social commentary Sunday . . . 'where has the blog love gone??'

Greetings all,

Gosh, what has happened to blogging lately??  I've been chatting to some fellow bloggers off line & we've noticed a shift in blog happiness.  There are fewer friendly blog awards around; a decline in comments/ posts/ link ups + the reaction against people monetorising their blogs or scoring a paid gig on a forum group site - geesh, i thought the working mother debate was fierce enough - earning money off your blog is the new 'thing' to attack.

How about we turn it around??  Today!!

I don't care if you started your blog as a personal diary or business pursuit, i'll read when it interests me (& always comment) or if i disagree about something because . . . 

i don't drink alcohol, 

i am a full time mother, 

i don't like coffee, 

i loathe smokers, 

i disagree with junk food, 

i am not religious, 

i don't have depression, 

i still struggle with crochet,

i can't afford to flit off to Europe,

i'm discouraged by swearing, 

i dislike wives complaining about husbands, 

i feel icky about social-media-climbers, 

i can't bare whiners 

& a string of my own personal judgemental/ preference/ health issues . . .

i click away & move on with my life!!  I don't leave some horrendous-bitchy-nasty-hatefilled-personal attack comment!!  If i'm going to disagree with a point of view, i ensure i have a learned reason, it's never 'i disagree & now i hate you' especially on personal blogs.  Those bloggers are baring their souls & reaching out, that is so brave!!  Sure if you're going to venture beyond 'vanilla blogging' as Edenland calls it, you're going to get more than people's 2 cents worth of opinion, but that can still be filled with love & care, why the negativity & vitriol??  

We are real people, with ideas & feelings, putting it out there . . . many bloggers simply disappear into the ether after a heinous comment or attack . . . that is crushing to think some anonymous troll has such power over you & your happy place - so many of us blog as therapy & our blogs are our happy place. 

 So grab a button or make your own up, let's get blogging back to where it used to be.  Sure i've written posts about competitive blogging & jaded blogging, here, on my own blog with my own opinion, NOT on the blogs of the people who i was generalising about.  Just because you do drink, smoke, eat junk, work, believe in God, swear or whinge, doesn't mean i don't like you blog because you're different to me - one post does not make me judge a blogger!!  
I mention depression as a non blogger asked me "don't you have to have depression or something to complain about as an angle on your blog??"  Ouch, she was corrected, promptly.  I don't have depression nor understand it, however, if blogging helps you, that's wonderful, it's just unlikely i can add a helpful comment to your post about that topic.  Ditto for other issues like special needs children or a physical injury - but hello to my carpal tunnel syndrome readers!!  We have a great sense of community here in blogland.    

I don't care what product you promote in a post & if you're making cash from it . . . good for you.  I personally don't dig the blogs who end up looking like the back-of-magazine-advertising pages filled with flashing ads, they are so distracting & kind of . . . no longer a blog anyway.  But if you do the odd paid post here & there, brilliant, they are informative & the voice of a real person, someone i 'know' & trust.  Most have a reader giveaway - i've won dozens of product giveaway prizes, from simply entering cheerfully. 

If you run a blog off your business, it's very likely i found your business first, then realised there is an ace blog attached.  Tessa from Down That Little Lane is a great example & recently posted on being 'amused by pompous, slaggy abusers' taking it with a grain of salt.  Their loss, as her blog & business are delightful. Tina Gray {dot} Me wrote a beautiful post on forming blog alliances, what a lovely idea for those starting out, or even established bloggers, like a warm blanket.  I would be careful who you pick & reassess, as i've seen informal versions crumble as one blogger has reached great heights (read: income from blogging) much to the jealousy of others in the 'group', guess what, the anonymous negative comments came pouring in.  Blah!!  

Now this is not for journalists & professional writers who write posts to bait comment, indifference & ferocious debate, they're paid to get under our skin & evoke a response.  This is for your fellow, humble, honest, real person blogger.  Who's with me??  Bring back the love & positivity with happiness & support, love Posie

social commentary Sunday . . . 'competitive blogging'

 Greetings all,
I check out a wide variety of blogs - i like parenting, design, style, fashion, cooking, health, exercise, vintage, renovating, gardening, farms, life . . . they all interest me.  Recently, I’ve noticed a few bloggers getting competitive about followers; making money; & attending blog conferences – with follow up advice posts on how to gain more followers, make more money & receive invitations to more events.  The information about pigeon holing or '5 key words', argh, just because you’re a mum - are you a “mummy blogger” - why can’t you be several types of blogger, posting on unlimited topics?? 

These conferences have left some bloggers feeling left out by either not being invited OR going along & not feeling like they fitted in.  Maybe I’m naïve or so out of the loop, but . . . isn’t blogging just meant to be fun??  Is it because some mega bloggers are making SERIOUS money with cook books, advertising & television shows, all from starting a blog . . . that everyone wants/ hopes/ competes to be the next big thing??  Has that changed the motivation & manipulation of blogging from the heart?? 

When i started blogging, i did 45 posts in my first 3 years.  I really didn’t think too much about it, other than a nice way to chat with other mums & designers.  I was home alone, my 4 children in school/ preschool, a husband away at war, living in Darwin . . . blogging was like my adult/ office chat.  Then in January last year my husband moved to Brisbane (we're in Canberra) & went back to war, it was time to pick up the blog & those connections again.  I put a 'follow' button on & had about 20 followers already (who knew??) & I started blogging more frequently, mainly so my husband could watch the children grow & see what we’re up to.  I’d promote markets I was attending, products & new stores I was stocking.  

Then offers to promote products (a freebie, post my thoughts & offer a giveaway) came my way.  All brands I buy/ use/ blog about for free anyway, like Lego, Disney, books & IKEA.  I’ve not drawn a salary for a decade, happy to have things I’d pay money for, sent for free, not wreaking of desperation.  So while I hum along with this type of blogging about my family, design work & sponsored giveaways + an exciting number of followers (hello lovely people) . . . still, i have never been invited to a blog conference or meet up.  It doesn’t faze me, I’m a ‘here & now’ kind of person, passing in many opportunities with interviews, magazines & collaborations due to the fact I have children (zero babysitter); my husband can’t have his photo published (waste of handsomeness);  I live in rental Army housing (not a gorgeous home filled with colour & interior design); I live in Canberra (hardly a hub of blog conference activity) . . . yet I don’t feel left out, unpopular or like I’m missing out, it’s just not my time, I’m patient, if I want those opportunities when my children are older/ my husband has retired/ I’m in our homestead filled with colour; I’m available to travel interstate – sure, maybe then.

What are people’s bloggie motives??  I heard on the grapevine at a NuffNang conference a person who didn’t even have a blog yet, asked, out loud “so if I start a blog & get 50 000 hits a month, how much money will you pay me to advertise with you”.  OMG, seriously, are you Oprah??  I openly have on my side bar “I dabble in blog advertising” but i prefer to save my promotions for my own business – the financial return is a whole lot better than some ‘click through rate’ which adds up to cents - blog advertising is a very slow way to make an income.  

Are there still bloggers out there who blog from the heart as they have something genuine to say, blog as therapy, post to keep in touch with real friends, honestly don’t care about hits or followers??  Can you gain true self confidence from on line popularity??  I wonder if I went back & did my psych degree now, how much influence social media would play in the subject content of . . . the number one human emotion . . . acceptance??  Is social media the right place to get this satisfaction?? 

I rarely bother with FaceBook myself (i don't understand Twitter) & won't allow my children to have it.  I recently had a hot chocolate with a gorgeous mummy who has older girls at my eldest's high school & she grabbed my attention with this enormous statement "my daughters waste so much time on FaceBook, they will post something & can barely sleep until it's been validated by a dozen other people".  Oh move over body issues, this is what is worrying our teenage girls, validation on social media!! 
Now the point of this post is really not to bash competitive blogging, all power to you if you have the time, but . . . 'we can smell it' & don't be sneaky about advertorials or edvertorials, we're smart enough to tell the difference, disclaimers or not.  Perhaps take a step back & consider what really counts, social media & on line personas, genuine blogging - as i think your precious followers will start leaving if you become yet another advertising blog & to nurture those friends & family in the real world.  

Is this something you've noticed too??  Are you still true to what you set out to do with your blog??  If you have children, are they watching you count on social media for attention or validation??  I'm quite interested to know, considering i have two giveaways this week.  Happy weeks everyone, love Posie