A couple of weeks of blogging down, and I’m still at it [pats self on back].
I’ve browsed a few other blogs—looking to get the lay of the land—and I’ve come to the conclusion that there are a few genres of blogs that truly get under my skin:
Keep in mind that these are merely observations and opinions…
Annoying Blog Style #1:
The “My Family/Friends/Coworkers/Bank Tellers/Animals Are The Best Ever” Blog
This is the most annoying. This particular blogger basically states day-for-day and sometimes hour-for-hour what (s)he and his or her family/friends/coworkers /bank tellers/animals did over the week:
First we did this. Then we did that. Then we did this. And this was so much fun.
Snooze. Fest.
Attention blogger #1: You bore me. You think too much of your daily activities, and if your friends are feigning interest in this, you need new friends. Because yours are (at best) boring and (at worst) fake. If you’re climbing a mountain in the Alps, swimming with the dolphins, achieving some life-long dream or sharing some otherwise awe-inspiring event, please blog on. If you want to tell me what you had for dinner, how your day went and what happened on your favorite TV show, save it.
Disclaimer: I admit that these are strangers’ lives and I’m not at all vested, so their friends may care more than I do, but I wouldn’t want to read even my best friends’ blogs if they were written this way. Root canals seem a more viable option. I fear your friends are simply too polite to tell you that they have more fun watching paint dry.
NOTE:
If your blogs have no comments on them, you should ask yourself if you are Blogger #1.
Annoying Blog Style #2:
The “Let-Me-Share-Too-Much-Information” Blog.
Unless your blog is private and is set to be seen by invitation only, you should treat everything you say and do with the utmost scrutiny. Imagine a postcard of your blog being sent to every home in America. Are you secure with your information being put out there? I, personally, don’t even have public social networking pages for this reason.
I’ve seen information like full names, city, school, grade and photos of children. Do you understand, Blogger #2, that the world is full of deviants and perverts, who could easily take the information you provide him/her and do unfathomable things with it? You can see from my own blog that my daughter is “the kiddo,” our location is not posted and (as of now) there are no photos posted. That isn’t to say I won’t post them at sometime but certainly not until I am comfortable with what my privacy settings entail. And I would never think of posting pictures (let alone personal information) about someone else’s child without their permission.
Additionally, sharing too much information about yourself is like begging an identity thief to victimize you. Sharing where you live, full family members’ names, names of churches, schools or workplaces, what you drive, etc. is simply not a good idea. These things can easily be used to unlock so-called security questions online or for other mallicious intentions.
The other too-much-information blog is the kind that makes me say, “Ewww.” I don’t want to know about what you and your boy/girlfriend did last night…and I certainly don’t want details. You should ask yourself what sick-o is actually enjoying your blog, because it certainly isn’t me.
Annoying Blog Style #3:
The “Look-How-Fancy-My-Page-Is” Blog.
In all honesty, maybe I’m a little jealous of this blog. I have yet to learn to master the creativity of the blog design and yes, I am a little bitter.
However, if your blog is all fluff and no filler, I will very quickly get past the sparkly and move on to the next blog. There’s a time and place for fluff, but it’s usually when one is shopping for a new car or furniture, not when one is trying to inspire or be inspired through the art of writing. It’s okay if you aren’t Hemmingway, just go with your gut, spend a little less time on the pizzazz and a little more on your ideas, and you’ll have people reading your blog for its substance, rather than merely glance past it with a how’d-(s)he-do-that “Hmmm.”
Happy trails, Blogsters.
(Spell check tells me Blogsters isn’t a word because it doesn't realize is that the English language is a constantly evolving “living” thing, and if I use “blogsters” enough, it will be a word…who knows, maybe as early as Windows 8?)
:)
