smarter" in place of better looking.


• On seeing a person you have known for years who recently retired or moved to another location: "OH...Oh...wait, it'll come to me in a minute...don't tell me, now...you used to work here, didn't you?" This works best if accompanied by a hand to the temple or other "it's on the tip of my tongue" gestures.


• On approaching a person wearing a garment of bright green, blue, or any other noticeable color: "Wow you always look SO good in [name any color other than the one they have on.]" Be aware that 67.4 per cent of males will have no idea what color they are wearing. If you work at an engineering firm, that will be 98.65472 per cent.


• On seeing an acquaintance at a restaurant or other public spot: "I love this place! You always meet the nicest people here, don't you think?"


• On seeing a person who is not normally in your building: "Hey there! I heard the average IQ in the building had gone up, but I didn't know it was you." If you want to pick a fight, say "down" instead of "up."