Blog Suicide....... Can their be such a thing? How many times have you sat down at the computer making an entry to your blog about something you are passionate about, your thoughts are flying, you're reaching down deep, laying it on the line, just as you feel it. And then bam! You stop suddenly in your tracks and you ask yourself, "Is this politically correct? Am I going to get a bad rating for this? Am I committing Blog Suicide here?
"Oh my God!" The thought of it all sends you clicking away at your backspace button or rapidly hitting the delete button. You lean back, think for a moment, then resume your entry, trying to sugar coat your thoughts in order to create a post that gets your feelings/point across but stops short of an untimely death. How sad is that? This rating thing is a double edged sword! No high so high, no low so low!! The thrill you get when you see someone gave you a 7 or an 8 or God forbid something higher! It almost feels like you're back in grade school trying to impress your teacher or your parents, patting you on the head and telling you good job! And then there's that blogger or two or three that slams you! Gives you a damn 1 or 2? Hell, that's almost not even showing up for class! How on earth can you get a rating like that other than spew hatred a vile thoughts? If I don't like a blog I just keep on surfing. We all have varying opinions. We are individuals, that's what makes surfing so much fun. Seeing different points of views other than my own, like them or not.
There are always places and times when certain topics are taboo. You know those topics, politics, religion, sex. The topics that consume us on a daily basis through media, at work at play, in our face all the time. So why not talk about them in our blogs without fear of blog suicide? If there was ever a time when our country was more divided by party lines, pro /anti war, morality issues, it's now. So I ask this, before you slam me or my fellow bloggers with a 1 or a 2 ask yourself this, "Did what they say inspire me? Involk thoughts of my own? Make me feel passionate about my own beliefs?" If you can answer "yes" to any of those than maybe just maybe the post served it's purpose and ignited new passions of your own.
22 comments:
No, the cheese quesadilla instructions ignited new passions!
If signing up for blog explosion or the like causes you to censor yourself, then maybe you should resign. A blog should be an act of self-expression, and if that is getting lost in favour of ratings (why do we want ratings anyway?) then it's time to say goodbye to the extra traffic and just be happy with what you write.
Keep up the good work.
It's not about resigning from BE. It's about being aware that we all have different opinions and we don't/won't always agree with people. That doesn't mean blogs deserve a bad rating because our views are different, because we are pro-choice, anti-choice, Republican or Democrate or whether we like our President or not. It's not about, "like what I like, be what I am," or bam, you're nothing but a one! That's what I was trying to get across. I believe comments speak louder than ratings anyway.
I write a lot of political stuff. I don't worry about getting bad ratings. I want to get good readers. People who rate someone poorly because they disagree doesn't count, in my humble opinion, as a good reader.
Good writing will encourage people to think about the issues and get people to come back, even if some people who aren't interested in critical thinking give you a poor rating.
My two cents.
It's not so much that as just posting what you want. Hell, I post what I feel like and no one gets hurt; of course, it's not like anyone *reads* my blog anyway. :P
The only thing I can't stand is "petty shit" (i.e., posting about how your fish died and OH MY GOD THE WORLD IS ENDING I HAVE TO GO STUFF MY FACE AND POUT GRR GOTH ME BLAH BLAH BLAH... okay, so I'm exaggerating) and *entirely* political blogs. A little politics is fine, but I try not to post about it if I can help it.
Truth works best no matter the rating. Just spill and let others figure out there own values and opinions.
Keep up the raw ideas!
Excellent post! I would like to quote your words in my blog someday and link back to you if you don't mind. Let me know if it's okay or not. My email address is
the.ticklebug@gmail.com
Thanks
Great post. I'm glad they've done away with the 1-10 rating system. Twice I made it to the top ten, and twice was almost immediately slammed off the list by people rating my blog 1 or 2 just because I was on the list. I'd have a momentary high, thinking I was hot shit, and then a low where I was angry and I hate to admit it, hurt. How silly of me, really. I should have concentrated on blogging and not ratings.
Actually, i think the opposite is usually true. Any well written, middle of the road post is almost universally ignored. It's the ones that are far left or far right that get tons of comments.
Which means I'll never get tons of comments. Because I'm middle of the road. Ahhh, well.
(*)>
I have talked about most everything on my blog except my religios beliefs and I have a post in the works for that. I don't mind hearing what other people think of my opinions though, and my friends that read usually either agree or just don't comment on that post. If you want to say it say it. I have enjoyed what I have read so far!
I say to hell with political correctness. Be yourself and your readers will thank you for it.
Good reminder, thank you.
What a great post...what else can i say that the other people commenting have not already said... I will diefantly be back for some more.
Prehaps you just explained why I get very few comments and rateings. But screw them politics and other taboo topics are what drives us and if it effects me or i have an opinion about them, then so be it; I will blog a away.
Keep up the great blog and if your ever bored drop by mine some time
Good writing.
great !! I like someone that speaks her/his own mind .. sod the critics .
You have a great webblog keep it up !
If some some sad twat disses you..just smile and think hey another blogexplosion point!
I'm bookmarking you If thats ok coz more people should speak their mind !!
I posted a few days ago with those same feelings you showed here...although you did it much more tactifully lol
Mia
http://www.ladybuggin.com
http://www.ciaomybella.com
Whilst the development of a good internal editor is essential to good writing, do not be swayed by the hecklers in the peanut gallery, for they are certainly nincompoops, one and all.
Blog suicide? No.
Keep in mind that readers do not and will not read your full post or any accompanying link...so any post that is thought provoking will be misinterpreted.
I don't care about ratings, but, then again, I've never received one so....
:)
funny personal ads
I have no idea if I have ever been rated. I write for myself and if someone reads my blog and likes it then yay for me! If not,they can move along and find a blog they do like. I basically started my blog as a way to just write on a regular basis. I like BE and if I gain readers then it's a bonus. I have never censored my writing for the general public.
I just popped in via blogexplosion. I have a blog where I post one short story a day, but I do not try to further any particular agenda with my posts, although politics, religion and sex might be topics. I think I write in such a way as to leave the judgements, if any, to the reader. The fact that blogs on both sides, left and right have linked to me, shows me that I've done something right.
The key point is not to talk down to readers and tell them what to believe, whether you're writing stories or political anlayses, etc. Tell what you think, and why you think it, and you can really do no wrong.
I never felt the need or desire to blog a personal diary, but I do co-blog with someone else on more political themes, although my posts have been fairly sporadic. In those posts I try to take a balanced approach and be non-judgemental about people who believe different than I do.
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