Failing Blogging 101?

I consider myself to be fairly computer literate, so I have to wonder why I am having difficulty understanding the working mechanism behind this blog? Anyone know of any "Blogging for dummies" sites to get me up to speed?
So far I have six "readers".
One of these six is a "member".
Of the five others, two are "followers". Now, what the heck does that mean? Does that mean that these two people have subscribed to RSS feeds? One follower has a face (thanks Rebecca, you look great!) The other does not, but he's related to me so I know what he looks like anyway.

So, what's the difference between a follower and a member? And, where does that leave the other three?
So, if you haven't subscribed to the RSS feed, how do you know I've posted a blog entry? (I suppose I'll know the answer to this one by the lack of responses, right?)
I decided to eliminate the word verification for posting comments, because if I am controlling who can actually see this blog, I shouldn't have to worry about any spam posts, right?
Is there someway for me to link this blog to my google homepage?
As far as getting those ducks in a row.....right now I feel like they are whirling in a vortex!