If You Use Blogger- There Is Something You Should Know

I finally decided to get my own domain and now I'm officially www.doghairaccessory.com! No more .blogspot for me. It's great. It's easy. It's shorter. And it's cheap! (I used godaddy.com)

After doing that, I thought, Wow! Nothing I'm doing is changing. I'm still logging into Google and typing up my posts in Blogger. This is great! But then I thought about something I read recently..

Tom's mom showed me an article the other day about blogging and whether or not we, as bloggers, own the content we're putting forth. I was obviously intrigued and started looking into it. I love that Blogger is a Google Service since I'm comfortable with Google and their security and I've been using their other services so long, I know what I'm doing. I never had thought about the possibility that publishing thru their service would mean the content is no longer mine.

I looked up articles, terms, FAQs and here's some interesting things I found.

Per Google's Terms Of Service:

"You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours"

That's a relief. But like the article says, that's almost false reassurance, because of what else it says-

"When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content."

Ok. So basically Google can take any and all of my ideas, quotes, and photos and do as they please? It goes on to add that they won't use these things for just any ol' reason. Only for...

"...the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones."

Right. So basically anything they want.

Now the content you're posting on here is YOURS. You can do whatever you want with the content. But by publishing it thru a Google Service, you are saying, "Sure!" to Google using it however they see fit as well.

Lisette went though terrible experience with Blogger/Google deleting her design site because she wasn't posting anything new. They just told her it was gone. Luckily she got it back but soon after she switched to self hosted Wordpress and seems infinitely happier.

So what's my next move? For now I'm gonna stay on Blogger. But I will be looking into switching. Mostly I don't want to spend a shit ton of money to move everything over and get a new design (assuming I'd have to). So you win Google. For now.

What are your thoughts and/or experiences with Blogger vs Wordpress vs self hosting? If it's too long to leave in a comment, email me at acosta0097@gmail.com



Now, I want you to meet Jenny! She owns an etsy shop called Hole In Her Stocking Designs and she sells some really cute jewelry! My favorite piece is the turquoise and silver bracelet. Learn a little more about her and her shop!

shop // blog // twitter // shop facebook // blog facebook // pinterest

1. What is your the meaning behind your shop name? 
"Hole In Her Stocking" is actually part of the lyrics of the song "Dance With A Dolly" (my blog name) that my grandma and mother used to sing with me as a child. Some of my earliest memories. Song went as follows... "Gonna dance with a dolly with a hole in her stockin', While our knees keep a knockin', and our toes keep a rockin', Dance with a dolly with a hole in her stockin', Dance by the light of the moon"

2. When and why did you start your shop? 
I started this particular shop in 2011 because I love designing jewelry and always got compliments on everything I made and wore. I have just recently started to take this shop more seriously and will be adding a lot of new designs in coming weeks.

3. What is your favorite item in your shop and why? 
The Mint Beaded Bar Bracelet because I love the color and how pretty and dainty it is.

4. What has been the most rewarding thing about starting your shop? 
Having a great creative outlet and making money while at it. 

Meet My Favorite Texas to North East Transplant!

What's In A {user} Name?

Everyone uses social media.

12 year olds do. 70 year olds try. There are careers and acedemic majors dedicated to it. As of 5/7/13 there are about 554,750,000 twitter users and about 135,000 new users sign up every day (source) That's bananas.

Check the popular page on instagram lately? Gauranteed there is at least one 14 year old with 80k followers that just took uploaded a picture of they're new kicks and it has at least 100k "likes."

So you're over there trying to grow your blog right? DUH! Social media! And that's where the anxiety over picking a user name starts.

Do I use my name? Do I use my blogs name? A combo? Do I think of something clever?

Mis-er-a-ble.

What if you already have some social media but the names don't all match up?

Please tell me I'm not the only one that went thru that when I was trying to figure out my social media's place in this world. I had so much trouble picking user names to begin with and then when Stephanie changed her usernames I was like ehhhh okkkk I guess I'll start thinking about it.

It took me hours days to decide and only after turning to Tom and wait for it.. social media I decided on DHAccessory. I got a a few votes for DHAblog but in the end DHAccessory won out! Thanks everyone for your input!!

And now for the tutorials!

**you can only do this on a computer**

Before you do this- let your followers know you will be changing your username! 

Click the gear on the menu bar on the top left of the screen and when the drop down menu pops up, click "Settings".

Change your username to what you want it to be. It has to be under 16 characters and one that isn't in use.

After you have changed it, scroll down and click save! Alert your followers again that you've changed your username!

Go to your profile in you instagram app and tap "Edit Profile"

Tap on your current user name and change it to what you'd like it to be

Click "Done" and then let people know you changed your username!

Log into Pinterest and click your name in the top left. A menu bar will drop down- select "Your Boards"

Click the little pencil in the corner of your profile section

A box will pop up and you can change your username there. When you're done, hit save!


Now- a lot of you have social media icons and bars at the end of your posts like this one:

I will have a tutorial on how to change those so they correspond to your correct/changed username on Monday!

Bloggy Blog Tips From A Non- Professional

I have 2 IRL friends that started blogs recently (Savannah @ Arizona Sunshine and Tori @ a little Leigh way! Go check them out!), and I've met a bunch of other brand-spanking-new bloggers lately and one of the first things I do is point them in the direction of this post from Sarah and this post from Beth. I also posted on Wednesday about GFC - how to use it and how to put it on your blog.

A couple days ago, Savannah posted about her feelings/thoughts on her baby blogger status. And not that I'm anywhere close to level of bloggy fame of Sarah or Beth, but I wanted to share some things that have helped me. Some of these are obvious, some you've heard a MILLION times before but I've found all of them to be either incredibly useful in growing my blog or they just make my life easier as a blogger!

Join A Picture Hosting Site
This isn't necessary, but it's a good thing to do. I use imgur but photobucket is also popular (imgur images show up on my computer at work, photobucket images don't!) It's a great way to keep graphics you use often in a place that isn't your computer's hard drive. Plus you can use it to get an HTML code or direct URL for your images which allows you to make buttons for your blog, link up graphics, put clearer graphics on your blog, and easily send photos to people

Have (at least) A Few Posts Started
When you have an idea start a post. I mean most of my ideas come at a time when I'm on or near a computer. Or I have the blogger app on my phone and start one there. Inspiration comes from the most random places and I've found the best way to avoid bloggers block is to get a bunch started. Some days I work on 5 different posts for 5 min each and then end up writing a whole new one that I actually publish. It's just handy and you can pick up where you left off so easily!

Take Notes
Like #2, write things down! I find I get a lot of my ideas from reading other peoples blogs. Usually it isn't the exact post but a tangent on something I read. When I see a post/website/article I want to reference again, I email it to myself with a subject line that I could easily identify. This also helps you credit people for thier work! If you got an idea from another blogger, almost everyone would love you to go as long as you just mention where you got the idea from!

No More Word Verification
This is prob not a big deal but it's SUPER annoying. It literally took me 8 tries to get it right when I was trying to comment on a blog yesterday and I was realllllly close to not commenting at all. It's a deterrent for spammers but it's a deterrent for real people too. I didn't even know I had a verification on my blog until I saw a post from Candice about it. She has an awesome tutorial on how to get rid of it!

Brand Yourself
I know y'all don't want to pay big money for a custom design but there are cheap designers that are REALLY GOOD. I promise. Laura at Sophie & Rory, who did mine was amazing. Plus you can always mix and match elements that you buy separately. And if you don't want to spend any money you can always learn and do it all yourself! I have designed Savannah's, Tori's and most of Katie's blog and I didn't pay anything for the software! (I'll explain in #8) Try and use a signiture color, font, or graphic and people will easily recognize (and remember) your work.

C O M M E N T
This is the easiest way to meet people and make connections. Make sure you aren't a no-reply blogger usuing Sarah's tutorial or Eva's tutorial. Then comment like crazy. Make them meaningful too! I respond to every email but I only get about 9 comments per post on average. People who get more may not have time to respond to everyone so make it worth it. When someone comments on your post, respond! You have to respond to their email not on the post so they know you answered them. And keep the email chain going as long as you want! Comments are conversation starters so don't be afraid to have a conversation!

If You Don't Know Something- Google It!
Bloggers do tutorials on pretty much everything. Learning a little HTML wouldn't hurt either but the basics are all you need. My most used HTML? <center>.....</center>. If you have a graphic or button you want centered and it isn't working, just put <center> at the beginning and </center> at the end of the objects HTML and they will be center aligned! People love doing tutorials/sharing what they know. If you can't find what you're looking for on google, use those connections you made by commenting and email a more experienced blogger! (You can always email me but I don't claim to know it all!) Also Sarah's tutorials are SUPER helpful.

Custom Graphics / Pictures
I've gotten a lot of compliments on my graphics. More so lately. Wanna know my trick? photoshop 30 day trial. Yea. It ends this weekend so I'm super bummed but that's what I've been using (with help from Sarah's tutorial). But there are so many ways to create custom graphics without paying a cent! Sites like picmonkey and pixlr are free and can do almosttt anything photoshop can (unfortunately not glitter letters). And even phone apps like A Beautiful Mess or collage apps like picstich work great and I use all of them in combinations to get great looking graphics!

Sponsorships / Giveaways
Spend some money. If you wanna grow your blog at a good rate, you gotta get yourself out there! Spending money on your blog seems like a horrible idea at first, but I promise it isn't. Sponsor a few bigger bloggers that you geniunely like and that will do a feature on you in some way and it will pay off. Giveaways are a great way to get more traffic to your blog because people love winning shit. Hosting a giveaway is even better! Get some awesome people to cohost and you're golden! Keep in mind, for this to pay off, you gotta have content people will want to come back to. If you're slacking on posts then it won't do you any good.

10. Social Media Your Face Off

If you don't have a twitter account, get one. That's the biggest thing. Even if you're like ehh I don't knowww. Do it. You get to meet people, get your blog out to people through a retweet who may not have known about it and you get to know people a lot quicker. Butt into conversations. Ask people questions. Reply to someone that you follow that may not know who you are. Trust me. It works. Instagram, facebook and pinterest are awesome too. Even if you're thinking "I don't have the following to get a facebook page" who cares. Do it. You'll be happy you did it sooner rather than later. It's a great idea to have all your usernames the same, and a lot of people use their blog's name. Not necessary but not a bad idea. Next week I'll have tutorials for how to change your twitter, instagram and pinterest usernames.

GFC, Bloglovin and Google Reader Walk Into A Bar...

Google Reader is gone. Whitney did a post about her bloglovin conspiricy theory. Helene did a post about how she still supports GFC. There are about about a bajillion posts from people saying "ZOMG f0ll0w m3 0n b10g10vin!" And I want to put in my 2 cents. Because this is blogland and what's the point of a personal blog if I can't weigh in on every topic I want.

Before I was became a blogger, I was an avid blog reader. Fashion blogs mostly and then I found AP. I'm not sure how I found her, but she is the super mom behind I Love You More Than Carrots. And I loved the idea of doing something like that (except mostly about my dog not babies). The things is, before AP inadvertanly convinced me to have my own lifestyle blog, I needed a way to keep up with my daily reads. At first I joined their GFC clubs, but I didn't have a Blogger account so that didn't do anything. Then I discovered Bloglovin. SO GREAT I could organize and keep up with the blogs I wanted to read regularly!

Then I started blogging and found out how important one's GFC number was. At that point I was already using bloglovin but it seems most people were using Google Reader. Then the dreaded news that google reader was going away. It didn't matter to me really but people we're appalled/ devestated. The thing is GFC stayed.

So, I have been using GFC as a gauge on readers/followers/supporters I have and everytime I find a new blog I like I follow them there! If I want to read them everyday I follow on bloglovin too but GFC, in my mind, is a way to show your support for other bloggers. Helene said similar things in her post. It's almost like a "why not?" it takes 3 seconds and it's gonna make that blogger smile when they see their number go up! Sarah mentioned in a tweet that she follows blogs on her blogger dashboard and not bloglovin, which is awesome too!

So when you go thru your daily reads, and when you find a new blog, join them on their GFC widget, it makes everyone happy and it's a great way to say "hey, I like the shit you say"

To newer bloggers: If you don't already have this widget, google is a bitch and made it more annoying to find so here is a quick tutorial!

Go to Layout in your blogger dashboard and click add a gadget where your sidebar is

When the new window pops up, click "More Gadgets" and then search for "Google Friend Connect"

Click on the "Members" gadget. It should be the first one that comes up

Set the height to whatever you like. You can either change, keep or completely delete the title. Click save and then rearrange the gadget to wherever you'd like by dragging it up or down in Layout



And now I want you to meet someone awesome, Stephanie from Drink On It has an adorable pup (see below) and is definitely the fun chick at the party. She's funny and silly and you're gonna love her!

1. When and why did you start blogging?

I started blogging in November 2012. I had previously blogged but deleted it for whatever reason. I wanted to start again and I'm so glad I did. I just love the blogging community.

2. What's your favorite post you've written and why?

My post about my breakup is one of my favorites...mainly because it's hilarious. And everyone seemed to love it.

3. What's been your favorite part of the summer so far?

My favorite part of summer has been spending a ton of pool time with my family. And of course all the booze we drink while swimming!

BLOG // TWITTER // FACEBOOK // INSTAGRAM // PINTEREST

Dating Trump Cards

Tom's friend, Carter (who I've mentioned has this music blog) and his girlfriend, B came into town a little while back and we went to din near our apt. During din the topic of ex girlfriends came up. It was mentioned that Tom's ex would be at L&J's wedding and that I was kinda absolutely freaking out. B was like, "No it's cool. Just find the one thing that makes her lose." I'm like mm ok.. so then we brianstormed for a little and during that time, dubbed this feel-better fact The Dating Trump Card. After that it doesn't matter what the ex has, has done, or who they are because you win.

Now, there are "baby trump cards" and then there is The Ultimate Trump Card. Trump cards are different for every ex. So you have to know a little about them when they were dating your guy and their current sitch. I'm not saying stalk them (if you want to go right ahead) but a little info goes a long way. Also this is one time that it's ok to be petty. You aren't using these to throw at the bitch lady, you're just thinking of these things to help you get through the experience.

Here's how they work.

Baby Trump Card
These are named "baby" because they're smaller and not as intimidating. See also: Baby Crushes (ya'll must know what those are but I'll prob make that another post) These are things like the following-

-the ex is dating someone
-the ex has a drug habit
-you're more successful
-his family doesn't like her
-his family adores you
-you're a bridesmaid in his sisters wedding (yea that one really helps)
-the ex lives far away
-they dated a long time ago
-HE ended things
-she cheated on him

Ultimate Trump Card
For this, it's gonna be super different for everyone. The Ultimate Trump Card for one ex may not even be valid for another so they are on an indivdual basis. For example living together could be considered the Ultimate Trump Card for some people but that wasn't good enough to make me feel better. Mine was Lil. Kindaaaa like having a kid. We have Lil and I am most certainly her momma. We share responsibility with everything about her and she loves me. Lil is OUR dog. It's a much stronger tie than living together (I think) and no one could EVER compare to Lil's mom. aka me. So here are some other Ultimate Trump Cards-

-you live together
-the ex lives with their current significant other
-the ex is engaged/married
-you're engaged/married
-you co-own a dog
-you're a lot better looking
-the ex had plastic surgery and looks like MJ
-the ex has a kid/kids
-you have a kid/kids

So next time you have to be in a situation that you have to spend time with, or meet an ex- look up this post, call your BFF (for me that was Sara and HP) and stack your deck with as many trump cards as y'all come up with. You'll feel better.

Also.. you should probably just ask your guy to ignore the ex. It will be easier on everyone that way.. Trust me.

Tom and I, in love, at the wedding

What are your trump cards?

More Puppy Owner Advice and A Link Up Announcement!

Today I have Katie guest posting! She's SO GREAT. If she didn't live in Michigan I would have already showed up at her house. I'm excited to have her and her pup visiting and she's agreed to give y'all more puppy advice. You met her breifly on my post about puppy advice but she had so much good stuff I wanted everyone to hear, I asked for a whole post! PLUS after her post we have an annoucement!! Here she is!

Beautiful readers of Dog Hair is an Accessory, Adriana sent me here to give you some tips on how to raise the perfect puppy/dog.

Don’t get one.

I kid!

First and foremost, I’m Katie over at Understated Whimsy. I’m a self-proclaimed crazy cat lady, so the weekend I got the pupsqueak I spent most of it crying and trying to return him.

Not kidding this time.

Meet Scoobert Doo Cunningham III aka Pupsqueak von Perfect Pants aka Scoobs.

I'm sorry, WTF. He is so cute. He’s a rescue mutt, a priss, a baby and he’s perfect. After surviving my first 30 days with this hellion, here are some points of advice for if and when you decide to adopt a devil dog!

1. Wine. You are going to need a lot. Cab, chard, it doesn’t matter. You are going to need it in stock before you get this dog.

2. Puppy proof the house and stock up on everything you’ll need for the weekend BEFORE you get the pupsqueak. Ideally you’re getting this dog on a weekend (in fact, I think this is a must because you’re going to need some time to adjust), so beforehand, dog proof! Set up its crate, food, and toy box. Set up a baby gate in a kitchen or bathroom or hardwood area to put the dog when you just need a moment to not watch it but you don’t want to use the crate (i.e. bathroom, shower). Put up anything you don’t want it to chew. Stock up your house with groceries, snacks, movies and yummies (dictionary word, true story) so that you won’t have to keep running in and out of the house. Also wine. WINE.

3. CRATE TRAIN. I do not care if that dog screams for 7 hours straight the first couple nights. Crate train that mofo. Some tips to help the crying: try a white noise app on your phone or one of those toys with a heartbeat simulated in the crate to sooth the dog. If anything start with the crate in your bedroom at night and then slowly move it to where you want it to be. But do NOT get that puppy out if it cries! To get the dog to love its crate, try giving it an awesomesauce treat that he only gets in his crate. My go to is a kong filled with peanut butter or a kong filled with wet dog food and frozen. Dog LOVES that crap. Trust me, the crate is a lifesaver and will eventually become its happy little enclosed cage of shame den.

4. Routine and consistency. If you get the little squeak on a routine, housebreaking will be much easier. Get up at the same time, feed at the same time; take out at the same time. I used bells for training my dog. Ring the bell, say outside, then go right outside and use your command word. I really effing wish I didn’t make my word “go potty”. Wtf. Now I’m sitting out there chanting “go potty!” like an idiot. Oh well. But you could use anything, “hurry up” or “go faster”. After you say it and the dog goes, treat and praise and reward and then go right back in! That way the puppy knows when I ring these bells I go out and I go to the bathroom. If you ring the bells, go outside, go to the bathroom and then play or go for a walk, the pupsqueak is going to start ringing them because it wants to go outside and play. You want to train it to know bells = bathroom. With routine my pup only had 3 accidents in the house and 34 days later he successfully rings the bells every time he needs to go out. SUCCESS.

5. KILL IT. With kindness, you freaks. Don’t really kill the thing. Dogs are going to react to positive praise way more than negative. So have a sound you make (mind sounds like “nuh uh”) when you are trying to tell the pup you don’t like what its doing, and then when he does something else or heads the other way or stops chewing (etc.) immediately praise and treat and reward. You could be sitting there saying NO for hours or you could train the dog that when it hears your sound it means he is doing something that he won’t get a treat for. Trust me, that pup is immediately going to redirect and try to do something he knows he will get a treat for (playing with the right toys, leaving your cats alone and not trying to maul them to death) you get the picture.

6. SOCIALIZE. After you get the pup used to you and your rules (somewhat) take it places (after it has had all of its shots!) and let it do new things. Pet friendly restaurants, Petsmart, small trail walks, etc. You don’t want the thing to be an emo weirdo. You want it to get used to cars and people and walks etc. My dog will sit on a restaurant patio now happily looking at passersby while me and the manfriend booze away for hours. He loves it! And it means we get to get out of the house without feeling bad we are locking him up. And wine! Win, Win.

Getting the pup was probably one of the harder things I’ve ever done to date. My routine changed, my focus changed, my priorities changed, sleeping off a hangover until noon and then brunching for three hours every weekend changed. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. There is no love like the pupsqueak’s love. What is your best tip for surviving the first month with your new pup? Wine?

I gotcha, mine too.

All incredible advice! Wine is really the best remedy for puppy misbehavior. So go visit Katie now because she's fucking awesome.

Also- just as an add on, one of  the things that may help is this socialization check list. Get as many of these checked off as possible! If you didn't notice, that was a big point in both this post from Katie AND the post I did last week. Dr. Sohia Yin's site is a really great resource for any puppy or dog owner. Check her out!

AND NOW FOR OUR ANNOUNCEMENT!!

Katie and I have come up with this link up for all the fur and feather (and scale?) mommas out there! We both talk about our animals a LOT on our blogs and we know y'all are super into your pets too! So here is an opportunity to link up on a biweekly basis to talk about them and meet other bloggers who are pet-obsessed! The only requirements for the Tall Tails Link Up, are that you talk about your pets and that you visit some other blogs that are linked up! Maybe you will meet you pups new best friend! The first link up will be on Tuesday, July 2nd and of course we'll remind y'all again! Hope to see you all there!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://doghairaccessory.blogspot.com" title="Tall Tails Link Up"><img src="http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj587/acosta0097/talltails.jpg" alt="Tall Tails Link Up" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

and now, because it's appropriate, #backthatazzup with Whitney:

Who Let The Dogs Out - Baja Men

  also linked up with Rebecca           did you enter our Boozy Bloggers Giveaway?