Actual Viewership or Cyber Space Junk?

It's great to learn something new.

Especially when it is relevant or makes perfect sense.

Like the word Butt-Hurt . . . which is probably supposed to be TWO words and not one, like in this grammatically challenged meme I found online.

And, speaking of butt hurt  . . .

We've all come across blog posts such as this one from Writer's Write that offer up useful suggestions and opinion on everything from how to write successfully to how to drive more traffic to your own blog by following the guidelines, rules, and regulations (opinion) of others.

For as long as I can remember, I never liked rules and rarely, if ever, obeyed them. I never liked being told what I can or can't do or even that I can or can't do something (there is a difference).

Sure, I was terrified of authority figures and tried my best to be obedient, until about age 13, when I started noticing discrepancies between what was preached and what was practiced.

I am a Capricorn after all

And, of course rules are necessary to preserve order in any society, but so is common sense, and in today's society, common sense is anti PC in most anyone's book.

When I read article titles that say You Need to Start Doing This  . . . or else, my feathers get a bit ruffled and I become a tad defensive.

Maybe a better word would be stubborn.

Words like ALWAYS, NEVER, DON'T, TRENDING, EXPERT, and RIGHT WAY, WRONG WAY have this uncanny ability to set me off almost as fast and with about as much fury as anything the ex attempts to utter in defense of himself and against me.

But, when I read today's post linked above titled 11 Reason Why I Won't be Returning to Your Blog, I ended up having to tamp down that incessant urge to fight back.

For a refreshing change, this wasn't a Holier-Than-Thou post filled with a lot of nonsensical, self-appointed reasons why my blog sucks and theirs is way better.

It didn't site 11 reasons why I need to conform, inform, educate, enlighten, and sell myself to potential buyers, either.

There wasn't even any mention of making myself look better on other social media sites!

So, I'm referencing this particular article because I think it actually will help us struggling artists to realize our dream of getting noticed.

And, here are the 11 reasons why the adorable Amanda Patterson won't be visiting my (or perhaps your) blog again.

1. Poor formatting

I'd like to believe I've accomplished this feat, but one can never be too certain about anything these days.

I do break paragraphs for easier reading, but I sometimes worry about font size, and yet the next larger size seems WAY too big.

2. Badly written content

Avoid overused and unnecessary modifiers and qualifiers. I think there is a place for adjectives and adverbs on blogs, but they must add to the piece and not distract me.

Probably guilty of this, but that last part might make me look a bit better, no?

3. Not enough consistent content

I have to agree with this one. It is a little upsetting to find a great post and then come to find that it is dated back two or more years -- and it is the last post ever posted by the blog's author.

Or worse, you like something you've read and so follow said blogger then wait, and wait some more for the next bit of wonderful to appear and it just doesn't happen.

She suggests at least one post per week, and I do try hard to fulfill that requirement, but when in writing mode, all else tends to slacken.

4. Blog posts that do not deliver what they promise

I've actually read more self-help Books and Magazine articles that don't deliver than deceptive or empty blog posts.

5. Blogs that frustrate me

Lol.

Reading them is a bit like asking the Kardashians a question. They may look like they know something, but you will be disappointed with their response. 

6. Blog posts that are too long

Yeah, well, what can I say. I'm a writer and like to write. I like to say what's on my mind and will sometimes go into detail in order to get the point across.

In keeping with my go-against-the-grain mentality, I was an opponent of the 400 or less rule when it started trending three years ago, and I still feel that way today.

If your attention span is that limited, then you won't be interested in my blog, and I'm cool with that!

7. Blogs that feel generic

Good bloggers put their own spin on the subject matter. Great bloggers allow their personalities to shine through. They have the courage to be themselves.

Again, I'd like to think this is true in my case, but you never know. Being who I am took years and years and years of hard-fought effort so I'm not about to go back to terrified, self-conscious, what if they don't like me mode any time soon.

8. Advert overkill

Goes without saying, really. I did hear that AdSense is going away, though.

9. Errors, errors everywhere

There are several blogs that I've subscribed to for the same purpose: to work up the courage to ask for ARC reviews.

Still others I follow are fellow Romance writers whom I admire, or who follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

However, a few of those blogs make me skeptical about asking for an ARC review at all and question the author's true ability to make me a believer in their work because of the atrocious grammar, spelling, and punctuation issues on said blogs.

Like nails scraping a chalk board, it is something I cannot ignore or tolerate, get instantly irked by it, and end up questioning their ability to judge me or my work!

10. Theme templates that do not suit the topic

I think this is a rarity today, but one reason why I left my WordPress blog is because of the lack of imagination and dynamic range of themes offered.

I eventually figured out how to design my own theme, but here at blogger, I have freer range of motion, and I like that.

Today, however, was the first time in a long time that I clicked on someone's post because it sounded interesting and was jarred by the humongous font, a glaring white background, and what looked to me like old 1990's HTML coding.

It was weird and I won't be back.

11. Blogs that are written by Admin

I'm not entirely sure this occurs with any amount of frequency to make it an issue with me, but I will agree that seeing a real name with a real face somewhere within the post is a lot more refreshing and believable.


And now, I'd like to add three of my own:

12. PowerPoint (Prezi) Style Pages

Hip, now, trending, mod web pages that you arrive at via a link and then have to search all of the picture ovals lined up 4 or even 6 per row, and by the time you find what you were sent there to read, IF AT ALL, you've forgotten what it is you were sent there to read in the first place.

Not so cool after all.

13. Pop-Up City

Anymore, and regardless of who it is or why I've dropped by, if I open your blog and something drops down to cover what I'm supposed to read, or it sails back and forth across the words I'm trying to read, or worse, a commercial starts playing to startle the daylights out of me . . . you're dead.

14. Links That Don't Open with a New Screen

Yes, how lazy of me to not want to keep clicking the BACK button, but if you think about it from a logical (common sense) perspective, if you link to another's article that permanently takes the reader away from you, you're not doing yourself much in the way of favors.

The only exception I can think of is if you are on a Blog Hop, then it is okay to wave bye-bye to the reader once they're through reading your piece.

For me, Tabs are good. Disappearing from the reader is bad.

Your comments, thoughts, suggestions, issues, and insight are always welcome. Please feel free to reply to any of my posts.