For Domestic Goddess, Redial…

Before I started my current blog I made several failed attempts as a teenager.  I failed due to a desire to be a ‘noticed’ blogger (almost instantly, regardless of quality of content), and a lack of focus.  This blog differs because I blog purely for myself, I love people reading, subscribing and commenting but it isn’t essential.  More than that, I regularly read other blogs.  First and foremost I am a reader of blogs. 

Tired of the same old crap in magazines and the endless pages of adverts before making it to the contents page…followed by even more adverts until I actually found any content, I turned my back and ForDGRedial was born.  However, I have become increasingly irritated by a few points.  I list them below, not to be a stroppy cow with an inflated sense of self but as friendly advice to fellow bloggers. 

1)      Music on blogs is not only annoying due to it taking you by surprise and also not necessarily being to your taste, but also because it makes reading blogs discreetly – impossible! (i.e. when you’re OH is on the xbox and you’ve promised faithfully you will stay off the broadband)

2)      Excessive advertising on blogs is distasteful.  One of the few blogs I love despite the advertising is LoveMaegan.com, because her content is lush and the advertising is less intrusive as she has it in the side bar.  Adverts between each post act like a painful jolt from the blog reader’s dream world…which normally results in me closing the page.  An except to this is youtube, I like people being able to upload more than 10min videos and the adverts are easily ignored as well as having a handy little ‘x’ marks the spot.

3)      I am currently undergoing a slow but steady cull to my blog, twitter and youtube.  What criteria am I using?  Well these points and this one in particular.  I understand that certain companies use blogs to gain greater exposure to a captive audience.  Overall I actually think this is a positive thing, we get to hear about products before they are out and even better than an advert in a magazine…we get our hands on a real life review.  But when you see the same product on half a dozen blogs on your blog reader, the reviews’ value automatically plunges.  Worse than this are blogs where you struggle to find products they have purchased themselves! Another reason I turned to blogs was for the personal touch – not to read posts by people acting as little more than PR puppets.  No matter how great you tell me something is, if you aren’t prepared to spend your own money on it why would I risk parting with the little frivolous cash I have?

4)      Blogging is, in my view, an interactive hobby.  I love commenting, getting comments and commenting on comments.  Some bloggers seem to have become a victim of their own success in this way, and are a little detached.  I love finding the smaller, ‘start-up’ blogs who really care.

5)      Well this is an obvious one but never one to assume I thought it worth including, regular updates with varied content is a winning formula.

If any of the points sound as if they could be describing your blog, please consider that I, and I believe main other – normally enthusiastic readers of blogs, will not read, let alone subscribe, to your blog.  That isn’t to say that you have to change it – afterall your blog is your blog.  But if you do want a reading base…maybe it is time for a change…

A disgruntled reader of blogs x