I debated on whether even posting this. But you know what? It's my blog, and I'll do what I want! Please note that these opinions are not directed at any specific blog or bloggers. It's just a conglomeration of what I have gathered from reading lots and lots of different blogs. If you think I am trying to passive aggressively insult you or your blog, I assure you I am not! If you read and comment on my blog, chances are I read and comment on your blog too... which means I enjoy reading it and I enjoy YOU! (Now I probably have you are scared, anticipating what I could possibly say in this post that would warrant such an introduction and disclaimer. It's not that bad, I promise. It hopefully will make you laugh, because while it is the truth, I also mean it in a lighthearted way!)ONWARD!
Due to a significant number of snow days and 2 hour delays this January and February, (I swear, I never go to work anymore!), I have been reading A LOT of blogs. Of course, I have been keeping up with the daily ones I read every day. (Love these peeps!) But I have also been exploring and trying out new blogs. Sometime new blogs become daily blogs. Sometimes I read a new blog for a few days, then it gets erased from my bookmarks. (When I say "new" blog, I don't mean it is a brand new blog, it just means it is new to me.)
The thing is, there are just so many blogs out there, and I don't have time to read them all. I have to stick with the ones I truly enjoy. I don't want to read a blog just because everyone else does. I really want my blog reading to be enjoyable, not a chore. I also INVEST in people. I'd rather read a handful of blogs but be really engaged in them than read 30 every day and not know who is who, etc, etc.
Confession: There was a blog I used to comment on EVERY DAY because when I did, I would get soooo much traffic to my site. I didn't even like the blog a whole lot, and after a few months, I actually started to hate it. But my blog is so little, and I wanted more people to find it. And a lot of people were finding it through my commenting on this other blog. I know, it is so fake of me to do that. I shudder telling you this and hope you don't hate me or think I'm a slimy person. But I have good news. A little over a month ago, I DELETED the aforementioned blog from my bookmarks, along with a few other blogs I just wasn't into. I don't want to be fake anymore. I want to read and comment on blogs because I want to connect with other bloggers that I enjoy. Not just to get traffic to my blog. Okay please tell me you have done this before so I don't feel so bad about it....
Okay, now for a little lighthearted rant! I would like to share with you things I'm sick of seeing on blogs.
Pictures of Fro-yo. I know what it looks like.
Pictures of overnight oats. See above.
Pictures of your smoothie. Again, I've made smoothies before. I'm very familiar with what they look like.
Everything you ate on Wednesday. I know this is an unpopular opinion but I hate reading blogs on Wednesdays because 75% of them are pictures of food. I realize I am in the minority. Most people enjoy WIAW because it gives them ideas for meals/snacks to try. But I usually get secondhand hunger from WIAW posts because I keep thinking... "This can't possibly be ALL they ate! I eat triple that in a day!" It's also overwhelming. Say I read 20 blogs that day- that's 60 meals! That's a loooooooot of food to be staring down!
Ads, ads everywhere. A few ads are fine, but when they are distracting me from the content, that's where I draw the line. (Like when they pop up in my face and I can't get them to close.)
People posting their daily, way too long, unhealthy workouts. I am not kidding, I am sooooo serious about this one. I'm not talking about someone who posts about their long run. (They're called long runs for a reason!) I'm talking the daily posting of, "Well first I ran 6 miles on the treadmill. Then I took a really hard spin class where we did intervals for an hour. Then I lifted for 45 minutes and ended with 15 minutes of core work. I refueled with a handful of nuts and a carrot." Yes, there are actually people who post something like this every day. They are either 1. Lying, or 2. Really, really stupid because they are not going to see any gains from working out for 2-3 hours a day. Believe me. Been there, done that. I don't know if they think they are inspiring others, but it is not inspiring to me at all. It's a very unhealthy cycle that I am glad I got out of!
Pictures of your pets. I love pet pics! Dogs, cats, bunnies, birds... BRING IT!
Awesome workouts you recommend that don't last 3 hours. You know, normal length workouts that normal people do!
Confessions. I love confessions and when people open up!
Pictures of you! I obviously think you are awesome if I am reading your blog. Post some more pics! (I don't mean this in a creepy way, I promise!)
Okay, so that's my post for today. Not that bad, right??? Go ahead and blast me in the comments if you think I'm being a hater. I can take it, I promise. (Or maybe I can't take it and I will cry and will have learned my lesson.)
What are you sick of seeing on blogs? What do you want to see more of?
Am I the only one who doesn't like WIAW?
How do you decide what blogs to read when there are so many?
Did you ever comment on a blog just to get more traffic to your blog? (please say yes so I don't feel so bad!)
Haha, I totally agree on the things you are sick of seeing! I have way to many blogs in my bloglovin' feed and I have OCD about it and have to check out each one and have it empty by the time I go to bed....so that is like 100 blogs a day...it is bad and really time consuming and hinders me from really connecting with a few specific blogs and I feel like I neglect my own blog because of it!
ReplyDeleteBloglovin' gives me anxiety too! Seriously, it is more addictive than FB!
DeletePhew, now that I know you're not passive aggressively insulting me... I agree, I don't mind seeing what people ate, etc., but there is a "title" for every day of the week. What I Ate Wednesday. Thirsty Thursday (oh wait, that's not a blog thing, never mind), Follow Friday, or Five Things Friday - Silent Saturday.... Manic Monday... yeah. I want to hear what you WANT to talk about, not what other people say you SHOULD talk about! I stopped looking for new blogs because I got tired of it but I need to just clean out and start again - there are some great blogs out there of people doing cool stuff. Michelle Eady has a neat blog. She goes on lots of adventures I would never go on - http://t.co/YCH6zeCXEc AAAAANyway this comment is plenty long enough now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blog rec, I will check her out! Good point- there IS a special day in blog land for every day of the week! I must confess, I do participate in Thinking Out Loud Thursdays. But yah, if we wanted to, every blog post could be one of those special acronyms and then we'd never have to come up with original content!
DeleteI don't mind one or two - if the blogger can do it well, by all means, do it! I just get annoyed when it's every. single. day. I enjoy thinking out loud because it's random and whatever you want to say - I don't know that I would put that in the same category as WIAW. JUST to clarify. Then again, I might be just a little jealous that I don't have cool pictures of my food to show everyone. Also, they would think I am a pig. Because I am.
DeleteHaha good point. I could never take the beautiful pictures of food that I see on many WIAW blogs. They are DEFINITELY talented in that department.
DeleteI agree with all of this! And I did the EXACT same thing of commenting on a blog I don't even like because everyone else just looooves it. But I was so annoyed every time I read it. I wonder if it was the same one you unfollowed. And I agree that there are just too many blogs out there. My Feedly is always overflowing... by the end of the week, I'm just hitting "mark as read" on so many just because I can't keep up.
ReplyDeleteIt could be the same blog... now I am curious!! ;)
Delete"This can't possibly be ALL they ate! I eat triple that in a day!" Hahaha! Glad it's not just me. I get the amount of blogs thing. Since I have a personal finance blog which is much bigger, between my HFF blog and that, I have a TON of blogs I try to get through. I keep trying new "systems" like I read PF blogs Mon, Wed, Fri, and HL blogs Sun, Tues, Thurs, and Saturdays are kind of spill over. Basically it takes HOURS of my time, but I do enjoy it. That being said, I do tend to skip reading or commenting on subjects I can't relate to as much like kids, mortgages, student loans, investing (I know I should, but it all goes over my head). I hope I don't offend HL bloggers, but there tends to be a lot of fluff in that gene, like WIAW. It's a little like when people post pics of their food on FB, I just don't care and move on. So I wait until that blogger posts something I can chew on (ha ha, no pun intended). But I also gotta admit, I hate all the selfies. Maybe I'm just jealous because I look like absolute shit in selfies, but people posting pics in front of every single thing they did that day is just something I'm not very interested in....but please understand I'm 43 and I know this is more of a millennial thing? So for me with blogging now, I don't feel too bad if I see a subject or the meat of a post and see it's not something I'm interested in and move on. And when I have time, or see something that looks interesting, I read and comment. :) Thanks for being so honest in your post!
ReplyDeleteTHE SELFIES! YOU ARE RIGHT!!!! The blog I stopped reading including like 20 selfies in every post. I always wondered if the blogger ever felt dumb asking passerbys to take her picture in front of the most mundane things. Oh well. I never read PF blogs, but I have read blogs that didn't fall under HL and I agree- HL has waaaaaaaaaaaay more fluff. I think HL blogs feel the pressure to post EVERY day, so you are bound to get fluff. (I do post every day, and I know I post fluff as well! I try to post substance too, but support a healthy amount of fluff and "fun" reading.) I have lately been doing what you do- skipping posts all together if I scan it and see that it doesn't interest me. Like a gluten free pancake recipe. NO THANKS!
DeleteOooh boy I feel you on these. I did that same thing with a blog...I really didn't like the content, but commenting was a great way to get my name out there to other readers. I try to keep my reading list to like 15 blogs tops. There are a ton of blogs I follow but skip reading. I just don't have the time, and I'd rather really bond with other bloggers I feel a connection with!
ReplyDeleteI will post more pics of Archie...clearly that bird mention was meant for him hehe! I hate WIAW too. It's so boring to me.
LOL okay I admit it, I did throw in a passive aggressive plea for more Archie pics!! You are the only blogger I follow who has a bird, so that was a dead giveaway, right!!?? ;) I am glad to know I wasn't the only one who commented on a blog I wasn't a huge fan of. Let me tell you, it feels so good to have that one off my "to read" list!
DeleteHaha omg yes to the unhealthy habits. There's a blog that posts a wiaw and it's like 1300 calories and she does double workouts every day. I quit reading hers after 2 consecutive wiaws like that because holy cow.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what these blogs that draw viewers to your site are but I agree on the not following or reading ones that you don't like. I only read about 10-15 blogs and they are all people I care to read about every single day and know more about. I'm open to adding more if I can discover them, but I'm not going to read a blog solely because it's popular (in fact, there is one that is super popular that I sort of hate haha). But I have never had the experience of getting tons of viewers from anyone else's blog...apparently I'm missing something ;)
Wowwww... 1300 cals.. I eat more than that on a REST DAY! Reading posts like that make me feel so fat which is NOT good for me mentally! Sounds like you are keeping your blog reading to a manageable level. I don't know why I got so many views from that blog I commented on... but no more!!
DeleteOMG Megan, what a great post! I have been thinking of writing a post like this for weeks now but thought maybe I would wait till our one year blogiversary to voice my opinions! When I get a chunk of free time I will be revamping my reading list. The reason we started a blog in the first place was to connect with people. I found that I was spending Way too much time invested in other people's blogs and they hadn't ever commented back or even stopped by to check our blog out. ( I hope this doesn't sound too harsh, but I will stop following those folks for that reason and concentrate on those bloggers who invest in us as well). I also have been known to pass over the WIAW posts! Another one I sometimes pass over are "guest posts". I come to your blog for "you" because I like "your" style. I agree it can be a way to find new blogs though. Ok, this response could go on for a long while. Let's chat over lunch sometime..haha. (oh, and when I said "you" I just mean the blogger in general). Also, good to know i'm not annoying all people with pics of my labrador!
ReplyDeleteVery fair point about guest posts. I don't really have an opinion one way or another about them. I have guest posted once before and it was a good experience. No one ever asked to guest post on my blog, but I feel like I would be open to the idea as long as their sort of "theme" lined up with my values... YES MORE LAB PICS ;) I just realized that all the blogs I read regularly feature pet pictures and NO child pictures hahaha
DeleteHahaha thank you for saying all of these things! You have read my mind completely. I have totally commented on blogs that I don't like just so I can get traffic on them. I bet I know what one you're thinking of because every time I comment on one particular blog, I think to myself, why is this blog so popular?!
ReplyDeleteI have to say I am trying to break from the norm in doing things like "What I at Wednesday", and even "Five Things Friday." I still do Five Things Friday sometimes (as you know), but only when I feel like I have something interesting to say. If I'm bored writing it, I certainly am not going to post it because people will be falling asleep reading it!
My biggest pet peeve? People who are constantly trying to push products. I like giveaways and all, but when you're mentioning something you got in the mail every other day, it gets old really quickly. I might want to read a review about something that's brand new. But when it's something that's been out for a while, or everyone and their mother is posting about it (right now it's the new fit bands), it gets old really quickly. I personally will only post reviews of products that I believe in and am passionate about...I try to be truthful in the products I review, and I won't contact someone about a review/giveaway unless it's something that I'm really interested in myself. I've seen people who obviously are true to one brand reviewing products that they don't normally wear, and I see rigt through it. That's all!
I agree! I normally skip product posts unless I am actually really curious... which usually I am not. It's interesting you mention this because someone just contacted me from a company who wants to send me compression socks and review them. I have never, ever worn compression socks before and do want to try them, but am honestly very skeptical about them because normally (when I'm healthy) I bounce right back from long runs no problem... so I'm not sure if compression socks will help. But I think I will do it because who doesn't like something free in the mail, right???? As long as I let the company know I will review them honestly.
DeleteI have always felt so boring because I don't usually participate in the themes like What I Ate Wednesday and Five Things Friday. I'm really terrible with themes and I started my blog to keep myself accountable for 365 of fitness. I got lucky and have met really awesome bloggers who are similar to me. Most of them are also teachers, which is a major plus. I read the big ones, but I prefer the smaller ones because I feel much more connected to them and they aren't pushing certain brands on me every other day. They are much more like friends rather than brand ambassadors. I also love seeing pictures of the blogger. That's why I post so many pictures of myself. Not because I'm super into myself, but I like knowing who's behind the blog, so I keep myself open and honest and even post *gasp* bad pictures of myself. The only time I post my food is when it's delicious because I know people get themselves into the comparison trap (I definitely do) and I don't want to be the trigger for anyone.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that a lot of bloggers are teachers as well! Maybe we just naturally gravitate to the written word... When I was driving to the gym this afternoon I was thinking.. hmmm... I don't post may pics of myself on my blog. It's mostly cats. I will try to remedy that, because I know I enjoy pics! (But not a selfie documenting every single part of one's day!)
DeleteExcellent post! I couldn't agree more. I recently read a post similar to this one that I honestly felt was targeted at me....lol. Even though I'm sure it was not. The weird thing was that she was targeting Running bloggers who constantly posted things about their running. Why read a running blog if you don't want to hear about their runs?!?!? Sorry for the venting...lol!
ReplyDeleteI will have to include more posts of Lola. I always try to include her but some days she's just too hard to photograph or the pictures look exactly the same as the day before.
Okay, gotta run now and delete all the pictures of the smoothies on my blog! LOL ;)
Yeah.... why read a running blog if you didn't want to hear about the blogger's runs???? Oh and please don't think I was talking about your smoothies- I think we all post smoothie pictures! I am sure I have! (Just not lately because I only drink them in the summer!) So many HL bloggers have pets... they always say pets keep you healthy and help you live longer. :)
DeleteFinally!!! Someone else who hates the what I ate Wednesday. I could give two craps what a total stranger (or even my own husband) eats in detail like this. I NEVER read these when they pop up in my bloglovin feed. I also love people's pets and when they open up and get real. It puts a "face" so to say to the blogger.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I wonder if everyone actually hates WIAW but does it because everyone else does it??
DeleteTotally agree with these especially the workouts!!! How do people have time for that?!?! Confession: every time I encounter an all-fitnessy blog I just pass by :/
ReplyDeleteI don't know. They must not have jobs or something!
DeleteConfession: The "old me" would have read your disclaimer and totally thought that you were talking about me....but thank goodness that girl has left because I didn't feel that way. PROGRESS! lol
ReplyDeleteI loved your honesty in this post. To me I think it is weird that people list themselves as a certain type of blogger - I think everyone has their own niche for blogging in their own way. Unfortunately I think some bloggers try to portray a certain type of persona. I like to read blogs that I can relate to and leave fun comments on. I love blogs that are real and that I can relate to.
No way, I am definitely not specifically targeting any bloggers. There are a few I have in mind that I have deleted off my bookmarks and they have never, ever commented on my blog so I'm pretty sure they don't read it! I agree with what you said about the persona. The blogs I enjoy the most are the people who write honestly- nothing is ever just sunshine and roses (or 7 minute miles and fro yo haha!)
DeleteI dislike most themed days (WIAW, Wordless Wednesday, Throwback Thursday, etc.). The worst offender for me is Wordless Wednesday. I used to subscribe to two blogs who always did WW and I had to unsubscribe because I READ blogs for the WORDS. If you're not going to use words, skip the post and just put it up on Instagram or FB.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I dislike is sponsored posts when the *entire* post is dedicated to the sponsorship. I also hate when people accept free things just because they are free and then do little to no research on the actual product before posting glowing reviews about them.. I'm thinking about certain workout supplements here that are really just nonsense. A quick Google search of their ingredients showed me studies by two large universities saying that the ingredients likely produce no effect at all. But tons of bloggers were quick to write "omg they made me feel like superman i can run all day and so fast thanks to this product!" UGH.
I am most definitely guilty of posting pics of frozen yogurt and smoothies on occasion. I love both so much... :)
Yah that Wordless Wed is kind of the opposite of blogging right?? I rarely read posts that review something- especially if I know I will never, ever get it... which is a lot of things because I am not gadget-y and I don't like to spend a lot of money on running. I mean, I need a good pair of shoes, that's a given, but I have my brand I stick to. And I don't drink special drinks or eat special running food or anything like that... because you could just spend money forever on running products and most of them don't work, and if they do, it's psychosomatic! Oh one thing I do buy are salt tablets for long runs in the summer. But those are pretty cheap. I don't even know if they work, I use them more as a prevention type thing. I mean, I figure if I'm running for 2 hours in the scorching sun, it doesn't hurt to replace the salt I'm sweating out, right!?
DeleteWhat a great post and I think many people share your opinions! I think adding more pictures of yourself is a good one and something I need to work on. I like reading blogs that have pictures of the blogger, it makes it more personal and you become more engaged with them that way.
ReplyDeleteYes! I like pics in non workout clothes too. I mean, we all know what each other look like in our running clothes, right? :)
DeleteReally good post! I couldn't agree more!
ReplyDeleteHehe thanks Janetha :)
DeleteThis is such an awesome post, Meg! I'm totally guilty of posting way too many pictures of the same foods that I eat, and I've even been thinking about taking a break from WIAW. I mean, how many more yogurt/oatmeal/avocado toast pictures can I post, right? And I've definitely had to do a couple blog feed clean-outs to make sure I was still enjoying every blog on there.
ReplyDeleteThings I love seeing/want to see more: quick workouts and day in the life posts!
Haha thanks! I enjoy Day in the Life posts as well. Sometimes I get worried doing a blog clean out, but usually I don't end up missing the blog at all if it wasn't one I really loved anyway. I'd rather follow just a few than a million. But that's just me! In the summer when I'm off work, I'll prob start following a million again because there are some great ones out there. But there isn't even enough time for all the great ones!
DeleteI've totally commented on blogs to get more traffic. I try to read a lot of blogs and I usually just quickly browse through them - this is because I want to get to know the blogger if I can. WIAW are okay - I do them more of out necessity, but I always feel pressured to take pictures of food on Mon/Tues.
ReplyDeleteWhew now I feel better that I wasn't the only one. I think when first starting out blogging, it is the only way to get people to visit your blog other than your mom! Hehe. I definitely didn't get any blog readers until I started reading and commenting on other blogs. Which makes sense... it is important to be a part of the community.
DeleteHaha, I just found this post on your side bar and clicked on it because I was curious to see if I read it before and sure enough I did! I think it is ironic that I said that I didn't like WIAW posts yet today I put that on my list of blog topics for people who are struggling to come up with ideas..lol. I didn't realize that so many other people dislike WIAW, now I don't feel so bad. Perhaps everyone that posts WIAW posts are lacking ides...haha
ReplyDeleteI know I read your blog today about WIAW!!! Haha how ironic. :) I think there are just as many people who like WIAW as those who hate it.
DeletePop up Ads. Don't forget the pop up ads. I am working on a post called "first world rants" that I'm not sure will ever get published, I may need to tone it down a bit.
ReplyDeleteNo don't tone it down, that's no fun!!!
Delete