Out-Going Comment Counts: An Easy Way

A quick and easy way to count your out-going comments for your proto-portfolios, on a monthly basis, is to use mail search options. In Gmail, if you click on the link displaying "Show search options" to the right of the simple search field, a refined search interface appears (click on this graphic to take a closer look):

Here's how:

1. Copy and paste (or carefully type) your blog handle into the From field;
2. Make certain that the Search will include "All Mail" (drop-down menu on left, above);
3. Repaste (or accurately retype) your blog handle into the Has the words field;
   
4. Add "has left a new comment" to the Has the words field:
   
• with single spaces between the words, and
• without quotation marks; then
5. Set the time range to plus or minus "2 weeks";
   
6. Set the target date for mid-month (May in this case), and
7. Click on the button to "Search Mail."

Your search should reveal all of the comments that you made for a month on Blogger blogs where you already had selected the option to receive automatic mail notification of follow-up comments (see May 14 comment on March 31, 2008, post), because the first comment you will receive will from each blog will be yours.

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