If We Were Having Coffee On This May Morning…

/ Ally Bean

THE SETTING:

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We’d be sitting in my living room, watching a rabbit watch us through the window.

We’d be drinking espressos that I made with my Nepresso Pixie machine, an indulgent acquisition that I’m really enjoying more than I thought I would.  

We’d be listening to SiriusXM 40s Junction because I’ve been in a weird mood lately and have taken a fancy to this old music. It’s fun.

THE CONVERSATION:

√  We’d be chatting… about the grocery bag, filled with canned goods, that you saw by our mailbox post when you drove into the driveway.  The bag is for our postwoman to pick-up today as part of the 24th annual Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.  I’d be snarking about the half-assed neighbors who don’t give to this cause.  I notice, I remember.

√  We’d be sharing… our latest TV obsessions, which in my case is watching The Gilmore Girls from beginning to end, anticipating the revival.  I only saw the show occasionally when it ran on TV, so I decided that as a treat throughout Spring and Summer, I’d watch all the episodes in order.  So far, so delighted.

√  We’d be talking… about my question: if you have a blog, do you have a page for it on FB?  And if so, is it worth the bother?  Some friends in real life have suggested I should put The Spectacled Bean on FB to get more traffic.  While I like this idea in theory, because more people in real life NEED to be following me, I dunno if I believe it would work.  What say ye?

√  We’d be laughing… about how I know who I’m going to vote for in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.  I’m voting for myself because I’m the perfect candidate who can make both sides happy.  For Republicans, I have no experience in politics.  For Democrats, I’m a woman who knows a thing or two.  See what I mean?  Presidential.

THE CONCLUSION:

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We’d linger today because neither one of us has much to do today. Go figure. And it’s a Saturday, even.   

However, eventually we’d need to go our separate ways so we’d hug and promise to get together sometime next month, if summer vacations don’t interfere.

And we’d thank each other for listening to & commenting on our joys and woes. Like friends do. Everywhere. Over an espresso.

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Idea for this post came from Diana at Part-Time Monster.

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55 thoughts on “If We Were Having Coffee On This May Morning…”

  1. Good morning Ally, and thanks for the coffee! It was delicious. I’d have to reply to that comment about FB linkage and tell you that, at one point when I was writing regularly I did link my blog to FB, hoping for more traffic and more interaction. I gained quite a few followers who 99% remained anonymous and never commented or interacted. I gained a few snarky, trolling type replies as well. Then as life changed, as FB became a place that I used only to play a few silly games, I dropped the page, dropped myself from FB and haven’t missed having yet another thing to manage.
    I would wish you luck as you make your decision on branching out, which personally I think really depends on what you want your readership to be and how much time you want to invest in “being out there.”
    I will also wish you well as a write-in candidate and tell you that I think you would do a splendid job, or at the very least, not do any worse than the choices we seem to have in front of us.
    I’m off now, to shop with the daughter for new apartment items, but I’d tell you as I wave goodbye that I’d love to stop for coffee again soon.
    Deb

    Liked by 4 people

    • Deb, thanks for coming by. You know I always love to see you. I appreciate you taking the time to tell me what happened to you when you put your blog on FB. What you say is what I suspect would happen to me, too. I’m not a fan of FB having found that the word “friends” is used rather loose and freely there, but wondered if/ maybe I was missing something.

      Thanks for your vote re: the U.S. Presidential campaign. Thinking that my campaign slogan might be: You Could Do Worse! 😉

      Liked by 3 people

  2. Watching a rabbit in our yard as well (while drinking coffee).

    I’ve revisited the social media expansion question repeatedly over the years, which is why Twitter is still reminding me to validate my account (get over it Twitter, it’s not me, it’s you). I’ve come to view Facebook and Twitter as the providence of unedited small talk, thoughtless racism and sexism, and endless memes that aren’t particularly creative. As in, not my target audience. I agree with much of what Deb says above.

    It really depends on how much time and energy you want to put into things and whether the return validates the expenditure. Enjoy your weekend!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Michelle, bunnies and coffee, oh my! I think that your assessment of FB and Twitter is spot on. I’m not convinced that I have the desire to get involved in yet another social media when there’s a real world outside my front door to explore. I’ve found over the years that this blog’s target audience is doers and thinkers, not whiners and dim bulbs… which is kind of what FB seems like to me. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts on this topic– and you, too, enjoy the weekend. 😉

      Like

  3. I have a FB page, but it’s my author page, not really my blog’s page, though I do link my posts to it. Not sure if a blog page drives more traffic or not, but it couldn’t hurt. You can set it up so your posts automatically publish on it. Then again, if you don’t plan on using the page for anything else, not sure it’s worth it.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Carrie, what you suggested is what friends have suggested. The difficulty I have with this is I fear spreading myself too thin among social media, and running out of energy to take care of yet another virtual place out there in the www. I’d rather be outside in the real world doing things, than spending more time staring at a screen. But maybe…? I dunno.

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  4. If we were having coffee, I’d be so glad you invited me in away from the whipping wind. I’d tell you my FB page gets 50-90 views each post, but seldom does anyone click Like or Share and the only people who comment are my loved ones. I’d tell you that I regularly click Like or Share on other bloggers’ FB posts, and that I am often the only one. It’s a big meh. If I believe the Likes and Shares and Comments, then maybe only 5 of my actual friends read my blog. (Husband and mother excluded.)
    Enjoy your weekend 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    • joey, happy to share a coffee with you today. Thanks for telling me how FB works for you. You’re saying what I intuitively feel, that is– it’s more trouble than it’s worth for me. If there’s no inclination amongst the Facebookians to comment and connect, then I’m not interested. If they can’t bother with me, I’m not bothering with them. [Now that’s a good tag line if I ever saw one!] Happy weekend!

      Liked by 2 people

  5. Good morning. I am sitting here with my cup of coffee too, but not espresso…too strong for me. I have a Facebook page for my “creative” life as well as my personal Facebook page, which I started mainly to keep track of what my kids were doing (as if they put everything on Facebook, especially after they knew I was on it as well). I have found Facebook to be both good and bad, my personal one kind of keeps me connected to some high school friends and distant family, but I also have to scroll through a bunch of stupid ads. I have learned how to disengage myself by turning off notifications, especially from games. I have met some nice people through certain groups that I belong to but the groups are private groups so we don’t get much riff-raff. Through my “creative” page, I showcase things I have for sale on my Etsy shop and link my blog posts, but really some days I get a lot of traffic and some not too much, and, I post on both that page and my personal page so I’m really doing double duty. So far I am not sure that I’ve gotten any business from the Facebook “creative” page but I’ll keep it up for a while. I also use my “creative” page to “follow” some other artisans and see what’s new in the craft world.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Janet, thanks for stopping by for coffee. I can easily put a pot on so you don’t have to have an espresso! Mea culpa for not offering that earlier. My FB presence would entirely be “creative” aka the blog. I’d like joining some of the private groups I’ve heard about, but am not open to dealing with the trolls and lurkers that are part of FB. If I thought irl friends would take more of an interest in this blog, then I’d be all over the idea of having a page for The Spectacled Bean. But I imagine that’s just wishful thinking on my part. They’ve shown me their indifference already by not showing up here. ‘Ya know?

      Liked by 1 person

  6. If we were planning to have coffee today, I likely would have cancelled.
    I’m sick.
    I know it’s only a very bad cold, but sniffling, and sneezing, and coughing up a lung every 15 minutes is very unattractive. Did I mention I feel like death? I don’t handle sick very well.

    I’m also really whiny :/

    Every once in a while I think about using Facebook more, but then I remind myself about how much I dislike FB. The way I look at it, my blog isn’t a business, nor am I trying to build a *brand*. It’s just my way of interacting with interesting and like-minded people.
    Like others have said in their comments, I occasionally link a post onto my personal FB page and rarely get comments back – and these are my friends and family!! I just don’t think FB is that kind of platform.

    It’s wet and chilly here, so I hope you’re keeping warm and dry wherever you are 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • joanne, I’m sorry that you’re feeling badly. Head colds do me in, too. I get a sudden undeniable need to complain about everything and everyone. It’s really the best way to get over a cold.

      As for FB, I’m lukewarm about it to begin with, and I think that your assessment of blogging is the same as mine. I like to start conversations here, and bloggers [not Facebookians] are known for their love of talk. I feel like IF I spent the time getting this blog on FB, THEN I’d be bitter when no one got involved with my blog and that would not make me happy. At all.

      Liked by 1 person

      • You’re right! Complaining is a really good way to get over a cold. I hadn’t thought of it that way before. Now I won’t feel so guilty about being whiny … it’s in fact good for me 😉

        .. and you’re also right about the bitter part when FB readers don’t engage. These are exactly the people I expect to engage – my friends and family who know me.
        The reality is, non-bloggers don’t understand the blogging experience.

        Liked by 2 people

  7. You know where I stand on the FB thing, and I think the others are right that any extra attention you got would likely come from strange people who want to spam or troll. The only place I believe boycotting FB hurts me in the interaction department is that there are times when some of my followers get lazy (or just pressed for time) and only visit blogs via their FB account. I get a little miffed when I see my regulars disappear from my blog, yet continue to chat away on the blogs of others… but realize it’s probably just a social media thing. I’ll get by…

    Liked by 1 person

    • evilsquirrel13, I’m not impressed with FB either. I only bring up the question because I don’t know whether or not there’s something to be gained by putting my FB antipathy aside, and joining the bloggers who keep FB pages for their blogs.

      From the comments I’ve received so far, no one seems to think that FB and blogging are a good match. Seems like they’re two different sorts of platforms, appealing to different styles of communication. And therein, may be the answer to my question.

      Like

  8. Everyone is talking about social media, but you mentioned Gilmore Girls… I’m so glad you’re enjoying watching it through from the beginning! I love the atmosphere that show creates. Do you have a favorite character? Mine has to be Emily…!

    Like

  9. Hello, Mr. Bunny! I see you!

    What ep of Gilmore Girls are you up to? I can’t wait for the revival! I’ll have to re-up with Netflix for a month just to see it! That’s devotion.

    I am not on Facebook and haven’t been for almost a year. I had a page for my blog, etc., back in the day and it gets you some views, but the way their algorithm works (against you), it’s not worth it, IMHO.

    Bean Twenty-Sixteen! It even rhymes. You have my vote. ~Tara

    Like

    • Tara, I’m at Season 1, Episode 6, so I have a long way to go. I refuse to rush this show, so I’m limiting myself to one episode per day.

      I’m not on FB anymore either. When I was there I wasn’t impressed, but I got thinking that maybe having my blog there would be different. After reading what y’all have to say about FB, I think I might be better off without it.

      Hadn’t caught onto the rhyme, but it clearly is a sign that I’m meant to be President. Thank you for your vote.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. First, thanks for the hedz up about the food drive. We didn’t receive a notice this year – we’ve definitely been having trouble with our mail lately – and so it wasn’t on my radar. Luckily there;s plenty of time before the carrier arrives.

    I’m glad to be listening in on the FB discussion. I’m curious as well, but am probably more social media phobic than most. I’m always weighing what people advise against how much effort I think it will involve. So this has been helpful.

    Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Deborah Weber, our notice for the food drive was a tiny postcard this year, so yours might have… [wait for it]… gotten lost in the mail. 😉

      The whole FB discussion is one that I wanted to start because I don’t know what to make of that social platform. I don’t like it, but so many people are there. I’m with you in that the return on “effort” investment has to be in my favor before I’ll get involved. Meaning, I don’t think this blog is going to end up on FB!

      Liked by 1 person

  11. I have a blogging friend who received hundreds and hundreds of FB firneds so i decided to make Face Book page just for my blog. Yeah, I forgot I had it. I just took a look for the first time in well over a year and almost nobody has liked it. Oh well 😉

    Like

    • trent, that’s interesting. It’s what I think would happen if I started one. I’m sensing that I’m going to drop this FB idea, and go outside to play instead! Thanks for commenting.

      Liked by 1 person

  12. You are definitely a kindred spirit. I too have a beloved espresso machine and enjoy the wonderful mochas I make with it. I was also the only one of my MANY neighbors who put out a bag for the postal service food collection. I bought a bunch of canned goods at the store last night. In my humble opinion, the people you would get here from Facebook would NOT be the ones you would want. I don’t ever connect my blog to FB. 🙂

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    • Margaret, I do believe you’re right about us being kindred spirits and about Facebookians. Interesting how you never connect your blog with your FB account. That says oodles, doesn’t it? Talking with everyone here today, I’ve reached the conclusion that FB won’t be worth my time, so I’m not doing it. Can’t make me. 😉

      Like

  14. I link my blog on my Facebook page sometimes but nobody even comments on it. I do link it to Twitter. It does not do much but that is pretty much all I put on Twitter. I want to watch Gilmore girls when it comes on. I watched all the deadbeat shows on Hulu. That is kind of funny.

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    • Connie T, I’m amazed by how many bloggers have tried linking their blogs to FB and how little positive response there has been. You’d kind of think that if someone cared about you in one place [FB], they’d care about you in another place [your blog]. But I guess that is not so. I’m really enjoying the Gilmore Girls. It’s a calorie-free treat each day. 🙂

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    • serenasinclair, I’m enjoying The Gilmore Girls. I’m going to be up-to-date about the show when the revival happens, which will make the revival more fun, I think. And I agree about this upcoming election being sad. We, as a country, can do better– but for some reason we don’t.

      Liked by 1 person

  17. I used to be on FB.
    Now I’m not.
    I’m happier now.

    I used to link blog posts to my FB page.
    Now I don’t.
    Traffic remains the same.

    As Deb noted, commenters gleaned from FB were either silent spectators standing on the sidelines saying naught OR snarky argumentative asshats I had to chase away with a broom and block from further commenting.

    As for the postal service pick up yesterday . . . you would have seen a bag on our mailbox containing an odd mishmash and mashup of food items that don’t belong together in the same sentence.

    P.S. I love bunnies.
    P.S.S. Make mine cappuccino.

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    • nrhatch, I’m not on FB personally. I tried it for a few months years ago and found it to be [shall we say?] tedious. However, the idea of putting my blog on FB has been floating around in my brain, but everyone here has convinced me that it’d be a waste of time. Actually, I’m relieved to give up on the idea.

      Good on you for contributing to the food drive. The rabbits love you back, I’m sure. And of course you can have a cappuccino. Silly of me not to offer.

      Liked by 1 person

      • As far as FB goes . . . have you looked at other FB Blog Pages to see how much interaction is generated and how much tending is required to keep out the weeds?

        Mmm . . . perfect cappuccino.

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        • I’ve seen a few FB blog pages and the ones I’ve seen have had lots going on. But those are bloggers who are much more niche-y than I am.

          I fear that my this-&-that approach to blogging, which is quirky, would be lost in the FB algorithms that look at popularity before anything else. I suspect that quirky wouldn’t even register inside the FB world.

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  18. Hi Ally, I love the rabbit – does he eat your flowers? I tried Facebook once and somehow got hooked into some paranormal group out of San Diego, and then this very new-agey lady basically took over my Facebook with all her posts about angels and auras and other weird stuff. I gave it up.
    I like doing food drives too, but always feel bad that I am shoving my unwanted cans of lima beans and cans of weird, perfectly round boiled potatoes on someone else.
    As far as binge watching TV series, just finished “Sons of Anarchy” – it was pretty good, but I have never seen a group of people that bring more trouble upon themselves. We are now onto “Bates Motel” – which looks like it is going to be really interesting.
    Have a good week.

    Liked by 1 person

    • SD Gates, so far the rabbit has stayed away from the flowers. There’s plenty of forest behind the house on which he can munch, I guess. I’m laughing about your FB experience. I can guarantee you that during the few months I personally was on FB years ago, no one was spreading sunshine and auras. Just the opposite, in fact. I’m enjoying The Gilmore Girls and because I’m limiting myself to one episode a day, I’ll be watching it for weeks, which sounds like fun to me. Happy week to you, too. Thanks for stopping by to comment.

      Liked by 1 person

  20. A vote for Ally is a vote for sanity! 🙂
    I’ve thought about making a Facebook page for my blog but ultimately decided against it because a) I don’t want to spend anymore time on Facebook than I already do and b) I figure that any Facebook friends of mine who are interested know I have a blog because I occasionally post blog posts to my own profile and I figure if they really want to, they’ll check it on their own accord.

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    • brittabottle, I like how you think! I’m sane, which may disqualify me from being President. Only the crazy seem to want to do it.

      Your logic about FB makes sense to me. I’m busy enough online keeping a blog and a twitter account. Adding a FB page seems like work to me. And who needs that?!!

      Liked by 1 person

  21. Ally, thanks for the coffee! Don’t judge your neighbors too harshly. They could be in need themselves or perhaps they choose to contribute a different way. My wife works for a food bank and they much prefer cash as they more efficiently buy and manage food in bulk. When they purchase it, they don’t have to sort and evaluate it. Saves HUGE amounts of time. My two cents (or pence) for what it’s worth.
    I have my blog setup to automatically post to FB and Twitter. You have to be willing to spend a bit of time managing these accounts initially if you want them to grow quickly. It’s kind of like a garden. You have to pull the weeds occasionally and add a bit of fertilize. I get a small increase in blog traffic from each and they are both on automatic. Your mileage may vary. Best of luck to you.

    Liked by 1 person

    • shawn, you make a good point about not knowing what’s really going on with our neighbors. They could be in difficult financial times. Who knows, huh?

      I’ve heard other people say that food banks would prefer cash, but the act of physically placing food aside for someone else seems like a good way to demonstrate sharing to kids. Of course if the letter carriers decide to stop this annual event, I’ll switch to writing a check. That would work for me.

      I like your way of thinking about the integration of your social media accounts. I think that IF I do anything with FB it would have to be automated. There’s only so much time I want to devote to blogging, especially now that summer is here.

      Liked by 1 person

  22. I’m back on tea again but I would enjoy watching your bunny. We don’t see many bunnies down here. Back in Wyoming, there was a warren just past my back yard and we had tons of them. Stasia got loose one night and started chasing them and it ended up being really funny. They would wait for her to get almost on them then take off at speeds that she didn’t have a prayer of matching.

    I would vote for you. The only thing that helps with this presidential election is when was the last time that congress let any president actually accomplish what he wanted to do?

    FB for the blog? I can’t see it working for me but you… I could see you having fun. The thing that I hate about those I know have FB pages – they’re the kind of blogs that want to drive traffic to their site but never reciprocate. Look at me! I’m so important that I’m never going to visit your site! There are probably plenty that aren’t like that at all but those are the ones I’ve seen.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Zazamataz, we’ve always had rabbits in the backyard/woods, but this spring some brave ones have started hanging in the front yard. They seem kind of nosy, always looking toward the house. Thanks for your vote. I’ve been thinking the same thing about the President v Congress issue. How much does either side get done? Not much, no matter who’s there. As for FB, I know exactly the type of blogs you’re talking about and I want nothing to do with them. I’ve pretty much given up on the FB idea because truth be told, I’m lazy. And keeping WP + Twitter going is about all I’m up for right now. Adding FB to the mix sounds like actual work to me. And who wants that? 😉

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  23. Can we run the bunny for president? Bunnies make everyone smile.
    How do you like your Nepresso machine? I’ve been looking.(it would have to be idiot proof for me to give up counterspace for it.)
    No FB for me. Too much work and for what? Besides it’s getting so populated with businesses and companies, it’s far from what it was. Some say it’s on the way out for the younger groups. Twitter seems really busy and popular. You’ve already got that and WP, enough already – real life must have a corner of your life

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    • I like your idea of having the bunny run, or should I say hop, for president. Works for me. The Nepresso machine is great and takes little counter space. It’s easy to use and has about 15+ different types of coffees available. I’m not on FB personally, but I did want to get other bloggers’ opinions of using FB for their blogs. I just can’t get jazzed about adding this blog to FB, so it isn’t going to happen. But the conversation about it was good.

      Liked by 1 person

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