Irritating Blogging Habits

I've been skimming through some random and some not-so-random blogs and have decided there are a few things that irritate me about how some people blog.

1. Never post important information that you should be actually telling people.

If you're going to post about a personal crisis/major event that your family and friends should know about, you should also be telling them yourself. I know someone who did this not too long ago and it seemed like taking the easy way out. Just letting people find out about a major problem you're having by reading a blog may take some of the pressure off of getting the word out, but it's so emo. I almost felt disrespected. Wait, did I just do the same thing?

2. The fewer casual names you mention, the better.

Talking about a weekend with Kaitlyn, Sandy, Dave, Matt, and Ryan is fine but hard to read when I have no idea who those people are. And when I read random blogs I like to know what people are thinking, but I don't care so much to spend the time to learn who all those stupid people actually are. Refer to them as "a bunch of us" or "some of my friends" or "my best friend" etc. Besides, the little things people post about Kaitlyn, Sandy, Dave, Matt, and Ryan is usually trivial. Which leads me to my next point.

3. Don't post drama.

I hate the word "drama." Anyway, no one cares about what a back-stabbing bitch Cassie was or what Tiffany said about Tyler's new coat, and whether or not he really does look gay in it. You (the author) won't remember about this "issue" a week from now, so don't even bother posting it. And it tends to lead into the first annoying habit I mentioned.

4. Don't post about how, like, totally awesome that concert was.

I have yet to read a concert review that said anything worth reading. It's kind of like studying abroad and coming home to tell everyone you know about what it was like, only to find that no one cares nearly as much as you do.

5. Commercial blogging needs to stop.

I recently ran into a blog that was basically a commercial you choose to watch for a prescription drug. I've also seen them about small clinics (plastic surgeons and the like). Blogs are for thoughts, websites are for everything else, including advertising. Besides, I can't imagine how it must feel to tell a client "If you need more information, you should check out our blog..." I think not.

6. Travel blogging.

Keeping a blog of your months-long stay in a foreign country is an awesome idea, but not many travel blogs are very interesting. Captions for pictures are a must, and if you mention the pub you visited or the ancient town you stopped in, talk about them. Cultural differences, local history, interesting characters you've met. Give thoughtful reviews of the places you ate at. And don't mention how little time you have left to spend there or how badly you're going to miss it.

7. Posting poetry and novels.

Ehn, in general, these are boring. By all means, write till you're blue in the face, but I don't search through random blogs looking for something that's going to take me 4 hours to read. I have run across some really great stuff, but the vast majority of it just doesn't spark my interest. Also, there are special websites set up for posting just poetry and creative writing (for example, poemhunter.com). Put your work there so that people more interested in it can find and appreciate it.

8. Movie reviews.

My only problem with these blogs is that there are so many of them. Everyone's a critic....wow that was bad...

My favorite kinds of blogs are not about day-to-day life, they're about what's going on in peoples' heads or they're about something the author is passionate about. They're better becaues they've actually got thought behind them, and that's what makes a blog worth writing and reading.