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Bloggers Who Fake It
I’m having a tough time feeling good about the blogger mentality lately.
I’ve stopped reading my feeds. Nothing grabs my attention. All the topics are the same (that’s nothing new). It’s all about how to do this or that in seven or ten steps. There are ways to improve your productivity, your business or yourself.
I’m tired of reading about crap that people don’t put into practice. I know too much about what goes on behind the blogging scene.
Bloggers don’t often practice what they preach.
They’re fast to jump on the bandwagon with the latest and greatest product, service or topic. They beat into the ground until it’s dead. The Internet is so saturated that it’s nearly worthless.
Bloggers are fast on the get-go, slow on the follow-through. They rarely answer emails in a timely manner, they often have poor customer service skills and they commonly blow deadlines.
But they call themselves professionals and clamor for more work.
These bloggers also seem to be under the illusion that blogging will make them money. They start to cry when work doesn’t come in quickly or when they land a job and it actually involves – gasp! – work.
Blogging doesn’t make money. Only hard work brings in the cash and puts food on tables.
So pay attention. Make sure not to spew advice when you don’t intent to follow your own advice. If you’re faking that you’re a professional, sooner or later someone is going to call you out on it.
Not too long ago, James brought me up short. I had been going through a slump, feeling sorry for myself (if you must know), and wallowing in my misery. I tend to do that.
James mentioned that I’m good at writing about time management and staying productive. Yet there I was, doing the exact opposite of what I preached.
That pissed me off. How dare he?
Know what, though? He was right. I felt like a fraud. He’d call my bluff. If I was going to talk the talk, I had to walk the walk.
So why doesn’t everyone else?
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Welp, I think this makes me comment number 160.
Just wanted to jump on the bandwagon and go for the ride. Everyone else looked like they were having so much fun. Didn’t want to miss anything exciting.
Jaden @ Screenwriting for Hollywood’s last blog post..The Sunday Picture Post – 3
Thanks so much – you are all right – my mojo is just in hibernation and to be honest I absolutely know I am not ready to wake it up yet. I realised I needed to spring clean my life. I have been working on it, dusting the cobwebs, sacks and scaks of rubbish, etc. When I have finished that (and done my taxes), I will be free to create once again. I’m in no hurry. The break is carthartic.
sam’s last blog post..Nods & Winks to New-Found Links
@ James and Harry i agree, gotta move from Blogger, and will find time to do so with your help of course this Spring!
@Sam, I look forward to your return, you’re talented and funny! I like funny.
@ Everyone this is one of the best darn blog communities in cyberspace!
I came here from www.getpaidtowriteonline.com
I wasn’t sure at first whether Sharon was building up this site for a reason, but it lives up to the hype. Good blog.
Suzanne James’s last blog post..Happy Earth Day
Unfortunately, but it’s true!
Shouldn’t the title of this post be, “Bloggers Who Fake It”?
It appears bloggers do indeed fake “it” in more ways than listed in your post. Sigh. Whatever happened to referring to people as who; when did people become “that” objects? Not sure why this has started to annoy me so, but once I began to notice the that-which-who confusion, everywhere from TV, sales copy, news posts, blogs–everywhere–it has become hard to ignore.
Is grammar dead?
@Kaz: *points at James* Blame the editor.
hehe same thing here. I am kind of sick when it comes to bloggers who write abt positivity but are the most negative people. And especially those that tell other’s how to earn money but haven’t seen a cheque in their life ..
Thx for bringing this up, been in my mind for a while now..
Wakas Mirs last blog post..Nioxin System – Scalp treatment
I’m sure there’s not an original witty remark I could make that isn’t somewhere in those 176 comments, so I’ll just say thanks for this post and saying what so many people need to hear. I used to feel stupid for putting hours into a single post, just because I want to make it worth reading, but not any more.
Merci!
fracass last blog post..Oddball News Stories From Around the ‘Net
A bit late to the party here, but this post definitely hit a chord with me.
I think a lot of bloggers forget to answer that age-old business question – what needs doing?
The world does need more people who are able to provide inspiring accounts of how they personally actually did put these things into practice, but it doesn’t need simple copycat information.
Even in other fields this applies. My own blog only really took off when I re-focused it to fulfilling the need of providing community legal education rather than simply writing random opinions.
Blogging has gone beyond just fun .. its a source of info! Bloggers must unite!
Blogging is always a source of info .. nothing more
A similar theme to this showed up on Copyblogger today…
The effect poor writing vs. quality writing can have on your readership.
When people read or listen to your voice and their gut dings “Giving to me†rather than “Taking from meâ€, I believe that’s what wins fans.
The self is ALWAYS COMING THROUGH.
Anyone who doesn’t provide value, i.e. wastes time, blabs only about themselves, is going to be ignored. Maybe even disdained.
For me, what great writing has in common is offering value. Value of course, is relative to the target audience. Who cares if anyone but your ideal prospect doesn’t like you?
I’ve heard it said that the more personal you think something is, the more universal it is. Comedians get laughter out of recognition all the time knowing this.
Revealing flaws or personal stories serves as a spice for your content. Experiences people can relate to transforms a ‘data dump’ into a ‘bonding event’.
When your personality shines through, when value is present and mixed with fearlessness… it can be one hell of potent mix.
Keep keeping it real and valuable, Harry and James!
Note Taking Nerd #2´s last blog ..Ryan Deiss And Perry Belcher’s 43 Proven, Brain-Dead-Simple Tweaks You Can Make To Your Site, So You Can Make More Money
Yes, I may agree that most bloggers if not all are getting selfish nowadays. What they want is to have the readers focus on their thing and get stagnant to it. But I thought of the two kinds of the coin. Perhaps bloggers are getting practical nowadays and that they just want to earn something from their blogs. It’s worthwhile I guess that we earn something from the things we spend time and effort to – creating and developing blogs.
Thanks for the post by the way. It’s really great!
There are a lot of fake bloggers out there, you know when you read the first couple of sentences of their posts. Your blogs cool, you keep it real, so, I wouldn’t even worry about being fake. We all have bad days, weeks, months, it just a part life.
Internet Business Coach´s last blog ..4 Steps To Make More Money Online in 2010
A lot of people don’t practise what they preach but that doesn’t make the message any less valid. It’s funny though that when I start writing, it does make me wake up and think I should be taking my own advice and I start living my own article – vain I know haha.
I am relative new to all of this blogging stuff. ( 4 months in the trenches) It seems that some have burned out from having to come up with new and exciting topics. I was watching a how to video on youtube, by someone who had no clue about that business. So yeah there are many ” hacks” out there.
With that said I think it will make it easier for someone with a fresh idea to shine amongst the dusty menusha of the same ole same. I have over 300 channels on my TV but I only watch say 12 -15 on a regular basis. So the same is going happen with blogging on the best of the best will survive.
I do agree with you on most bloggers are not professional, some of these folks if they had to work in a metric driven environment, they would not make it. Nothing replace hard work, not even genius.
Glendon Cameron´s last blog ..Becky Comes to Auction- I am going to take a chance!