I absolutely love blogging because it gives me something to do in the hours between reading and all that other reading that I do. In this, I treat it more as a hobby than as a business/something to make myself feel good because everyone loves me. This is what I tell myself anyway. But, I have to be honest, and tell you that every new follower, every new comment, and every new blogger friend on twitter makes me feel really amazing, and awed that anyone wants to read about my opinions on anything at all. I would never presume to tell anyone how to run their book blog, and I would never set out guidelines on how to review/write, because everyone's different. If you love what you're doing and how you're writing then that's the most important thing- having followers is great, but if you're not enjoying yourself then there's no point in having them.
I also don't have any rules about the blogs that I follow. I'm going to be entirely honest here, and let you know that, for every comment I get, and for every new follower, I always always check out their blog, and if I don't really like what they review, or the way they review, I don't follow back. I'm not sure if this is the right protocol or etiquette to have in blog following, but there really is nothing personal in my decision to do this- I just don't want to follow a blog that I don't really really love, just out of a sense of obligation, and I wouldn't want anyone to follow me just out of obligation either.
So, apparently blogging is all about love! And really, isn't it? Would there be any point in any of us putting our precious thoughts out there into the harsh, cruel coldness of the internet, spending time that we could be doing anything else with, if we didn't really love it? I think, probably not. Blogging started out for me as a way to fill endless days of boredom and unemployment, but for me it has evolved into something so much more than that, as something that I really look forward to doing, and something that affects how I think about reading- when reading a really good, or even a really bad book, I'm thinking in the back of my mind 'I can't wait to blog about this'. And so I do.
I like to be able to read the blogs I follow so I don't auto follow back either. I'm much more likely to follow on twitter though.
ReplyDeleteI'm 100% with you on not following back a blog out of some sort of sense of obligation. If you don't like a blog and you aren't going to read what they write, don't bother following. Like you said, you want people to follow you because they like what you write and not out of some feeling that they have to. I know there are a lot of bloggers out there that do "follow for a follow" but those are usually people that are just concerned with numbers and less so with content.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the obligation stuff. I don't auto-follow, but I do always check out the person's stuff. And many times, I've found that he or she has followed my blog because we do "speak the same language" to a certain extent.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that so many of us believe that this is about loving what you are doing, loving books, loving to share ideas. It makes me pleased to be part of the blogging community
Aw, I'm so glad you guys agree with me here- I was kind of nervous about posting this in case I sounded ungrateful or something, because that's not what I intended at all- so I'm glad you all see what I'm saying :)
ReplyDeleteSnapperz! Internet buddies! <3
ReplyDeleteI used your blog as the jumping-off place for MY blog today because I liked it so much.
ReplyDeleteLindsay
I follow the blogs that interest me and don't expect a follow back. Likewise I don't automatically follow those who follow me.
ReplyDeleteTo blog well you need to know: your topic, your audience and your voice. Come learn more.
Blogging should be fun-and I like what you said about blogging being about love. Book bloggers are sharing their passion for books, and that's a wonderful thing.
ReplyDelete