Blogging should be a fun hobby. At least to me it is. You get to know people, people get to know you, people read about your thoughts, experience and connect with you. But nowadays, blog seems more like a trend than a mere hobby. Some bloggers blog with a set of guidelines created by others or popular bloggers. Then, some bloggers intend to elect themselves as “moral police of the blogosphere”. That’s when blogging is no longer fun. At least to me.
When I said about these “moral polices”, I am referring to the bloggers to list out the do’s and don’ts of blogging. They criticize bloggers who do not blog up to their taste and said “blogs should be like this n this bla bla bla”. Seriously, this seems more like arrogance to me especially some of them are not even well known bloggers. (unless this is the reason why they wanna do this? To gain traffic and publicity?)
I’ll admit. By doing this post, I’m being a huge hypocrite by criticising bloggers or should I say, by telling these “bloggers who kept telling people how or what a blog should be like” on how an ethical blogger should be. Leave this page if you do not like what you are reading up till now as things going to be a lot more nasty.
The main point is, I can never understand why some bloggers will blog or tell people about how a blog should be like. And most of the contents are similar which are the following:
1. Not too much words unless your words are interesting
2. More pictures
3. DuN TyPe LiKe A rEtArD wHiCh iS TyPinG LiKe ThiS
4. Don’t put music plug-ins
The list goes on and differs for some bloggers but these 4 points are the most common ones. Being a blogger who types words more than inserting pictures, I was obviously taken aback. Not offended, mind you, because I was surprised since when blog had turned into website like Facebook?
I always thought blogs is evolved from being an online diary and not a photo album. Probably the information in Wikipedia regarding blogs are feeding me with the wrong history? There are a lot of type of blogs out there right now such as photo blog, blogshop, personal blog, food blog etc. So why the limitations in style?
I always believe that every blogger has their own freedom in blogging in whatever style or ways they want. I do admit I dislike blogs that are too bimbo-ish or type like number “3”. But I never really criticise them or whatsoever. I just leave if I dislike their blog and live goes on. Why make a big fuss over it?
The ONLY reason why people should blog accordingly to what other bloggers said, is to gain their attention and to become popular like Kenny Sia which AIN’T gonna happen if you blog accordingly to what other bloggers told u to. Why? Because you will only end up like the other bloggers and not Kenny Sia. There’s one thing I truly respect about Kenny Sia is not only because he blogs in his own way but he’s really humble. Read this post from him. Telling bloggers on how to blog and how to appeal to other people is not teaching, is merely arrogance and thinking ownself as a good blogger.
There is no such thing as a good or bad blogger, just bloggers who understand the true meaning of blogging and bloggers who don’t. Let me ask you this question, are any of those famous bloggers like Kenny Sia, Xiaxue, Kenwooi or AkiraCeo ever follow others?
When bloggers who said “Bloggers should not do this”, “Bloggers who do this are idiots”, Bloggers should not be like this” etc, it directly shows that they are people who would not accept opinions of others easily and most of the time, think they are right. Which I would like to ask them this question. “ Can you define the term of an interesting blog precisely up to the reason why they are interesting, what so interesting and how many people actually find it interesting?”. Or in a shorter way, “How do you measure how interesting a blog is in a quantitative way?”
I’m not exactly a famous blogger and I know not much people read my blog but so what? I’m not really an attention seeker that desperately need to appeal to others and I don’t live to please others except for my loved ones. So how should a blog be? A blog should reflect the blogger himself/herself and not other bloggers. Be it a blogshop or a photoblog, blogs should reflect a blogger’s mind, interest and opinion. (unless you are doing an ad which is a different case)
Why tell other bloggers how should they blog? Why tell other blogger what they should have and must not have in their blog? What makes these bloggers so full of themselves and elect themselves as the moral police in this blogosphere? They are not in some sort of blogging society that set blogging rules right? Or the ISA of blogosphere?
When a blogger come up to me and tell me how and what should I do to my blog, I’ll ask, what makes your blog so good that others should follow what you said? Having many readers or followers doesn’t mean you are a damn good blogger or the right one. There exist a time when people who thinks the Earth is round are consider crazy. Never make assumptions and be too full of yourself. The rule of becoming an ethical blogger.
