"Required reading" for today's smart writer.

"Required reading" for today's smart writer.
Information & inspiration to hone your craft and increase your cash...Since 2009

Friday, June 25, 2010

Blogging Pet Peeves?






Come on. Be honest.
I know I'm not the only one who loves being a part of the blogging community, but at the same time, gets a little bugged by certain activities, tendencies, and missteps made by fellow bloggers and or fans.

True?

Though my mom always told me growing up, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all," sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

So...in the spirit of not necessarily being "negative", but attempting to make the blogging experience a little more enjoyable and enlightening for all of us, here's my part.


For the 1st Time ever, (and hopefully the last), I bring you my blogging pet peeves list. Again, if any of you are guilty of these things, let's not lose love over it. Send me a quick message to help me by explaining why, if possible. Deal?

1. Sporadic and Inconsistent Posts---Sure, it's your Blog and your decision. But, in my mind the whole reason for having an "online journal" is to have people to read your stuff. Right? So be conscious and courteous of this fact by either designating and communicating your posting frequency, or sending a message to inform your blog visitors if you are taking a one month hiatus. Also, if you state on your site, or in your comments on other sites, that you post once a week, please note that that means once every 7 days. Not every 10-12 days...

2. Not Leaving or Responding to Comments if the Situation Dictates. Have a heart. Nobody wants to have a one-way conversation. :-) Even if it's brief, it still counts.

3. Folks Who Don't Take the Time to Proof and Edit for Typos, grammar and or spelling in their work. We all make mistakes. That's a given. Nobody's perfect. But, I have routinely read a few folks who time and time again compromise the quality of their content by overlooking this important step. Labor over your work so readers won't have to.

4. Copycats---It's not unusual to be inspired by something we've read on another site. It happens. And there's nothing unethical about piggybacking off of good ideas, but don't steal them! There's a big difference. If you get an idea for something that pretty much totally came from another blogger's site, why not give him or her recognition? It won't cost you nothin'! Are you with me here? :-)

5. "Blog Snobs"---These folks only leave comments on sites with high visibility or those likely to give a good deal of "link juice". Share the love with others who provide quality content, and who are trying to reach greater heights too!

Okay, that's the most important ones.
Any ones you agree with? Any of your own you'd like to share?

"Speak now or forever hold your peace."
:-)

Image: Federico Stevanin

25 comments:

  1. Now please don't make hard and fast rules. I like to leave it a little lose, informal, easy pace as it life unfolds.

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  2. Shiirazi,

    Okay, understood.:-) Maybe I'll make an exception for you. Thanks for weighing in here. I appreciate your thoughts and your time!

    Where do you want me to send your guest post?
    Have a great weekend.

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  3. I hear you and agree. I suppose the blogging community is quite diverse concerning their goals and expectations. My desire is to remain consistent and offer something of value while making friends with other writers.

    One thing that bothers me are the people who visit your blog once, and follow, hoping, I suppose, to gain another follower for their blog. Then you never see any comments from them again. If I follow a blog, I try to get there regularly, even if only once a month. I've probably missed some here and there (and I apologize publicly!) but try and visit all of them.

    Hopping down from the soapbox now...
    Have a wonderful weekend,
    Karen :)

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  4. Karen,

    Bravo! Well said. And I can personally attest to how consistent you typically are. :-)

    I will say that sometimes leaving comments can be difficult due to time constraints---I've been somewhat guilty of this when my schedule is hectic. But as you say, I do try!

    Thanks for stopping by. And oh yeah, don't forget to let me know if you do the list of "Things you didn't know about me." I'm always interested in learning about other interesting writers.:-)

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  5. Well thanks for your kind words, I try:) Of late, though, I must take care not to eat my words. The time factor has been a big challenge for me. Can't put my finger on why. Perhaps I need a blog representative secretary type person? If I come up with a solution I'll let you know.

    As for the "things you didn't know..." it's on my to-do list, which means eventually I'll get around to it. I'll give you a preview though, I like hockey. Would you have guessed that?
    Blessings to you,
    Karen

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  6. Jennifer Brown BanksJune 26, 2010 at 10:33 PM

    Not sure I would have figured you for a sports fan at all. Hmmm...:-)(She says as she scratches her head).

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  7. Jennifer: Coming from you, I love it. Thanks.

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  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  9. Hi,
    OK, I read it and I'm going to leave you a comment to prove it!

    I can agree with you on the typo's - I hate coming across them. They're not necessarily on the writing blog you're looking at, just the comments...! (Present company excepted)

    As for sporadic posts, well I had better go and do more writing after this comment... ahem!

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  10. Hi Sassy C!

    Welcome-- great to have you join us!
    Thanks for weighing in. I look forward to your future input and participation.

    How did you learn about Pen and Prosper?

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  11. Hi Jennifer,

    I found you via Evelyn's raw vegan site.

    I can not stand copycats. Lack of creativity is one of my pet peeves. Is this a byproduct of a failed Education system? Or, is it just laziness? I don't know.....

    The only idea I got from someone, I made sure to name drop them and link them at the beginning of my article. And guess what? They ended up inviting met to write a guest post!

    Do what is right and the Universe shines on you.

    Take care!
    - Ali

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  12. Ali,

    I so appreciate your stopping by! Funny thing, I remember reading your site a while back ago, when I visited Evelyn's---very nice indeed!

    I dig your "50 Things List" and I agree with
    #s 16 and 30. It was great connecting with you today and I hope you stop by often. :-)

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  13. U R sew rite. I hatee typoes and mispelleddd wurds too. It is sew dificlut to rede.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  14. Hi Janet!

    Glad ewe uggree.:-)

    Thanks for your thoughts today, and your time.

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  16. I agree with gripe number 3. I am a stickler for grammar. I re-read my post atleast two times in preview mode before I click on the publish button. My own personal pet peeve is about the folks who routinely read my blog but don't become followers. It would be nice to connect with my fellow bloggers and fans.

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  17. Moonwillow,

    How cool to have you here! Welcome! I appreciate your "pet peeve" purge.:-)

    B/T/W/ I had a chance to check out your site too. Very nice--I enjoyed the story about the sandwich and the subway. And I love your images. Hope to hear more from you here in the future.:-)

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  18. Hi Jennifer, I just came across your blog from Writing For Dollars! So nice to see you here on your blog.

    I understand your pet peeves. Fortunately, I've only encountered extremely nice, generous, and helpful bloggers out here. Yes, a typo here and there, but nothing too horrible!

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  19. Hi Julie,

    Good to have you here from W.F.D.!
    I agree that most bloggers are pretty groovy people, but as with all things in life, few things are 100% :-)

    I also think it's cool you married your H.S. sweetheart, and that you've won three blogging awards. You go girl!

    Thanks for your time, and for "following".
    I appreciate it.

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  20. Still waiting for your guest post. Wish I had your email so that I could write there.

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  21. Shirazi,

    Rest assured that I have not forgotten you. It's been a busy week. You should have it by tomorrow.:-)

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  22. That's a good list! :) I don't like sporadic blogging, if I find a good blog that I like and I go back a week or even two later it's quite disappointing to see that there are no new posts. It's one reason that I like to subscribe to my favorites, then I get the automatic updates!

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  23. Jennifer Brown BanksJuly 14, 2010 at 5:15 PM

    Good feedback. Thanks for stopping by, Stacy.

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  24. Grrr...tried to hit preview on my comments and it didn't work. Now I have to redo my post. Okay , I appreciate the nudge, Jennifer. I found you by way of www.totallytogetherjournal.com . I guess I need to (ahem!) write more on my writing blog and can't use my 'family-only' blog as an excuse for not writing more. Question for you re: an earlier comment: if someone subscribes to a blog via the RSS feed does that constitute following? Thanks for the words of encouragement and the super blogroll.

    Sarah

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  25. Jennifer Brown BanksJanuary 20, 2012 at 1:44 PM

    Thanks, Sarah. Yes, it does.

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