You know… this ‘active’ social life thing is such a change for me. Back only a few months ago, you’d see me out maybe once or twice a month. Now it seems I’m out 3 or 4 times a week! It’s an oversaturation if you ask me…. who really needs that much of me? I mean, if we keep this up pretty soon I’ll have a girlfriend and then I’ll be engaged, probably because of a ‘happy mistake’ and then I’ll be moving to some awfully small city where I say hello to all the neighbours every morning and you’ll never see me again! Do you really want that people?! Can you really handle me with kids living in somewhere like “Kincardine” or “Flesherton” or “Port Hope“?
You know, to be completely honest, half the time I’d probably enjoy just as much staying at home and doing nothing but staring at the wall. I’m not even kidding. As a true introvert, the idea of sitting at home starring at the wall actually appeals to me. I might even do laundry if I’m feeling giddy. But that being said, I’ve begun to break my introverted shell and actually enjoy some of the things going on in the city. In truth, I have some PR companies to thank for that. Your earned media tactics have given rise to a potential monster! The allure of being with people I typically like, and not having to pay for food or drinks is the cause for my sudden rise in social activity. (Maybe I should be dating someone in PR so it all comes full circle?)
One such event, the Andrew Richards Design #SummerSecret event had high expectations. I was told it was THE event of the summer. That’s some incredibly high standards to live up to… but they did not disappoint!
First, walking in and looking around nearly gave me a heart attack or an orgasm I’m not exactly sure what it was… but god damn every single person in that room was hot! The young girls working were stunning, obviously… but even the women who were pushing 50 and even a couple near 60 were hot! It was wild. Pretty people club that I somehow got invited to.
Second, drinks drinks drinks. Belvedere (my favourite), along with Steamwhistle, Moet Champagne and basically everything else you could ever want.
Third, Food! Liquid nitrogen *instant* ice cream… lobster rolls (which were insanely amazing) from E11even… smoked salmon… the list goes on and on.
I’m not going to go any further because it’s enough already. The event was, so far, the best event of the year. One hopes I can wrangle an invite next year and suggest you do too! Best way to do that? Follow them on Twitter @ARD_Furniture + @ARDEvents. And check them out on Facebook.
Here’s some pictures with credits going to ARD, @BackSeatStylers, @clickflickca, @JanaStern, @jgrdnr, @jordanastein, @kirstinnickolas, @running_cloud + @TheDanLevy.
This blog post was mostly written three weeks ago, I’ve constantly revised it and even held back on posting it for a bit because I wanted to see where some pieces in the social media world were falling. But now seems like a good time to post it considering the conversations had last Wednesday at the Andrew Richards Design Summer Secret event as well as a short burst of conversations had just minutes before posting this.
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Lately I’ve been examining the blogging scene in Canada. While mostly I looked at Toronto bloggers, I also looked at other parts of the country to see if they were different than the unique landscape we have here in Toronto. I’ve had conversations with some local bloggers as well as with one’s from around the country. Generally, the result has been straight down the middle, a 50/50 split on this topic. Which means this is going to be a conversation piece… but to kick it off right, let’s quote Obi Wan Kenobi.
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.
Bloggers invest countless hours of their time into their blog. Whether that is writing, editing, Photoshop, coding, commenting, monitoring, promoting and so on, the work of a blogger is never ending. Considering blogs are typically started by people who have something to say, we can immediately confirm those who maintain their blog are passionate about what they do. This passion also equates to pride, a sense of purpose and often confidence. Blogging is a hobby and like all other hobbies, if you become good enough at what you do, perks come your way…
Hi Blogger,
We here at FirmPR love your blog. Especially the blog you wrote yesterday and the one before that. I’m wondering if you would like try out PRODUCT. We’d also like to invite you to a big PRODUCT party in three weeks.If you’re interested let me know!
PR Agent
Yes, there becomes a point where a blog receives enough notoriety or traffic that PR companies want to work with them to help promote a product – it’s called earned media. For a newer blogger, this is an incredibly exciting time! A company is willing to give you something for free and all you need to do is put some words on the internet?! Wild! No one gets into blogging with the belief their silly ‘blahgs’ will result in a payoff. This new perk can be things like cologne, clothing, food, gift certificates, events or more. (By the way, that’s totally the basics of every pitch!)
As the blogger gets more of these pitches though, the attitude shifts. With a pitch every few days; it’s easy to get cocky… to start to be selective on what you choose to work with. (Personally, I’m more likely to work with companies that I’ve established relationships with than new ones.) As the pitches continue to come in, the ego continues inflating and now being picky is not enough. The glimmer of free product or a great event fades, what was once an oasis in the desert becomes just a thing to possess, like all other things. The capitalist God enters our minds… MONEY!
(For about a month, I started asking for money from PR companies, though I never ended up following up on it. But it gives me experience regardless).
Here’s the rationale – I am a blogger, which means I am myself. Bloggers are more trusted than the media, yet companies continue to throw thousands of dollars at television, radio and print ads. I wouldn’t cost nearly as much as that… but considering the amount of time I spend making my blog successful and writing about your product in a post… my time needs to be compensated for. You are getting access to MY audience and the product is being directly mentioned to MY audience. I give your brand a real voice that people trust. It’s my reputation on the line, so I should get paid for this.
It’s a dangerous mindset for a blogger because it changes their integrity. The reason bloggers are typically more trusted than media is because they are themselves. Bloggers are not the media. Your blog is your own public journal, your soapbox, a forum where anything you say goes. A blog becomes popular because whoever is behind it has something interesting to say, not because they get PR pitches or host contests. So if the blog compromises their integrity by shifting towards altering their content and demanding cash for a blog post, it’s the equivalent of blog suicide.
Recent Edit: Casie Stewart recently wrote a post wherein a quote was passed around a bit “bloggers are being taken advantage of by doing work for pop, chips & booze.” In reality, no one is being taken advantage of. We as bloggers have complete control. If we’re not happy with a pitch, or a product, or an experience… the answer is simple – don’t write about it or turn it down beforehand. I’ve done this several times. I received a product; I hated it; contacted the PR company to let them know I wasn’t going to write about it because I wasn’t a fan; they understood and life went on (and I’ve worked with them several times since). If it’s something off blog, the time to negotiate a speaking fee or hosting fee is before you accept. No one has a gun to anyone’s head here and while I adore Casie, I think she’s off base on this.
The content of a blog post should be your own – your words, under no influences. That being said, there are ways to monetize your blog; but it is handled with marketing departments, not PR companies. I’ve started selling ads. I’ve also toyed with the idea of getting my own content sponsored by a company – “Toronto’s Top 150 Influencers Presented by _____”. Essentially it’s an ad followed by good, unmodified content. Recent Edit:In the realm of “Sponsored Posts” which is sort of tied to this, it still has to be the persons own created content… If you’re posting a pre-written story by the sponsoring company, that’s awful and needs to stop. If it doesn’t have your flair it’s wasted space.
PR companies are after earned media, it’s irresponsible to ask them for cash because that’s not their role. If you want to maintain any kind of integrity, never shift your content for a payoff. Develop a marketing plan and execute it. Simple. If you’re expecting or wanting PR offers to include cash, you’ve lost the passion for why you became a blogger in the first place and frankly you cheapen yourself. Re-evaluate and go back to the basics.
Courvoisier sent me a package today… quite nicely put together too! But the package isn’t why I’ve decided to post about this… The reason I agreed to work with Courvoisier on this project is because I love when companies try to help out the little guy. Rather than doing something online exclusively, Courvoisier is flying in the face of Rob Ford’s artless Toronto and encouraging local artists! They are hosting a contest of sorts to get local artists some attention by putting three artists work on highly viewed billboards across the city and also hosting a month long art gallery of some of the best work at Gallery 1313!
And how they are selecting the art is completely up to the public!
Here’s how it works;
- From now until July 8th(For Billboard submission), July 15th(For Gallery submission) artists can submit their work to CourvoisierCollective.com.
- Then online voting will occur from July 15th – August 5th, again at CourvoisierCollective.com
- Starting on August 1st, the winning billboards will be placed in Toronto.
- August 11th until September, Gallery 1313 will host the art with the most votes!
I like these kind of initiatives. I know that @smichm recently had a few of her pieces shown in her first art show… and they are pretty impressive (Image below via http://melissasmich.com)
Courvoisier are asking that the art explore the theme of “Renewal”… either in the art’s capacity to revolutionize it’s own content and form OR it’s potential to challenge the status quo…. (Which is why I included Melissa’s work in this post, I think she should enter!)
So budding artists, submit you art today! - http://CourvoisierCollective.com and become a fan on Facebook to find out more about what’s going on with Courvoisier!
UPDATE: I forgot to include the prize details for the artists!
1st Place Billboard - (i) three top tier billboard locations and 3 path posters in Toronto to display the winner’s Artwork:
$3000 CASH!
Exhibited in 1313 Gallery
Approximate Retail Value of all First Award Prize: forty five thousand dollars ($45,000)
2nd Place BillBoard - (i) two 2nd tier billboard locations in Toronto and 4 path posters to display the winner’s Artwork
$1500 CASH!
Exhibited in 1313 Gallery
Approximate Retail Value of all Second Award Prize: twenty thousand dollars ($20,000)
3rd Place Billboard - (i) 6 Path posters in Toronto to display the winner’s Artwork
$500 CASH!
Exhibited in 1313 Gallery
Approximate Retail Value of all Third Award Prize: ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
All gallery entrants will have the opportunity to sell their work at the show (show placement valued at $400).
A few weeks ago I was invited to partake in the Ford Focus Challenge… a day long event of testing and learning about the features of the new 2012 Focus. Now I was interested, but unfortunately I don’t drive, so I proposed the alternative of bringing someone along to be the official driver… I think I actually may have positioned it in Green Hornet – Cato terms. Fortunately they were open to it.
So last Tuesday, @cdot_in_tdot and I got to participate against some great people including @jaycanadian, @keriblog, @cellguru, @wondermoms_ca, @jessehernick, @malindadenbok and others. Meeting at Ultra to sign in, and grab a little brunch we got to meet some of the team at Ford and the competition. I realize now that I signed something that I didn’t actually read… hopefully I still retain my name or whatever… I’ve already had enough trouble with other Zach Bussey’s showing up, I think I’d be pretty enraged if a Ford Zach Bussey hits the roads.
At this point were taken to Ontario Place where we get our cars for the day, and also participate in an obstacle course. We’re also given iPod Touch’s to film some of our day… Calvin and I are competitive and we were determined to win… so with the obstacle course, the key was not hitting any pylons, but we decided for not hitting pylons and speed (speed wasn’t tracked, we tracked with the iPod and on one of our tries we got 27 seconds.) Oh and never hit a pylon!
That same run, we apparently were ‘exceeding driver and car capabilities’, though, both driver and car handled incredibly! For 180HP, that car had some serious GO!
After that the “rally race” of sorts began… essentially it was going destination to destination to learn more about the car, while trying to be good driver. The car actually gave ‘awards’ for eco driving. Much like a video game, you could get achievements and points. Gaming mechanics in car is a very solid idea!
We also got puzzle pieces at each completed challenge to help us with the final quiz… (Pictured at the bottom of this post).
It was at the Havencrest Riding Academy(get it? Horse power?) in Oakville where the only really bad thing happened… see they have fences there… and those fences have a rope that runs around the top. These ‘ropes’ have a purpose… to shock the fuck out of people! Well, maybe not people… the horses I guess… but damn I got hit hard and for about 10 minutes my right arm was completely numb! The above photo is from two days after the event, and it’s since then cleared up mostly, but you can see the dark spot where I was hit with the electricity and my skin was breaking around it. Crazy! Now before you say anything… I didn’t know it was electrified! They apparently had these signs warning against it, but I have vision similar to Superman and I didn’t see them… Electricity is my kryptonite.
Anyway, that was the only bad experience of the day. The rest was fantastic. Ford really took care of us and treated everyone really well. We tested out the self park system built into the Ford Focus (and I imagine other cars soon?), which was so amazing. Honestly the spot was tiny, only slightly bigger than the car yet this thing did it with no problems. Then afterwards, free Starbucks. We learned that the car has a lot of recycled material in it, jean especially. Has a unique feature for parents called MyKey which allows a parent to set limits on the car such as volume, speed, seat belt reminders etc.
And the “MyFord Touch” voice controlled system + touch screen was really cool too – albeit it has a bit of a learning curve. “Lucy” as we called her, wasn’t much a fan of mine at first… but over time she grew on me and started to respond to me better. I considered it foreplay and only after a while was she warmed up to really respond to me. Then we got along fine.
As a non-driver, this car actually made me want to become one haha. As a passenger though, I can say that without a doubt it would be a nice car to ride in!
At the end of it all, back to Ultra for dinner, drinks and to fill out the end quiz. With the full puzzle, we had all except for one answer correct we think… so we waited to see who won the day… and the winners were Calvin and I! We’re each getting an iPad 2!
Ford really treated us well, which is why this post is very complimentary. It was a very good day, lots of laughs, great food and a unique experience! If you’re in the market for a new car, I can safely recommend the Focus! The features are incredible. In fact, if you’re thinking of buying… take me with you on a test drive! I can show you all the different features built in. I’m basically a Focus Expert now.
Learn more about the Focus here. And make sure you follow @ammar_ammar of Ford.
After I released the #TOTOp150 list (Oh and there will be an update to that soon), I started getting questions about who were the biggest bloggers, and I had an idea, but wasn’t sure…
Toronto has a lot of bloggers that cover a wide array of topics. A lot of them get a ton of traffic, but were they popular in Canada? The reality is, many blogs get lots of traffic from places outside of Canada. Which poses a problem for any business looking to work with a blogger. Canadian companies want to deal with Canadian audiences.
Most bloggers aren’t willing to be open about their traffic, so I used a website, regarded as a very accurate – Alexa. Over the last 14 days, I tracked the Country rank of 44 bloggers, though when I did my search I looked at over 300 Toronto based blogs! (If you’re on Tumblr, you’re sadly not counted.) I took the 14 ranks and averaged them for each blogger.
If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know and I’ll start tracking them and then add them to the list! Also blogs with * were ranked at one point, but may have fallen off the rankings a few times in that 14 days or are recent additions. Oh, and only looking for blogs with one or two main contributors.
After I released the #TOTOp150 list (Oh and there will be an update to that soon), I started getting questions about who were the biggest bloggers, and I had an idea, but wasn’t sure…
Toronto has a lot of bloggers that cover a wide array of topics. A lot of them get a ton of traffic, but were they popular in Canada? The reality is, many blogs get lots of traffic from places outside of Canada. Which poses a problem for any business looking to work with a blogger. Canadian companies want to deal with Canadian audiences.
Most bloggers aren’t willing to be open about their traffic, so I used a website, regarded as a very accurate – Alexa. Over the last 14 days, I tracked the Country rank of 44 bloggers, though when I did my search I looked at over 300 Toronto based blogs! (If you’re on Tumblr, you’re sadly not counted.) I took the 14 ranks and averaged them for each blogger.
If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know and I’ll start tracking them and then add them to the list! Also blogs with * were ranked at one point, but may have fallen off the rankings a few times in that 14 days or are recent additions. Oh, and only looking for blogs with one or two main contributors.
Today I was alerted to a new change in the Klout system involving Direct Messages on Twitter. At first, I was skeptical but then after a search I found a blog post that says they do include it… however the post had one inaccuracy such as Klout’s CEO supposedly being @jedshearer.
I tweeted it out regardless as I did feel there was enough to warrant questioning it openly to see if anyone else knew. I was quickly contacted by Klout CEO Joe Fernandez who said this;
And in a private message he let me know explicitly “We have no plans to look at direct messages.“
The confusion I think is a result of a change in Twitter. When you go to approve third party applications (such as Klout) the Authorization screen looks like this;
As you can see, on June 30th it seems the ability to access our direct messages will be removed. To learn more about this Third-Party DM access, check out this Tech Crunch article.
The reality is third party apps have had the access to our private conversations to date, making me question all the sketchy apps I’ve approved (and currently unapproving).
I’d also recommend people go into their approved apps, and unapprove anything unessential or unrecognized. Now that this ‘hack’ has been exposed (Tech Crunch article), maybe it gets exploited more often between now and June 30th.
First off, check out @ValTorontoGal’s quick wrap up of the event… mostly because it’s no nonsense like this post is going to include AND because I’ve basically taken all of her pictures for this post.
Because I was planning on stealing Val’s pictures I held off on posting this till she did, figured that was more fair. Regardless, on June 2nd (that’s a Thursday), Dazzle.me, the group buying aggregator I mentioned in a previous post had their official launch party/meet and greet/discussion on group buying sites.
I was looking forward to it as I’ve decided I’m on #TeamDazzle… some other sites that do similar things have tried to sway me since I had that post, but I’ve made my decision. The rest are clowns to me now. I pick my winners and I stick with em! But I was also looking forward to it for some other reasons… at some point last week I managed to find myself in a middle of a ‘fight’ with the people behind Harth TV, @alkarim, who I had never heard of and then @pcrowe, who I’ve had a couple conversations with… and then some of their lackeys who I won’t even bother mentioning.
All because of a three week old post saying that the logo was terrible for “Harth TV”. I still stand behind that assessment.
So fast forward to the event… I get tipped off that there’s a plan for a bunch of the Harth TV folk who will be there to be wearing Harth TV tshirts to make a point… I was excited to see if I’d really pinched the nerve that badly. Unfortunately, it didn’t occur. Disappointing.
But I did make a point to talk to @pcrowe directly, AND now I know what Harth TV is. Then there was another rumour that me and @SachaSayan were fighting too… well, no fisticuffs occurred there either. Clearly social media plays way too much into little things and makes them seem giant. I’m glad I downplay everything.
Anyway back to the event… lots of delicious cheese, fantastic Steam Whistle beer and customized Dazzle.me Cookies!
The panel discussion was interesting too… did you know that between 10-50% of purchased group deals are never redeemed? An intriguing business opportunity came to mind. (Oh random thought, of the people who were there… who was that really hot blonde? I didn’t talk to her… I was too busy undressing her with my eyes to work up the confidence to say hi. Someone’s gotta know! Maybe that’s her in the picture below, to the left behind @KevGCallahan?)
My only complaint is for those assholes who in the back of the room were talking during the panel! I hope someone has a picture of them, or knows who they were as they really deserve to be called out for their shitty behaviour. When there are people talking with a mic in their hands, you shut your mouth. If you can’t, you don’t attend the event. Is that really so hard? Idiots.
Sign up with Dazzle.me and follow them on Twitter @dazzledotme!
Sidenote: Am I getting more attractive or is that the Val effect? Also, can you tell we have interesting things to say to each other? @JReyzor what are you looking at?
I see people blogging all the time about how blogs are doing great, or dying. All of these posts are, frankly, stupid. They deal with a symptom and not the cause. Then the other kind of posts you see is “How to be a good blogger”, which is more vomit spewed onto a keyboard and words magically appear. Often I read these blogs and wonder how so many don’t have the common sense to just know these things. Reply to comments? Are we really that oblivious?
The reality to all these silly motivational “You Can Do it!” posts and questions about the life or death of blogs can be answered very simply – Not everyone is suited to be a blogger. Oh quiet Zach, don’t be such a wet blanket. Too bad. The reality is many people start a blog for the wrong reasons. People considering a blog will find all sorts of cheerleading online, but they don’t find the real answers — do they have what it takes to be a ‘good’ (and I know that’s subjective to every person, but believe me, I know what’s good and what’s bad,) blogger. (Exception: Doing it not to really have a blog, but just to rank higher in search engines.)
1. You have no opinions.
Most bloggers should instantly disqualify themselves from blogging on this point alone. I see way too many people writing blog posts with no opinion. A blog is inherently self-centered, if you have the balls to think that people are going to care about what you have to say then you better say something! If you are afraid to say I like X and dislike Y, just hang up your keyboard before you start.
2. You post a bunch of pictures and nothing else.
This phlog phenomenon is awful. There are almost no interesting phlogs. You’re a photographer? Tell a story! Cool picture, but what’s the point? If I decide to visit your site, keep me there by telling an interesting story about it. If you’re going to phlog because you have an iPhone and instagram… stop right now. We don’t need the nonsense.
3. You tell me about your day, every day.
Dear Blog Readers, today I woke up and took a shower. Then I had breakfast. Then I went foodshopping. Then I came home. Then I blah blah blah. The hell is this?! There are few people who live such interesting lives that they can get away with constantly writing about their day. A hooker might have an interesting blog. An assassin for hire, that would be an interesting one. You cut grass and walk dogs? If your friends are bored by it, don’t post it online.
4. You don’t write often.
Tri-monthly you post some piece of junk that’s nothing. Literally nothing. Don’t start a blog. It’s not worth it. Let’s say one day you get a genius idea that ends up as a blog post… don’t post it. Instead offer it as a guest blogger for someone else! If it’s actually good I want to read it, but your trimonthly blog is not the place for it.
5. You have no personality.
Lots of blogs are consistent, they have words (what a concept), they have good ideas…. but they are terribly boring! Stephen Hawking has a better personality than some of these bloggers! If you can’t write with any kind of ability to tell a story or keep some interest, don’t! Attention span is short, your boring blogs shorten it.
6. You repeat content that’s been blogged to death, reanimated and then blogged to death again.
Sort of ironic because this post is kind of one of those repeats… but cmon people! Atleast give us something new. When I finished writing this I Googled it to see I was repeating anything. Yes there was a couple, but most are unique. Social media experts are the worst blog fornicators pumping out garbage repeats. If the blog isn’t going to be unique, abort it!
7. Your blogs are too long and have no breaks.
Damn those blogs drive me nuts when they are 2000 words with no breaks. You type and type and type and don’t provide an image to give my brain a break! After two paragraphs I’m done… and I have more patience then the average reader!
8. You can’t write a title to save your life.
I’ll give you a real example (slightly changed so you can’t Google it)…
First Sentence: “In a short survey I conducted, 130 girls answer a question about how many guys from Twitter they had slept with.”
Blog Title: “Girls on Twitter”
Talk about not capitalizing on something actually interesting! The person who wrote the article is lucky to have caught my attention even! Make your title stand out or it slips into oblivion.
9. You don’t read my blog.
You’ve taken the time to read this post and if I know you have, I’m going to be far more likely to want to read one of yours! But, really, my blog is pretty fantastic. You should subscribe! So read others blogs and others will read yours.
There are approximately 1 billion blogs, worldwide and 450,000,000 of them are English.. If you promise not to do any of the above 9, chances are you might be a good blogger! If you question your ability to do that, then don’t start a blog. Simple.
I see people blogging all the time about how blogs are doing great, or dying. All of these posts are, frankly, stupid. They deal with a symptom and not the cause. Then the other kind of posts you see is “How to be a good blogger”, which is more vomit spewed onto a keyboard and words magically appear. Often I read these blogs and wonder how so many don’t have the common sense to just know these things. Reply to comments? Are we really that oblivious?
The reality to all these silly motivational “You Can Do it!” posts and questions about the life or death of blogs can be answered very simply – Not everyone is suited to be a blogger. Oh quiet Zach, don’t be such a wet blanket. Too bad. The reality is many people start a blog for the wrong reasons. People considering a blog will find all sorts of cheerleading online, but they don’t find the real answers — do they have what it takes to be a ‘good’ (and I know that’s subjective to every person, but believe me, I know what’s good and what’s bad,) blogger. (Exception: Doing it not to really have a blog, but just to rank higher in search engines.)
1. You have no opinions.
Most bloggers should instantly disqualify themselves from blogging on this point alone. I see way too many people writing blog posts with no opinion. A blog is inherently self-centered, if you have the balls to think that people are going to care about what you have to say then you better say something! If you are afraid to say I like X and dislike Y, just hang up your keyboard before you start.
2. You post a bunch of pictures and nothing else.
This phlog phenomenon is awful. There are almost no interesting phlogs. You’re a photographer? Tell a story! Cool picture, but what’s the point? If I decide to visit your site, keep me there by telling an interesting story about it. If you’re going to phlog because you have an iPhone and instagram… stop right now. We don’t need the nonsense.
3. You tell me about your day, every day.
Dear Blog Readers, today I woke up and took a shower. Then I had breakfast. Then I went foodshopping. Then I came home. Then I blah blah blah. The hell is this?! There are few people who live such interesting lives that they can get away with constantly writing about their day. A hooker might have an interesting blog. An assassin for hire, that would be an interesting one. You cut grass and walk dogs? If your friends are bored by it, don’t post it online.
4. You don’t write often.
Tri-monthly you post some piece of junk that’s nothing. Literally nothing. Don’t start a blog. It’s not worth it. Let’s say one day you get a genius idea that ends up as a blog post… don’t post it. Instead offer it as a guest blogger for someone else! If it’s actually good I want to read it, but your trimonthly blog is not the place for it.
5. You have no personality.
Lots of blogs are consistent, they have words (what a concept), they have good ideas…. but they are terribly boring! Stephen Hawking has a better personality than some of these bloggers! If you can’t write with any kind of ability to tell a story or keep some interest, don’t! Attention span is short, your boring blogs shorten it.
6. You repeat content that’s been blogged to death, reanimated and then blogged to death again.
Sort of ironic because this post is kind of one of those repeats… but cmon people! Atleast give us something new. When I finished writing this I Googled it to see I was repeating anything. Yes there was a couple, but most are unique. Social media experts are the worst blog fornicators pumping out garbage repeats. If the blog isn’t going to be unique, abort it!
7. Your blogs are too long and have no breaks.
Damn those blogs drive me nuts when they are 2000 words with no breaks. You type and type and type and don’t provide an image to give my brain a break! After two paragraphs I’m done… and I have more patience then the average reader!
8. You can’t write a title to save your life.
I’ll give you a real example (slightly changed so you can’t Google it)…
First Sentence: “In a short survey I conducted, 130 girls answer a question about how many guys from Twitter they had slept with.”
Blog Title: “Girls on Twitter”
Talk about not capitalizing on something actually interesting! The person who wrote the article is lucky to have caught my attention even! Make your title stand out or it slips into oblivion.
9. You don’t read my blog.
You’ve taken the time to read this post and if I know you have, I’m going to be far more likely to want to read one of yours! But, really, my blog is pretty fantastic. You should subscribe! So read others blogs and others will read yours.
There are approximately 1 billion blogs, worldwide and 450,000,000 of them are English.. If you promise not to do any of the above 9, chances are you might be a good blogger! If you question your ability to do that, then don’t start a blog. Simple.