I follow a ridiculously huge (and constantly increasing) number of blogs. I use Google Reader to manage this addiction and divide my reading list into three categories: writing and blogging; weight loss, health and fitness; and other blogs I like.
I suspect I spend as much time reading blogs as I do writing my own posts. This can be quite stressful as it means I need to allocate A LOT of time to blog-reading (and commenting) each and every day. In addition, because I’m such a control freak / perfectionist, I get even more angsty when I don’t get all unread blog posts cleared in a day. (Note that I used to be – and sometimes still am – the same in the workplace. I’d get all of my emails actioned and be about to leave for the day and another email or two would pop up. And I’d grapple with the ‘do-I-leave-it-for-tomorrow?’ argument versus my guilt over leaving things un-actioned. And… yes, I do realise the idiocy of this as one DOES have to draw the line somewhere!)
I keep vowing I’ll cut down on my blog-reading and indeed, I’m starting to not-comment as much… if I can’t relate to the post (which is the case with a lot of kid-related topics) or if I don’t really have a relationship with the blogger in question, I’m more prone to just read and delete.
Time is limited so; while there are some bloggers on whose posts I will comment NO MATTER WHAT, others I will respond to only if I really have something to say. And then of course I simply ‘lurk’ around other blogs, poised to comment when the time’s right.
Overall I decide which blogs I’ll add to Google Reader based on a number of factors, but – obviously – it’s predominantly about the writing and content!
I cannot recall where (cos I read and comment on so many bloody blogs!!!!) but I recently had a blog comment exchange with someone about the type of blogs I prefer to read. This is something I’ve been mulling over because I’m wondering a bit about my own blogging future and the types of posts I should be / could be / am writing.
When it comes to health and fitness / weight loss blogs, I must confess that those I least like are those which involve a detailed race recap or training summary featuring kilograms or pounds lifted, numbers of sets and times per kilometre. Etcetera. I can understand that time trials and acknowledging increased weights’ lifted is important to many, but the figures mean nothing to me and – as a result – my care factor is minimal. In fact, I could not honestly tell you the weight I lift in my Pump Class; rather I just know what weights (in terms of size) I put on the bar. (Usually the two middle-sized ones, except for triceps! See, I bet you’re jealous of the level of technical knowledge I possess, the attention I pay to my workouts, and my commitment to fitness supremacy!)
I suspect some of my antipathy towards these posts is because I can’t relate to them on a couple of levels: in addition to my inability to understand WHAT they are talking about; they’re also usually written by people who are completely on top of their exercise, eating, weight loss and health. They’re often ‘done’ with their journey and sometimes cannot relate to those of us who care little about what we benchpress or training for half-marathons. They often cannot understand how some of us cannot lift ourselves off the sofa to get to the gym, or turn down a block piece of chocolate in favour of fruit.
Now, obviously I’m being glib but I don’t mean to ‘diss’ those bloggers or bloggers who write those posts occasionally (and I do follow many of them in a lurker-like way) -because I know that A LOT of readers ARE interested in that level of detail. Just not me. At this point in time.
While I’m on a roll… I’m not overly big on recipe / ‘what I’ve eaten’ blogs either, although I love seeing the beautiful pictures that others post of their meals and I get cooking-envy when I look at their masterpieces as I am far too lazy to try something new. But again… it’s a relatability thing for me. Even though I might bookmark a post thinking I ‘could’ indeed cook that myself, it’s a bit like the mountain of recipes I’ve cut out of magazines, now in overflowing boxes which never see the light of day!
So, now that I’ve offended a number of bloggers and been overly opinionated; what do I (most) like to read you ask?
I’ve realised that, when it comes to health and fitness blogs, I like to read posts which have a personal element. I don’t expect this in posts about writing or blogging, as I’m happy for them to be educational or technical; but it’s important for me – as a weight loss / health and fitness aspiring blogger and industry amateur – to be able to connect with what I’m reading.
I follow bloggers from around the globe and it’s amazing how much I can relate to SO MANY of their posts. It makes the world seem a smaller and more comforting place. I love getting a sense of who the blogger is – beyond their online presence. Some of the bloggers I enjoy reading write incredibly well. Some write posts which haunt me for days. Then there are the posts that motivate me. And others that make me smile (or cringe) and nod knowingly.
I’ve been grappling with the ‘why do I blog?’ question of late. In short, I blog because I love writing. I happen to blog about dieting and weight loss etc at the moment because that’s central to where I’m at in my life. But it’s hard, as a blogger, not to get bogged down in numbers of hits and site visits, wondering why I don’t get offered sponsored posts or advertising opportunities. And I find myself angsting about the lack of comments or the perceived level of disinterest in certain types of posts.
As I’ve been writing this it’s occurred to me that perhaps what interests me as a reader is also what inspires me as a writer. Hmmm…. more food for thought.
What sort of blogs or blog posts do you like to read?
If you’re a blogger, do you ponder on your style or your voice?
May 22, 2012
Love this post Deb – as you know I am torn by how I want to write – I’m scared to be too personal but hate bland health and fitness blogs too 🙂
xx Inspired!
May 22, 2012
I always think about your challenge of having to balance the technical / professional knowledge with the personal. Another blogger (non-health and fitness related) has a similar problem. Fortunately I know NOTHING so can happily blither about anything without citing any expertise… (there are some advantages!!!).
I think you usually have a pretty good balance though!
Deb
May 22, 2012
Love this post. Most of the blogs in my g-reader provide me some sort of identifiable connection. Like you, I’m not very interested in those very technical weigh lifting / pace posts but I tend to lean more towards posts that have a human element. When I can identify with the blogger and get some sorta sense of who they are and what makes them tick, I’m sold.
May 23, 2012
I very definitely agree Jennifer!
May 22, 2012
Hello! I found your blog through Last Chance Taining blog. Very interesting post, thank you for sharing with us. I am also a blog addict…both in terms of reading blogs and writing!
Like you I blog because I love writing and more importantly I love researching topics I’m interested in and then sharing my discoveries (ie: healthy eating, eco-friendly products, food insdustry, France).
May 23, 2012
Hi there and welcome! I must confess I’m not a big researcher (reminds me too much of school and University!!!) but yes, like you, I love writing!
Deb
May 22, 2012
I also don’t like posts that are detailed recaps of races or weight lifting or other regimes, and rarely read food diaries, except now and then, once, out of curiosity what others eat. But I know that some bloggers find that is what keeps them accountable or motivated. And that leads me to… I think we should all blog for ourselves first and foremost, unless we are blogging to make money which most of us are not. Yes, I think about my style and voice. IMO, mine is unique in that I don’t typically just recap something in my life but to me it feels more essay-like. But I have no idea if readers would agree with that. I do put a lot of pressure on myself as a (reforming) perfectionist. Even with my blog titles! Right now I am really not finding my voice but I think that might be a good thing because it might mean I don’t “need” my blog as much. I admit that I am also commenting less on other blogs. I most enjoy reading blogs where I have connected in some way with the blogger and/or those written in a way that I just enjoy reading them because of the style or humor. What would we do without google reader?!
May 23, 2012
Karen, thank god you put me onto Google Reader! It makes life so much easier than having a zillion blogs bookmarked to open and close…. and when I’m just lurking or not commenting it means I don’t even enter the post (though I do feel bad if the blogger then doesn’t get my ‘site visit’ to acknowledge I was there!!!).
I’m a bit like you with the blogging – it’s mostly about the writing – although it is a bit of an outlet for me as well. (Oh, and I stress about my blog titles as well!)
Deb
May 22, 2012
Well, you summed it up perfectly. I say, “what she said.” 🙂
May 23, 2012
Thanks Karen… as a writer, this would probably be even more of an issue for you than me. (Although I focus more on the writing in the other blogs I follow I must admit!) If that makes sense!
May 23, 2012
Like Karen…what you said…however I would like to add first and foremost, after reading this, I feel great honor and pride, that you are a regular to my site. Secondly, I got to that exact point you mentioned, the doubt, the measure of numbers, the lack of sponsorship or offers, why posts I thought of as great with little to no commenting…
and it lead me to the discovery of a secret thing fr me in a lot of areas in my life….I like blogging because it makes me feel I have a voice. I don’t have to fit in, be liked and loved by everyone, what matters is what matters to me….I use my voice for good….just as you do…and perhaps it may help one person along the way
…again…I am SO honored I am one that you visit often…thank you..
May 23, 2012
Ha Jules… your posts fall into the category of ‘things I ponder on for days after’!!! I suspect you know that as I’ve referred to your posts a number of times – often days or weeks after you’ve posted!
I decided earlier this year I wanted to ‘step up’ my blogging. I realised that it (blogging) was a genre I liked (as opposed to novels, short stories, poetry etc) and I wanted to pursue it more seriously. I guess that’s the point where the stats started to worry me etc, AND I started to compare myself to others. Plus I have the Debbish blog and wonder how long I can sustain two blogs etc.
But, I need to refocus on why I’m doing this in the first place… my love of writing and you’re right, it’s about finding your ‘voice’.
Deb
May 23, 2012
I definitely agree on the “personal” element. I have a friend who kept facebooking (just facebooking! Not even blogging!) her biking stats and I got so irritated I blocked them from my feed. So personal, usually with a humourous element and, er, short. Otherwise I, er, skim. Sorry :).
May 23, 2012
I suspect I skim as well. I went to this ‘writing for the internet’ thing at work recently (more about our work intranet and internet site, as a content contributor) and the facilitator commented on people’s likelihood of skimming. I realised then that I do skim many of the blogs I read. I don’t think it means I enjoy them less, I just identify the parts of most relevance and focus on them. (I should confess I’m also a skim reader, so it’s not just a blogging thing for me!!!)
I have a couple of people I follow on Twitter who also CONSTANTLY post their workout stats (and not much else) and I keep thinking I should just unfollow them.
Deb
May 23, 2012
Spot on, for me as well. Yours and a few others have really made me feel less alone when it comes to my unhealthy relationship with food (that is slowly evolving in a good way, thanks to other bloggers as inspiration and just being able to sort out my thoughts in a blog).
I’m excited to see what you write in the future 🙂
May 23, 2012
Thanks Sara – for your comment and compliment. I’m the same and it’s that personal element of others’ blogs I find comforting. Even if the person is now at their goal/happy weight, I find comfort in the fact that they still grapple with eating and exercising. It reminds me there’s no magic wand, but also reminds me that we’re all human!
Deb
May 23, 2012
I love this too, I cut down the list of blogs I had on my list last week to allow myself some down time! I agree with most of your criteria, updates and stats have a place but personal is the way I’ll always be.
May 23, 2012
Hi Rebecca and thanks. Same as you, I don’t mind the occasional statistics-related post… if someone’s done a fun run etc, it’s more the constant posting of progress stats that might eventually lead me to just check the ‘read’ box without actually reading the post!
Deb
May 23, 2012
Hi,
I have a quick question about your blog, do you think you could email me?
Jillian
May 23, 2012
I’ve sent you an email Jillian.
Deb
May 23, 2012
I also don’t like to read the “what I ate” blogs. And super technical blogs make me feel like I have work to do. I like to read blogs like this one! a good mix of real life and body consciousness. I also love movie reviews, random thoughts about music or celebrities, and I love a good does of fashion, as long as the person writing isn’t too serious about it.
May 23, 2012
I mostly do the random stuff in my other blog. I keep contemplating if there’s a way to combine them but haven’t worked it out yet…. *Sigh*
May 23, 2012
I am always a bit worried if I put in a post that is a bit more technical than personal is it too boring so I do try to talk about my experience as well. I agree with you though and much prefer the personal touch on someone’s blog .. I like to be able to relate and get to “know” the person rather than the facts every time. Oh and who cares how many reps or sets you did in your last work out .. I don’t .. I want to know how you feel!
May 23, 2012
So true. As I said to Rebecca at Weight Wars, I don’t mind the occasional ‘what weights I lifted’ type post and I’m conscious that I throw around terms like “Pump class”, C25k etc though try to remain conscious that not everyone will know what that means. But like you, I want to know more about how they felt. Actually I noticed that Tina’s last post (at Best Body Fitness) – http://www.tinareale.com/1560/my-first-full-marathon-cleveland-marathon-2012/ – was a brutally honest account of a marathon and I found it quite enjoyable!
As I said, I still follow some bloggers who do right a lot of ‘reporting back’ type posts, but confess that I probably happily skip over those to others in my very-full Google Reader!
Deb
May 23, 2012
I found this post interesting, mostly because I just started a health/weightloss blog. I toyed with the idea for weeks before I actually did it, wondering why I even wanted to do it. I’m still not sure why. Food, body image, fitness, health – it’s all such a big and important topic.
I’m still working out how ‘personal’ I want to be, and how much of me I want to share. I am easing into it, though 🙂
May 23, 2012
It’s a hard one. This blog’s been going a couple of years (eek, you just reminded me that it could be my ‘anniversary’) and I’m still trying to find my voice… but I think I need to remind myself of why I started in the first place. I suspect while it’s important to think about one’s audience, writing from the heart (re stuff to which you’re committed) is probably essential! For me it’s about the writing and the cathartic-ness of sharing. (Well, I think it is!!!)
Deb
May 24, 2012
I couldn’t agree more. I love to read blogs that have that personal element. There is one I read that is full of “what I ate today.” I tend to gloss over that part and read “the meat” of the posts – how he felt about eating too much or staying with in his food limits, how well he did (or didn’t do) on the scale and how that impacted him. I love to cook, but I’m not much into cooking blogs. Maybe that will change.
May 24, 2012
Sacha, I’m obviously not much of a cook, so cooking blogs tend to remind me of *failure* on my part. Though as I said, I love the pictures and I’m usually likely to have a look if it’s something I’ll like (but rarely leave a comment!)
Deb
May 24, 2012
This is a great meta post! 🙂
I have my own habits when it comes to following (fitness/weight loss) blogs. For some reson, I hate using feed readers, so I have a browser toolbar group where I strore my favorite blog addresses. How do I know they have written something new? I just go and check! 🙂 Luckily at the moment I have a pretty small group of blogs I follow regularly.
I ponder about my style and voice obsessively! Also, I’m very jealous of people who have English as their native language, because I feel they have this “unfair” advantage in blogging. I even spend time imagining how easy it is for them to write. 🙂 It may take me hours to get one blog post written, partly because I procrastinate on getting started.
Now I’ve decided to brush up my English grammar on my own, because it drives me crazy when I’m unsure whether my sentence is grammatically correct or not..
Stylistically, my greatest fear is that I sound like an encyclopedia and bore people to death!
🙂
May 24, 2012
Satu, you’d never guess that English isn’t your first language from your blog, so don’t stress about that! And your posts are definitely not boring – you mix it up a lot and I like that.
I stress a lot more about posts for my other blog – not sure why other than it’s always been linked to the ‘real me’ and I guess it’s not as daunting to feel judged by those who don’t know you – as is the case with this blog! I still don’t just write and post in this blog – but always sit on a draft for a little while (even if it’s just an hour or two) before publishing.
Deb
May 24, 2012
Thanks, Deb!
I forgot to add that I like following your blog because I feel I can relate to you and you often give me new ideas for my own posts – it’s a bit like having a cross-blog conversation.
May 24, 2012
Ha! Thanks Satu – I’m the same and get blog ideas from others. xx
May 24, 2012
Hi Deb! I read your blog because I like you as a person. I like your personality and humor. I think you are opinionated but also a nice person, so it balances out quite well. I’ve never known you to ever intentionally try to hurt any feelings.
I read blogs for 3 purposes: 1) to get information; 2) because the person adds happiness to my life; and 3) because the person needs another friend in their life. Regarding number 3: I follow a couple of blogs of people who are probably depressed. They are *never* responsive to my comments (or anyone’s comments for that matter) but I hope I make a difference. I used to be a lonely person, and it would have mattered to have a far-away friend during that lonely time. So I hope to be that friend to others.
Regarding understanding posts, when I don’t understand or like a post, I think of the person that I care about. The friendship matters most. I have those kinds of posts too. Oh well.
🙂 Marion
May 24, 2012
Lovely thoughts Marion. I sometimes leave comments on posts where I worry about the person as well. It’s hard to know what to say sometimes when someone’s really ‘down’ and there’s nothing worse than platitudes. I guess I just try to let them know someone’s thinking of them….
It’s funny how you feel like you get to know someone through their writing!!! We may be a world away but end up with a stake in what’s happening in their life!
Deb
xx
May 24, 2012
I wrote a long-winded comment yesterday on my lunch break and then my iPad had a hissy fit and wouldn’t play nice with your comments system and now I can’t remember what it was. But I’m sure it was really good… hehe.
I comment far less than I’d like to, simply because of lack of time. So mostly I comment on posts that really hit a nerve with me and just read and move on with the rest. That doesn’t mean I don’t get some value from the post, but honestly – there are still over 700 unread posts in my reader. Maybe I’ll get to catch up over the weekend while I’m away. Or maybe I’ll have my nose in a book and a glass in my hand the whole time. No promises. 🙂
May 24, 2012
Kerryn, as I said in my post (and I think we tweeted about this), I get angsty if I have unread posts. It kills me every morning when I get up to 30 or so new posts when I’ve sat up until midnight to clear them all! (I want to tell people to STOP BLOODY POSTING!). Mind you, I’ve noticed I get a bit of respite on weekends – whether that’s cos I have more time to read or people do less blogging I’m not exactly sure!
Deb