THESE ARE THE BLOG POSTS THAT INSPIRED ME
AMBER from THE MILE LONG BOOKSHELF's posted...
* Her number six was, if your cursor "shits glitter", I paused and thought hmm... how do they manage that magical effect, and then I woggled my head and remembered I am 58 years old, and do not post poems about baby unicorns on my blog in comic sans.
CAIT from PAPER FURY posted...
When Do You Unfollow Blogs?
When Do You Unfollow Blogs?
*You should go and peek at why this gif was used...
HERE ARE MY REASONS
♦ Things in common with Amber ♦
1. The font is too small.
♦ Things in common with Cait ♦
3. When the blogger shows zero interest.
There are two levels to this:
A. When the blogger never, or hardly ever, replys to the comments on their blog. On some blogs I have never seen a comment reply ever, and others sometimes manage to get to the first two or three comments and then...
RELEASE THE FLYING MONKEYS!
When I first started on TWITTER, I followed a lot of accounts that commented back and forth with this one particular high profile book blogger, who was good friends with one of my favorite YA authors. I would in turn follow their book blogs. One person's blog was almost constant negativity. Her posts were 75% of the time about authors who ignored her on Twitter, bloggers who spam on Tumblr (which was funny because she was one of the people who would get on once a month and reblog about 30 author posts in a row), ungrateful giveaway contestants and winners, etc. Another 20% of her posts were prepackaged blasts, blitzes and bashes, with the last five percent being reviews usually slamming a book in a genre she didn't like; reviewing based on this hatred and not on the merits of the book within it's genre.
HERE ARE A FEW OF MY OTHER PET PEEVES
5. The blog features a large percentage of prepackaged BLASTS, BLITZES, BASHES and spotlights.
I want to read original content, PLEASE. A lot of times it is obvious they haven't read the book being promoted, or intend to read, because I know it is totally not a sub-genre they read (cowboy love triangles with interpretive dance teachers and pastry chefs).
6. The blog hardly ever gives links
I will give them a break if it is just omitted book title links to Goodreads, and I love the blog otherwise, but when it is mentions of blog posts, author pages, other blogs, or articles; that are not linked; buh-bye.
7. Not publishing comments that are different from the blogger's own opinion.
This includes turning off comments to DISCUSSION posts. If you disable the comment section it is not a discussion post; plain and simple. Returning to Miss Negative Nellie in #4 above; she once did a rant post about how most people who enter and/or win her giveaways are greedy and ungrateful LOSERS (if I am not mistaken I think she actually used that word). She was mad that people would do follows for the Rafflecopter entries and then unfollow when the contest was over (probably for reason #4 above). She had a problem with people sending emails when it had been six weeks and they still hadn't gotten their prize. This one got me especially because she would cry financial woes as the reason people hadn't received their winnings from her last two or three contests, but would put up another giveaway on her blog! She also seemed to want a thank you note signed in blood from the cretin winners as well. Anyway, I wrote a comment that said if the giveaways were from the heart only and required no following, retweeting, adding to Goodreads TBRs , adding sidebar widgets, or visiting Facebook pages; then she had the right to complain, but after all the publicity we get from the giveaway entry activities, we should really be thanking them! Hmm... Maybe I will do a WTB on giveaways. To make my point here, she never published my comment.
What would make you unfollow a blog?
♦ Things in common with Amber ♦
1. The font is too small.
I didn't unfollow this one major font offending blogger on Bloglovin' because she is such a sweetheart, but I NEVER go to her blog anymore. Not only was the font tiny, but it was neon green on a medium green back ground. I did take a look just now because I haven't been there in about a year, and she has changed it to lilac on white, but I am on my laptop right now and the font is still very small. I can imagine what it looks like on my Kindle Fire tablet.
Which leads me to this...
A few months ago a newer blogger asked me why the font on my blog was so large. I asked her if she was reading it on her laptop and she said yes. Most of the time I do my blogging on my Kindle tablet, in fact, when I first started blogging I used the tablet exclusively. The font size is set to a comfortable reading size for a tablet. You might want to have a look at what your blog looks like on a tablet. On some blogs that have margins with gadgets that are set too wide, their sidebar gadgets don't even show up on my tablet. I kept asking this one blogger where her Bloglovin' button was, and she kept telling me it was on her sidebar. I kept thinking, "What sidebar?"
2. Pop up ads!
Especially the ones that cover a good portion of the page and need the X clicked several times for it to go away. Also, ugh, the ones that stay visible and follow you around the blog as you read! With me this also includes lots of visually loud ads cluttering the page
3. When the blogger shows zero interest.
There are two levels to this:
A. When the blogger never, or hardly ever, replys to the comments on their blog. On some blogs I have never seen a comment reply ever, and others sometimes manage to get to the first two or three comments and then...
This ultimately irritates me on DISCUSSION posts!
There are also the bloggers who only reply to their buddies,
B. When a blogger, no matter how many long and meaningful comments you leave on their posts, NEVER returns the favor!
Now, I am not talking about the popular blogs that have 30-40+ comments on a regular non-giveaway post, ALTHOUGH CAIT, BLESS HER HEART, MANAGES TO VISIT ME QUITE OFTEN: despite the million billion comments on her blog. I am talking about the bloggers who normally receive less than ten comments. Sometimes I am the only regular commenter, and I still get no love. Even one return comment every four or so times would be appreciated.RELEASE THE FLYING MONKEYS!
Next, to quote, Cait...
4. If the blog squishes into unpleasantness.When I first started on TWITTER, I followed a lot of accounts that commented back and forth with this one particular high profile book blogger, who was good friends with one of my favorite YA authors. I would in turn follow their book blogs. One person's blog was almost constant negativity. Her posts were 75% of the time about authors who ignored her on Twitter, bloggers who spam on Tumblr (which was funny because she was one of the people who would get on once a month and reblog about 30 author posts in a row), ungrateful giveaway contestants and winners, etc. Another 20% of her posts were prepackaged blasts, blitzes and bashes, with the last five percent being reviews usually slamming a book in a genre she didn't like; reviewing based on this hatred and not on the merits of the book within it's genre.
HERE ARE A FEW OF MY OTHER PET PEEVES
5. The blog features a large percentage of prepackaged BLASTS, BLITZES, BASHES and spotlights.
I want to read original content, PLEASE. A lot of times it is obvious they haven't read the book being promoted, or intend to read, because I know it is totally not a sub-genre they read (cowboy love triangles with interpretive dance teachers and pastry chefs).
6. The blog hardly ever gives links
I will give them a break if it is just omitted book title links to Goodreads, and I love the blog otherwise, but when it is mentions of blog posts, author pages, other blogs, or articles; that are not linked; buh-bye.
7. Not publishing comments that are different from the blogger's own opinion.
This includes turning off comments to DISCUSSION posts. If you disable the comment section it is not a discussion post; plain and simple. Returning to Miss Negative Nellie in #4 above; she once did a rant post about how most people who enter and/or win her giveaways are greedy and ungrateful LOSERS (if I am not mistaken I think she actually used that word). She was mad that people would do follows for the Rafflecopter entries and then unfollow when the contest was over (probably for reason #4 above). She had a problem with people sending emails when it had been six weeks and they still hadn't gotten their prize. This one got me especially because she would cry financial woes as the reason people hadn't received their winnings from her last two or three contests, but would put up another giveaway on her blog! She also seemed to want a thank you note signed in blood from the cretin winners as well. Anyway, I wrote a comment that said if the giveaways were from the heart only and required no following, retweeting, adding to Goodreads TBRs , adding sidebar widgets, or visiting Facebook pages; then she had the right to complain, but after all the publicity we get from the giveaway entry activities, we should really be thanking them! Hmm... Maybe I will do a WTB on giveaways. To make my point here, she never published my comment.
8. I don't relate to your content.
You might question, then why did you follow in the first place? Well, sometimes blogs change for whatever reasons. A blogger I was buddies with, when we first started out, had similar reasons for blogging, as in getting the word out about mostly under the radar books. She also was as allergic to drippy romance as I am. Somewhere along the line her blogging goals changed and it was all about follower numbers and getting highly prized and hyped physical ARCs from the publishers. There started to be a lot of blitzes and bashes for books I knew she didn't read, or even want to read. The lethal blow came when she told me my blog was never going to go anywhere if I kept posting about, "books no one wants to know about." But, isn't that the point? They just don't know they want to know about them! This is my mission! Also, there are the bloggers who at one time had a mix of genres only to go almost genre specific. If this exclusivity is Contemporary or Romance, you can bet I am out of there. And then there are the blogs who start out as book blogs and end up being more about movies, television shows, or fashion.
(I have no idea who this person is)
♦♦♦
Ha ha, I used more gifs than usual because people have unfollowed me because they thought I used too many gifs. Fair is fair. Cait is going to be doing a WHY I FOLLOWED YOUR BLOG post in the future and I think I will do one, too. I don't want to be a Miss Negative Nellie.
The font thing is definitely an issue. I've found a few blogs that there's very little contrast between type and background or the font was so twirly I had to squint to read it. Those are not blogs I tend to go to. I also agree to the negativity. While I don't think all posts and reviews have to be sunshine and rainbows if a review of a book is hostile to the author or just "this is a terrible book, this book sucks, etc" than I'm probably out. It's fine to not like a book but say why. Also, the blitzes etc. I unfollowed a blog because it was 7 of those a day and it just got to be too much. I tend to be fairly forgiving on the comment replying because I go through spells when I"m absolutely awful about replying BUT if I get nothing ever from the blogger - a visit, comment reply or anything - than I do give up because it's kind of like commenting into a vacuum after awhile. So I think we have quite a lot in common on the unfollowing thing! Good post! Very thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteThanks. It was great Reading Cait's and Amber's posts. I try to keep in mind other blogger's wants in a blog post to some extent, unless it is about getting rid of my gifs. Lol.
DeleteLol to the crickets chirping! I am so curious about Miss Negative Nellie in #4!! Why have a book blog if all you're going to do is rant and complain? Some people just baffles me. The no link one gets to me too! If I see something I like I would want to add it or possible buy it right away. But when there's no direct access to that book (just any link), I get annoyed lol. Like why do you do that to me? XP
ReplyDeleteThis post made me wonder if Negative Nellie is still blogging. I am going to check that out later. My teeth grinding with links is if it is missing to an article, something I can't Google easily. :)
DeleteHa ha, she doesn't have her blog anymore. I Googled her blog and the domain name is up for sale. She was co-blogging on another blog, but I don't know if she is still doing that, or not.
DeleteHahaha that's interesting. Hopefully she's not as negative anymore :)
Delete"Her number six was, if your cursor "shits glitter", I paused and thought hmm... how do they manage that magical effect, and then I woggled my head and remembered I am 58 years old, and do not post poems about baby unicorns on my blog in comic sans font." - I crack up at this every time I read it hahah!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about font size before. But since I read this post (originally so like...a month ago hahaha) I think about it A LOT. Particularly because I tend to move into smaller font size under captions or for emphasis, etc. I wish you could change font size by points instead of just bigger/smaller on blogspot, but alas I suppose that's what I get for going the free route :-p
You've hit my #1 reason I'll unfollow a blog - if there's no interaction. Like, yeah, I'm also follow because I think what they say is interesting, but BECAUSE I think it's interesting I want to talk to them about it, damn it! And the part b - when I've left like a two paragraph long flailing comment of excitement...and I've seen they've answered other comments (especially ones AFTER mine), it hurts, you know? Especially if it happens EVERY time I comment. I don't have time or space in my life for negative feelings, and clearly no personal connection there, so that is an easy unfollow for me for sure.
Lolol - "cowboy love triangles with interpretive dance teachers and pastry chefs". But yeah, I'm the same with the content thing. A lot of it is because I don't have time to read every post, so I rarely read reviews of books I haven't read. (I do make exceptions when I can with you, Shannon, and Kirstie because you guys often have books I wouldn't hear about otherwise AND I might like them haha!) I feel bad b/c there's been bloggers I totally connected with in comments, so I want to follow their blog...but there's just SO MANY DAMN TOURS! My bloglovin feed can barely handle what it's got already!
P.s. It's Annie from Community! It's a very funny show, although it's had its ups and downs in the last season or two
Elizabeth! I came to reply on a new comment and just saw that you had replied here. This is why I put the moderation on comments more than one week old. Because of you, ha ha. Love it. You can change the default of your post font on Blogger in design mode. You can even change it one pixel at a time if you want. I think my page font is set at 36px. :)
DeleteOuch! This is a great post! I just got to it from your Year-End Survey post, and I can see why it's your favorite discussion post! I am guilty of some of these things, I know, especially small font size (haven't figured out how to make it larger yet!) and letting some comments go unreplied-to...My resolution in 2016 is to visit and comment more on the book blogs that I read as regularly as I can and to discover new ones that I like, so I will try to make sure I reply to all comments on my own blog too! I love gifs on other people's blogs but am too lazy to put them in posts very often myself.
ReplyDeleteThe, "You use too many gifs" scolding is one I get all the time! Ha ha. One blogger once told me that my blog suffered from too much personality leakage. That Is my favorite dis in two years of blogging. Ha ha. I have a bunch of New Years blog resolutions I am going to try and attempt myself. Thanks for paying me a visit!
DeleteI admire your personality leakage! I've been trying to do more of that on my own blog lately.
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