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Not having a phone for over a week got me thinking about the place of social media - especially blogging within a bloggers life. Many may not agree with this post but I felt it important to share my views and just get my rant out of my system. This week life has been up in the air with an impromptu visit from the mother in law and Joe having extra time off - so for me blogging, twitter and etsy goes on the back-burner (ebay doesn't because that's where I gain my income from). And this I don't mind - i'd rather be spending my time with my husband, family and friends rather then constantly blogging and tweeting - for me it's great to have that time away and be able to back off.
Now the issue - for my rant steams from when people can't back off from blogs and social media and the line behinds to blur so they constantly say sorry for having a life, doing things and not blogging for three days or they haven't blogged three posts within a day. It might be Christmas Day but people still need to blog, they still feel the need to rant on Christmas Day how a certain advertising button application isn't working - It's Christmas day does it really matter? Granted I sent the occasional tweet on Christmas Day but I certainly didn't blog or read any blogs - I didn't even turn the computer on. I know and I do back off at important times.
Maybe it's because the reason for the mother-in-laws visit up to Michigan was for a funeral and it got me thinking. I'd rather be spending time with those important to me then feeling the constant need to be virtually updating my life. Don't get me wrong I love blogging and I'm really chuffed to have the followers and readers I do - but I additionally hope they realize blogging isn't my life. Life comes first.
I completely agree with your rant. There is so much pressure to get a post out every day that is meaningful and original and etc etc...but life really does come first. I'm sick right now so I didn't get to respond to my comments from my last two posts and it should be perfectly okay because yes life does come first. You cannot be attached to the computer, 24/7. It's not healthy. Rant away, dear! I'm sorry to hear about the loss I'm assuming was in Joe's family.
ReplyDeleteYeah the death was a distant relation but a loss all the same. I hope you feel better soon the last thing I want to do when i'm sick is stare at a screen!
DeleteI completely agree, that's why I refuse to post on a set schedule. If something comes up, I don't want to feel like I owe a group of people a blog post. It's a hobby that I like to do and not because I feel pressured to.
ReplyDeletexx
Just how I feel! I think if you feel the pressure to always be blogging then the enjoyment goes out of it.
DeleteRachael I could not agree more, in fact I have thought in passing about so many of the things you have mentioned. Blogging is for pleasure after all, it isn't a job for most of us and for me is totally unpaid - I'm yet to share a sponsored post and I'm really very proud of that although perhaps I'll change that in the future, who knows?! But for now I treat my blog as a little space to share whatever I feel like sharing, whenever I feel like sharing it. I do enjoy reading blogs from bloggers who post more frequently and who are perhaps more money-driven but I think it can go too far. There's one blog in particular that I have always enjoyed until recently when sponsored posts seem to crop up every other post and so much emphasis has been placed upon selling sidebar space. No wonder some bloggers feel they 'must' post/tweet/instagram so often - I'd imagine they feel that they must bring in eyeballs for their advertisers/sponsors etc.
ReplyDeleteBut then - having said all the above - I'm very much of the opinion that you have to find whatever works for you individually! I personally think you seem to have struck a lovely balance with LOTS, you're a frequent blogger but it is very much just part of your life rather than 'THE MOST IMPORTANT THING' and that seems healthy to me :-)
Jem xXx
Agreed - there's a couple of blogs I've stopped reading lately because it's a sponsored post every other day. Don't get me wrong I don't mind a sponsored post and I've done a couple myself, but when it's those posts constantly it gets too much.
DeleteYeah busy being with work stuff has put a lot of perspective back into blogging it should be a hobby not a way of life!
Well said! I always feel a bit bad when I miss a few days or a week on my blog because of real life - but then I think, it doesn't matter. Uni and family and friends are more important at the end of the day! It's good to step back and reassess every now and then, I think.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the loss of Joe's relative(?), hope everyone is okay.
Jesss xo
I couldn't agree more. I tried to get my blog ready with guest posts before I had my baby and then moved, but it just didn't work out. I was too tired and busy to even do that! So for weeks the blog stood silent, and I couldn't have cared less because I was off living life with my family and new baby. When I finally felt ready to come back, it was fine. The internet survived without me somehow ;-)
ReplyDeleteGreat post, well said. Even though I only have a new(ish) blog I find my life being taken over by it, or the need to constantly tweet, take photo's, upload them etc, it's all got a bit out of hand!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the follow by the way, I'm now following you back and look forward to getting to know you more :)
Lyndsay ♡
Fizzy Peaches
Totally, totally agree. I don't an apology for not posting for a while us necessary (although I go think I'm guilty of doing that!).
ReplyDeleteIt's all about balance and doing it for fun, otherwise it becomes just another thing on your to-do list.
It can be really hard to balance both life and blogging !
ReplyDeleteAlthough blogging is fun i would hate for it to take over my life completely
Its refreshing to see a post about it :)
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