This fortnight I participated in the Pioneer Woman’s photography challenge, like I do most fortnights and I didn’t get picked. Which honestly, doesn’t bother me. The quality of the photos chosen as the finalists was amazing, so please, don’t think that this is a sour grapes post.
Not at all.
Instead, I thought I’d ask some questions about stuff I’ve been witnessing all around the blogosphere.
Regularly, in the PW flickr group discussion boards, you see people pop up discussions on the photographers repeatedly being picked. A member questioned why this was and did we think that Ree had favourites that she went back to over and over again?
The entire conversation stayed polite, as the original poster had asked politely and I was interested to read the responses.
Eventually, Ree herself commented and explained how she chooses the finalists and that satisfied everyone.
However.
And this is where I start to wonder about readers and large bloggers with fans and such.
A lot of the comments made after the original post said something like this.
‘Ree’s competition, Ree’s rules, Ree’s choice. We don’t get to question how she chooses the winners and who cares how she picks them anyway, we should just be grateful that we get to participate.’ (note, no one person said that, but it was the general gist of some comments on this thread and in previous discussions about the same thing)
Which okay, fair enough. But, it seems to me that if you dare to disagree with a big blogger, or question how or why they do something, then prepare to be bitterly opposed – not by the blogger themself, but by a small portion of readers, the fans who think whatever said blogger does is fantabulous and us plebs don’t get to question.
Look, I’m not having a go at Ree, or the competition, because I love participating and it’s great fun. I’ve found some of my favourite photographers that way and I’m not going to stop playing. Ree is just a handy dandy example of some things I’ve witnessed elsewhere in the blogosphere too.
So, I wanted to explore the ‘don’t you dare disagree’ mentality that a very small percentage of people seem to have.
Do you think that we, as readers of large blogs like Dooce, and Pioneer Woman and other ones I can’t think of right now, deserve to know how winners of competitions are chosen? Do you think we have the right to question how and why things are done?
I’m not talking about trolling, or being nasty, but asking a simple question – ‘I’m curious as to how you pick the winners, I’ve noticed a lot of the same people being chosen, are they your friends, or do you just like their photos and keep coming back to them?’
Or ‘You’ve got a new sponsor, are they a product you endorse, or are they just paying the bills?’
It comes down to a line I read that immediately made me question who I was and how I was reading blogs. It said –
‘Who are we to question how she does something?’
And here I am, questioning how we interact as readers and writers of blogs.
Who are WE to question?
WE are the entire reason a big blogger is big. We are the readers, the page views, the sponsors, the commenters. We are every reason that someone is where they are.
Just like YOU.
YOU are the reason that I don’t feel like I’m shouting into the internet wilderness. YOU are the reason I keep writing and YOU are the reason I make book money off my blog. YOU.
So if you question me, I think you’ve got as much right to an answer from me (a small blogger by anyone’s count) as I’ve got to an answer from Ree.
I understand that bloggers like Ree and others with large readerships are a lot more time poor than I am and I honestly wouldn’t expect a personal response to one question. But if 20 people before me have brought up a subject and wondered about it, I think an answer is in order.
Which in this case, Ree provided, and it satisfied everyone (including me, who had also wondered how the photos were chosen).
But that didn’t stop people jumping on the girl who had asked the question and yelling (figuratively) How DARE you question!!
So I’m curious – do you think we as readers, have the right to question how a large blog runs a competition/picks a sponsor/chooses a winner?
Do we have the right to expect transparency from them? I know blogging is only a tiny slice of life and you can’t understand exactly how things work from a blog, but I’m talking simple transparency here.
As a reader and writer of blogs, I’m inclined to say yes. A large blog readership doesn’t exempt you from questions about how and why you do something and I honestly believe that the larger your readership gets, the more up front and transparent you need to be.
Maybe though, maybe I’m just up on my soapbox, shouting into the wilderness and poking things that don’t need poking.
What do you think?
***
As a disclaimer so that no one gets upset with me, I like Ree, she seems like a lovely person. I am not a regular reader of her blog, but I do click over every few weeks to check out what she is up to and watch for recipes I can adapt to gluten free. I also participate in the photgraphy challenges when I can and enjoy looking at the winners.
I’m also not complaining about anything here, I noticed the behaviour and thought it curious and wanted to know what you guys thought. If I was running a comp, would you question how I was choosing winners? (I would hope so, if I didn’t mention that already.) Actually, speaking of which, competition, have you entered?
So yeah, just curious.
I think everyone has the right to question something they don’t understand. Being able to ask ‘why’ and not just blindly agree with the actions of another is in my humble opinion a basic human right.
When I first say your blog post title on twitter I thought it was about children (little people) and do they get to have a say in parental decision making. Which is somewhat similar, I would never deny my children the right to ask ‘why are you doing that Mummy’ – ‘why did you choose that picture to put up on the wall over all the others I drew?’ There is nothing wrong with asking why, it is good and facilitates discussion.
There IS something wrong with being aggressive about it or angry, but simple curiosity is good.
Forgot to tick the notify me of follup comments box 😳
I’ve noticed a similar attitude of don’t complain and don’t question on YouTube. Usually the content creator is open to honest questions and constructive criticism but their fans can get downright hostile. They seem to see themselves as sticking up for their beleaguered friend/hero. Bleck.
When it comes to blog policies my usual rule of thumb is it is their sandbox, they get to make the rules and if I don’t like it I can leave. I prefer it when those rules are clear. So, if some people are getting banned for things that others have done repeatedly I tend to leave. I prefer transparency but if someone else doesn’t all I can do, and feel good about, is leave. If enough people don’t like what’s going on their numbers will drop.
I’m curious some times as to why things happen, but some times don’t pipe up for those reasons. (More out of fear of other commenters than of the blogger themselves!)
It’s like being in school all over again, don’t say anything against the Queen Bee or you’ll be ostracized.
Lisa and Fiona, I’ve seen that too – it’s not the blogger or content creator who has a problem with questions/complaints/constructive criticism, it’s the other commenters.
Yeah I think you’re onto something here.
The hero-type worshipping of a blogger is kind of ridiculous and I generally stay away from super popular ones because, well, I can’t be arsed inflating their ego even more. It all feels a bit fan-girl to me.
But if a comp is more a popularity contest then they should be upfront about that rather than have everyone think it’s about skill or chance or whatever.
If I were a big name blogger, I would certainly prefer that these types of questions were asked by readers, and I would attempt to be quick to respond. I would hate to think that this type of curiosity and questioning from readers went on behind my blogs back. So, transparency on both sides would be the ideal.
Any type of sycophantic behaviour makes me want to hurl, and if there is too much of it within comments of any blog, it makes me cringe and unfollow……love the unfollow!
Agree, Agree, Agree.
Of COURSE we have the right to question. It’s whether or not we’re owed an explanation that’s really up for debate.
I’d have to say that it depends on the style of the blog. In Ree’s case, it’s an obviously personal blog with no real agenda. it’s not as if she claims to be a professional photographer who makes a living judging others photos. I think if that were the case, she would be responsible for explaining her methods. As it is, if she wants to keep her reasons a secret, I think it’s acceptable.
Now as to the overreaction of the fellow reader’s response….
If I had to name the blog that MOST gets on my nerves in this regard, it would have to be Fugly Horse of the Day. Don’t get me wrong— Fugly does a lot of good championing horses’ rights, and her snarky, toe-the-line method of writing really gets her point across. Her cult-like band of followers on the other hand…. they’re pretty much a rabid mob.
My problem is that every once in awhile, someone will bring up a valid, well-conceived point against what she said….. and instead of responding sanely, I see dozens of frantically defensive responses based entirely on loyalty rather than fact.
Case in point: Have you ever seen someone bring up the fact that Fugly (Cathy) has a stallion of her own that has yet to win any serious competitions? I think it’s a pretty valid point to discuss on a blog that focuses on stallion owners, yet every time I see someone bring it up the mob is instantly on the person like a duck on a junebug.
In Fugly’s case, I do think she owes a complete explanation about WHY she has chosen to go that route. I know she’s touched on it once or twice, but I don’t think she’s delved deep enough. The difference between Ree’s case and Cathy’s case is simple: Ree has a personal blog that’s more fluff than anything else. (Don’t get me wrong… I LOVE Ree’s fluff!)
Cathy, on the other hand, has a blog that is devoted to “out”ing wrongdoers and shining a spotlight on misdeeds. In the case of a possible hypocrisy that goes against the very nature of her blog (and whether he stallion is or isn’t worthy of balls is a matter of debate), I do think she owes her readers a solid, upfront explanation.
Hopefully that all made sense.
By the way, awesome post, Veronica. 🙂
And for the millionth time, I’d like to point out how much it makes me laugh when you use the word “fortnight”. It’s a REALLY archaic term here in the states. Every time I see that word in your blog, I imagine you living in a little castle, with a knight guarding the moat.
I would be more of the “blogger gets to make the rules and decide” sort of person. You could delete every comment that even LOOKED like it MIGHT disagree with you and you’d be within your rights. I’m hardly a kissup saying that… but I’ve seen some of the phenomenon you’re blogging about here from time to time.
One “fun” thing I’ve noticed is that I like to do blog searches on homeschooling, and I’m not alone. Seems that someone will just type up a post on homeschooling to share with all thirty of her readers… and suddenly find 99 thousand angry people popping up on the blog with things to say.
Here’s an example:
http://palepage.com/?p=3433
I think this post covers much of the “issue” you’re presenting here… it’s Tracey’s reaction to… well… everyone else’s reaction. I met her through the original “homeschooling’ link you’ll find in the post.
But really… it’s only one example. Happens more often than I care to admit. So. Want to increase your readership? Blog something nasty about homeschooling and they WILL come over. And comment too…
PS I tend to avoid “big name” blogs for some of the reasons you mentioned. I can handle “medium” sized to somewhat large… but megabloggers tend to have a wolf pack following them around and hanging on their every word. I would imagine it would be a mixed blessing for the blogger.
Yep, transparency is a must, just to cover the blogger running the comp and to build the foundation of a reliable reputation to garner more readers but the fans seem to actively look for trolling in questions put tot heir idol when most of the time the questions are quite innocent.
Becky – I think that’s what I’m getting at here, not the blogger themselves, but the rabid fandom that surrounds them. I noticed it with FHOTD too and ended up stopping reading BECAUSE there was no civil debate in the comments, it was all ‘string them up and burn them’ type comments.
I think it does come down to whether we’re owed an explanation or not. Some would say we’re not owed anything, but I believe I owe you guys the right to ask for an explanation if I’ve not made something clear enough.
Mrs C – so you’re saying, to increase my readership I just need to question homeschooling? Hehe – not something I’d do (not really on my personal radar), but I can see how it would get people riled up.
I don’t neccesarily think that my readers are owned an explanation for why I choose to live where I do, school how I school, or eat how I eat – that said, I’m not doing anything out of the ordinary that would upset people. Homeschooling is like vaccinating, personal choice, but everyone has an opinion.
I can agree that yes, I could delete everything that disagreed with me and be able to do it, because it’s my blog and my rules, but SHOULD I delete them? I believe no. I think that’s where transparency comes in, for me personally. I’ll stand by my friends rights to delete comments though!
Jayne, maybe that’s what left a sour taste in my mouth, some people actively looking to start a flame war.
Maybe it’s like Mrs C said and it’s a traffic thing, we all know drama garners blog hits.
Also Sharnee and Lucy, yeah, the fan-girling, you can’t say anything bad about that person because I LOVE THEM, that gets my back up too, even if I like the person involved myself.
Exactly. You CAN or MIGHT delete any comment you wish. That’s what I mean. Not that you have to at all. You could even dis kumquat farming and see who shows up. lol 🙂
The right to question something is at the heart of democracy, so yeah, everyone has a right to ask. However, the ‘big blogger’, *I* believe is entitled to decide whether or not to reveal what their criteria are, because that would be opening herself up to criticism. Let’s take photography as an example. If she said that her criteria were ‘correct white balance, exposure and composition’ then any number of wannabe ‘experts’ could jump all over her decisions and question them. At the end of the day it’s her blog, and if she picks a photo because she likes it, for whatever reason, then personally I think folks should just accept that. No one forces them to participate etc. Her giveaways are always randomly selected winners, so that’s totally transparent. The fact that she may be picking the same photographers again and again, may be simply down to the fact that her taste, is their taste, and thus, a lot of their work is pleasing to her.
While with great (power) readership comes greater (responsibility) need for transparency, I honestly believe that the blogger in question can do *whatever* they want. If say, Ree were not as nice and open as she is, she wouldn’t have become so popular in the first place so I’m personally happy with that. The folks who become the ‘negative naysayers’ are usually the same ones who complain about everything in life, so I’m not bothered with them much.
While I’m not a total Ree devotee, I did buy her cookbook, because honestly, she has revolutionized my cooking with her step by step instructions and my husband will be forever grateful for that! I also have learned a lot from her photography section, so I continue to read that also. The only section which I have little interest in is homeschooling (would rather insert hot poker in eye than contemplate THAT for myself), and even though her and my tastes DO differ VERY much when it comes to decorating, I also enjoy her ‘home and garden’ section.
Ness – That’s true, she is definitely within her rights to not answer the question! I was curious too as to *how* she picked the photos and actually, I’m glad that she’s choosing photos that she likes, rather than photos that are technically perfect on a b and c.
Ree was just my example for this post, I like her personally and am not disagreeing with how she does anything, but she was a useful tool for explaining how I felt.
ETA (because I thought some more): Also, if you look at Becky’s comment, she makes a valid point about FHOTD, so it happens on big blogs all over. And Ree herself was lovely about answering questions, it was her ‘fanbase’ who are less than happy about having her questioned in the first place, again like Dooce, or FHOTD.
The bloggers behind the blogs are normally perfectly happy to answer questions and clear things up to provide transparency.
I’m being very bad and not reading the comments above mine. I swear I will. I’m running out the door and really wanted to say something. Two things really, and I am intentionally referring to blogs in the States because I have a clearer understanding of their blogs.
1. The bigger bloggers aren’t just blogging. They’re running businesses. Dooce and the pioneer woman are both excellent examples of this. When you start endorsing products off of your page and I see your name running around on potato crisp (chips US) other places on the web, you’ve turned yourself into a business. AND you DO have an obligation to be transparent about how you run your contests.
2. This attitude of you shouldn’t question my friend, my blogger, my hero is scarily prevalent in the States right now. It extends to my president (and I like the man, but stop the freaking posturing and get the gulf cleaned up. You know who might be looking for those jobs–the unemployed yesh). It extends to our favorite television hosts who should apparently never be questioned as to the basis of the facts (opinion opinion opinion) they bandy about. It’s a dangerous set up. So, probably the lack of transparency in contests doesn’t matter in the big bad world, but when we set a blogger up not to answer perfectly reasonable questions because they are so god like we’re giving away our power. Never mind what that has meant to the American media, American politics, and the American education system. It is simply irresponsible to ‘protect’ people from reasonable questions. To behave as though people who do ask have committed so strange kind of blasphemy only serves to hand over our personal power to others.
Ok, off soap box, I’m going to read everyone else as soon as I get back.
Rachael, I find it really scary that the ‘don’t question’ extends out of the blogosphere to the president. People have a right to ask reasonable questions of the president, of businesses, etc, and have them answered, in my opinion.
Interesting. I think on the whole I agree with the way you’ve phrased it, V – certainly the questions can be asked and should be allowed, but unless a prize / product giveaway is involved, I don’t think the blogger is actually obliged to answer if they choose not to. Obviously it would be smarter if they did – it looks better, more honest etc – but ultimately it’s up to them.
I think this is one of the very fascinating areas where the very novelty of blogging as a media / art form AND business (because it is both, and in some cases other things too) is highlighted. We’re still working out what should be the norms of behaviour in this space. It’ll come as naturally as breathing to our kids!
Kathy, exactly! And our kids will have no idea why we were so worried about how to behave here!
“Don’t you dare disagree..” or even question…
I don’t like that sort of thing either. Everyone has the right to ask questions, (something I learned rather late in life…) and people have the right to disagree with others and say so.
Heck, the world would be a dull place if everyone agreed on everything.
My own blog is very small with just a handful of regular readers and commenters and I hope that if I write stuff they disagree with, they’ll let me know and tell me why.
I’m in fo srs amounts of pain right now so please excuse me if I’m not 100% coherent. If you figratively hold this post at arms length and unfocus your eyes, you’ll get the gist.
1. Should big bloggers be open to questions on how/why they do things? Yes, I think they should to a degree. When it comes to competitions, I think there hould be complete transparency in how winners are picked. I don’t care if someone is basing their picks on hair color, shoe size, city of birth, or friendship status. I think it’s just fair that the person holgthe competition is clear about that. You really SHOULD make the rules of a game obvious, so everyone is playing on the same level.
However, when it comes to other questions people may get asked, I start to get fuzzy. I thought bout this or a minute. What if MY blog got really big? What if in a years time someone comes along and asks me why I never sought help for my postnatal depression, don’t I think that sets a dangerous example to other vulnerable women who may look to my blog for advice? Didn’t I put my child at risk by not seeking appropriate medical treatment? While those questions would be completely valid and fair on a blog like mine that deals with my journey through PND, I don’t know that I would always want to answer them. I’m not sure I could, without slipping into hyper-defensive mode, or reveling more of my back-story than perhaps I neessarily want to. There are a lot of other questions that I would rather not answer, and I think all blggers, regardless of status, reserve the right, when it comes to non-competition issues, to say ‘Actually, I’m just not totally comfortable getting into that. It’s private.’
2. Rabid fanbase. I see this ALOT. I recently started obsessively reading Hyperbole and a Half and while I LOVE Allie and her drawings and ramblings, some of her fans are a bit nutty when it comes to defending her. But I think tht’s slightly more acceptable on a humour blog that also deals with mental helth every now and again….you’ve got a vulnerable blogger with a BIG personality who is very involved with her fanbase, some of whom are going to be vulnerable people who identify and look up to her and will want to defend her, perhaps beyond the call of duty or necessity. Using Allie as an example (although I’ve seen this behaviour on many other blogs) I think big bloggers have a certain responsibility to reign in their fans when they get overboard. When someone asks a polite question or posts constructive criticism, then I think it’s good manners not to let your fanbase cyper-stalk this person to hurl abuse at them. Allie is actually pretty good at this. She’ll instigate a bit of good-natured revenge but then call it quits if it’s getting out of hand. Not all bloggers are so attentive. Some will feed the flames and wtch from a distance and refuse to get involved other than to egg the fans on. Tht’s not really ok.
I’ve completely forgotten where I’m going with this and what I was saying. Hopefully you find a point in there somewhere!
I think it depends on size and personal-ness, if that’s a word. I come back to the saying “the customer is always right.” Because as readers we are customers of blogs, so if a blogger wants lots of readers they should be thinking of our needs. If it’s a tiny online journal that’s really personal and they’re not actively soliciting for readers, whatever they want is fine, they make the rules. But if they are writing to please other people, if they are writing as a business, if they are making money in any way or getting something out of it, then they are a business and we are customers and we should know the score. And bloggers get a lot out of competitions even if there’s no money involved – they get word of mouth, new readers etc. So to me any competition should be completely transparent.
Arientette – I agree absolutely, because there are things we don’t share with the internet and I wouldn’t expect them to share stuff, just because they’re a large blogger, so privacy and etc, I agree completely.
Deb – I think that’s interesting, I know I try and treat SN like a business.
Good post V and good points raised by your commenters. I am going to see if I can find a kumquat farmer now.
Hi V… Long time reader, first time commenter (go easy on me!)
I love reading your blog, even though I don’t have children, I’m not married, I don’t own a house/farm, I don’t have an illness either, and my life is a complete 360 from yours. But I always love reading what happens in other peoples lives, and the way other people cope with day to day things (regardless of their overall situation)
I just wanted to make a few little comments on this topic (though not sure how relevant it will be, but bear with me…)
I recently unfollowed quite a few blogs because of the “blogger worshipping” that goes on. It’s great for a blogger to have loyal readers, but a lot of people tend to forget that we’re all human. We all have opinions. Not all of them are correct, and not all of them are perfect. Everyone gets it wrong sometimes. And sometimes they get it right. Every blogger, every human, every person has a right to their own opinion, and I don’t believe that others should be belittled, or brought down because their opinion doesn’t match someone elses. Freedom of speach is around for a reason. Have an opinion, create controversy, it makes life fun (well, it does for me). I remember writing a blog about “fat acceptance” and how *I* personally believe it can be unhealthy. A lot of people agreed, a lot of people didn’t agree. But to me, that’s what makes blogging fun (well, *can* do). The interaction, the sharing of opinions. When it gets nasty or degrading, that’s when I draw the line.
I love reading your blog, and I see in there from time to time as well, little comments where you explain yourself, or mention that although you are promoting a product in your blog, you weren’t paid to do so. Sometimes when I read those little footnotes, I shake my head and think “Why do you need to explain yourself?”. If I see you write a blog on some yummy chocolate spread that you ate that day, my first thought isn’t “Oh, she must have been paid to write that”, it’s generally “looks like she liked that spread!” I’m not going to run out and buy it immediately because you’ve mentioned the brand either. I’m not quite sure if I’m getting out what I’m trying to say, but I think if you want to promote something you *personally* like, then you should be free to do so without having to explain yourself.
On the same note, if you’re paid to advertise a product, one would hope that you *personally* endorse the product because you like it, have tried it, and believe that it’s a product worth endorsing. But; and I’m going to be brutally honest here; when I see a post that says “this post was paid for by…” I’m less likely to take anything written seriously. And that’s just me. If the little postscript wasn’t there, I wouldn’t have thought anything less of the post.
Gah! I don’t think I’m saying what I want to say properly. Basically I believe that a blogger should be free to have an opinion, and I don’t believe they should have to censor themselves, nor explain a motive for their actions. Readers have a right to voice their opinion on the topic as well. But I turn my nose up at hero worshipers. No one is perfect, that’s why we have opinions. but use them wisely.
I hope I got that out right! 🙂
P.S V: Keep up the good work, I LOVE reading your blog….
Hi Ruby, I think you’ve explained yourself pretty well! I think the whole point of my post was spawned by someone saying ‘we don’t have the right to question’ when I think we do have the right to question. The blogger doesn’t have to answer, but stomping all over someone for asking? That’s rude IMO.
And I’m full of opinions too, but I do feel the need to disclose whether I was paid to do something or whether I’m doing it because I love a product – however, that need to disclose, that’s only really come about since the FTC made the US bloggers disclose things, so maybe it’s just me keeping up because no doubt, Aus bloggers will be forced to disclose too.
Hi Veronica, just found you via Twitter but I’ll be back. On the subject of ‘enthusiastic fans’, I think there are people who are very territorial of ‘their’ blogger. Often people who ‘found her/him first’. But most bloggers will address a question if it’s asked often enough. It’s only when we give up that a real lack of transparency occurs. Keep fighting the good (and polite and respectful) fight.
Great post – I am not a reader of the blog you mentioned but i do love questions like the ones you have brought up…Not so much because I think there is a “right” answer but because i feel it is so important to question! As one of the above comments mentioned (kATHY) hopefuly it is our talking about these issues now which will make it a better understood forum for our kids!
I’m a firm believer in questioning what I am told, whether it is info on the net or a pamphlet from the government and I believe that if you can question people in a totally non-threatening, polite way then you have a right to do so. Of course, the person you are questioning has a right not to answer but that is up to them!
The most important thing for me here is that people DISCUSS AND THINK ABOUT questions like the ones you have raised. I hope my children will grow up to know it is ok to question authority (even my own – bet that comment will jump up and bite me in the backside in years to come!)
As for the readers of a big blogger jumping down the throat of a “questioner”, well it seems a real shame to me. My blog is very tiny but i really truthfully would like to have people (politely!) question my opinion rather than just tell me im great all the time. cos its all about learning and sharing ideas, isn’t it? (in my opinion! hee hee)
I think I have said it before on this blog but I feel that your behaviour on the net should reflect the sort of behaviour you like to display in the real world.
If you wouldn’t say it to someones face should you shouldn’t be saying it at all? (in print, online or otherwise)…
Thanks for a great read – your commenters thoughts as well your post,Veronica!
First of all, I have to tell you that I love coming to your blog. LOVE it.
You are never a disappointment.
Now the big stuff: like 2 months ago there was HUGE posting thing snafu with Pdub and her regular homeschooling contributor. I’ll see if I can dig it up and send it to you. It was by the woman who runs TheWomen’sColony, Mrs G.
Anyway, Mrs G WAS Pdub’s regular homeschooler blogger, but then she said something that was, I don’t know, someone didn’t like it. And just like that Mrs G was gone.
So, Ree never posted on the sudden disappearance, but the next day all traces of Mrs G posts WERE GONE from Pdub. And she was dropped off off pdub’s “Blogs I follow.” no explanation, nothing, just done.
Mrs G posted it on it and commented on a few interesting things of how they do stuff in Pdub land. And she questioned on how come all the comments are always the nice comments? With that number of readers how can you always get nice comments.
It is all interesting, and you can archive it and find it at TheWomen’s Colony. If you can’t find it, let me know…I can remember enough to dig it up for you.
But, yes, to all that you said.
Pink Fibro – I agree, lots of people get territorial and don’t like to see their blogger questioned, especially if the questions relate to how or why they’re doing something.
Gill – This is exactly why I enjoy the posts like these ones so much, because of the discussion surrounding them and we all bring something different to the table. Like you, I’d prefer people question my opinion and my why’s, because sometimes, simply having to formulate an answer makes things clearer in my own head.
Alexandra – now THAT is interesting. Especially because in this case, the post wasn’t about Ree, she was just a handy example. That said, it makes me think of this post I wrote a while back – http://somedaywewillsleep.com/criticism-in-the-blogosphere/ – where I say similar things.
See, because I’m not a regular Ree reader, I miss a lot of the drama that (apparently) surrounds her. As for opinions, I maintain that I’d like everyone to be able to express theirs anywhere, provided that it is done in a respectful way.
Of couse you can question – I believe it is was regulates bloggers/organisations/individuals etc and helps keep things fresh and fair!
Having said that I will admit to steering clear of popular bloggers with large readers for this exact reason. They have a band of followers who think if they disagree then they will fall out of favour or something – so they never disagree (regardless of their opinion) and defend the honour of the person to the end. Which is very noble I suppose but honestly if one day harassedmom gets that big I would much rather have a following of people who dare to disagree – even with me 🙂
Also I followed a few big US single moms and the constant drama because of things like this was exhausting! So I rather focus on the smaller blogs were you can build a relationship of sorts with the person!
Laura, I stopped following the larger blogs for the same reason, I couldn’t deal with the ‘blogger is perfect’ mentality of some of the commenters. So I stopped reading.
there will always be people who like to agree with everything and there will always be people who have to disagree. There are always annoying people who just say things to cause a stir too. I think that a good blogger will know whether to answer their questions or play their games or just to stay neutraL. I had some confronting discussions on one of my posts ages ago and i didnt know what to say!
sorry im commenting from my mobile so its a little hard!
If the same winners keep popping up then i would like to know why as well, just to know that i was entering a competition i had a fair chance at!
Sounds like a fair question to me?
I don’t think I can add much here. I agree with what pretty much everyone else has said which is that yes, you should absolutely have the right to ask questions without being mauled by a rabid pack of fanboys/girls. However, the owner of the blog has just as much right to decline to answer – it’s their choice. If anyone ever asked me a a question (unlikely but you never know) I would always be open and honest and if any of my (3-ish) normal commenters had a go at the questioner I’d probably have a bit of a word.
I pretty much agree with everyone else. People have a right to ask questions and inquire about how contests are run (especially subjective ones like a photography contest) But Barbara is right also. People have a right to not answer.
I’m glad that she did, though. I really enjoy her photography challenges and it’s nice that she addressed concerns.
This is such an interesting topic and one I have thought of often.
I know that it’s really hard to let the negative comments through – hard because it hurts mostly but everyone has the right to ask questions.
Someone asked a question about Ivy’s port, on a post the other day, asked wouldn’t it be covered under clothing and why would it cause issues at school and how could kids tease Ives, if it were underneath the clothing.
At first, I felt quite threatened by the question. It was like the statement I had written on the post was not believed but when I thought about it, I figured alot of people don’t know about how it all works, so I emailed the reader and replied. I didn’t get any response back from her but it felt good to explain myself.
I’m glad you got a response from PW.
Hey V,
First of all thank you for being the “YOU” of my tiny blog. 🙂 (truly its just you and me when it comes to my blog I think lol) In my view (without reading any of the previous 40 odd comments you already have) I think when you choose to blog you are choosing to share and collectively live a part of your life with the world wide web (I like to call it the whole wide world) so you should be prepared not just to talk but to listen and respond as well. So whether you are a writer or a reader of a blog you would have to accept the fact that there will be people who think differently. And isn’t that really the point of blogging or facebooking or any other form of networking we do? So that you can reach out to people all over the world and learn new things which you otherwise would not have been able to accomplish?
I agree, questions are fine, transparency is ALWAYS preferred. There is a social pressure even in blog world to kind of agree or go along with what SEEMS TO BE the majority, but you also have to always stay true to yourself, or else you are not using your blog for true purposes.
I think it is ok to ask. I know a lot of times Ree has some kind of automatic thing that pickes her winners but probably not on photos. Which I enjoy a lot. I live just a few hundred miles from her and met her on her book tour, along with her sons and MM. I use a lot of her recipes. Check out the one from a few weeks ago that was a shrimp stir fry. Just lots of vegetables. Very good. I changed it up a little of course! I actually found you by reading about the blogger awards on her site and clicking on it. Found both you and your mother that way.
I’m with you. My readers are the reason anything wonderful happens on my blog
An interesting post – with equally interesting comments. Alexandra’s story about Mrs G and the PW site was particularly intriguing – I certainly know that I have never moderated out a bad comment. Recently I made the mistake of blogging about how I hate chess and found myself beset by a seventeen year old Chess fan and his friend, posting comments like “What is wrong with you???” and “You must lead a very pathetic life”. My readers leapt to my defence but since I only have about five of them (and most of them my friends IRL) and I let them go for the seventeen year old’s jugular. However, if his/her comments had been merely questioning and not abusive, I would like to think I wouldn’t have let my readers go to town as much as I did. It’s hard to be writer, editor and moderator all at once, especially when you’re juggling Real Life stuff as well.
But full disclosure is definitely important. If anyone ever asked me to do a product review or sent me free stuff, I think I’d be very upfront about it. But nobody ever sends me free stuff. Ever.
Wanna send me free stuff?
First, V, let me say, I enjoyed this post of yours. I, like you, do not read Ree regularly but do pop in every once in a bit to see what is going on over there. I also, used to participate in the goings on that she would have. I stopped, simply because of the same reason you posted about. I do not take any of it personally, I just recognize that my tastes and sense of perception differ from hers too greatly to be seen as something appealing to her and let it go. I realize that the internet is a place where one mis-step can open a whole can of worms which, in many cases is unfortunate as it is just one person asking a question. I once got flamed then asked to prove the “animals eat their young theory”, which I might add, was pretty easy to do. Anyway … question, V …. only those with something to hide oppose it.
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