i like your blog, oh hang on, no i don’t

I’ve been doing this blogging gig for coming up to seven years this year – some days I wish it was all on this blog, other times I thank the Goddess it’s not! – and I’ve come to realise some things I like about blogging, and bloggers. Others, meh, not so much.

Here’s some things I’ve learnt – or is it learned? – about blogging, and some things that annoy the shit out of me about my blog and others blogs.

Word verification does not protect you from spam. It cuts it down, but annoying spamming people will still invade your space.

• Gary, Matthew, Tonja, John, Brian and Darren… You are all one thing I don’t like about blogging. Spammers. Your spam emails make me want to delete my contact page. I couldn’t give a rats arse about anything you have to send me. Maybe if it had relevance to, oh I don’t know, the country I live in, I just might. But it doesn’t. Stop fucking emailing me!
• If you don’t have some kind of spam protection installed, instal it. If you get lots of spam it will cut it down. You may even be lucky and have it all go to spam heaven automatically!

Mobile people! Peeps read blogs on mobile devices.

• If you run a blog on WordPress, install a mobile widget so people can navigate about your blog without having to resize the page – Blogger does it automatically. I haven’t been mobile browsing for long. But as soon as I realised how damn annoying blogs were to look at on a mobile, I installed a mobile widget so peeps could read mine no worries on their mobile.
• If you haven’t got a mobile widget installed, get one!

Check the size of your pics before you click publish.

• Have you ever visited a blog that time after time their pictures and photo’s are too big for the column their post is in? I have, and it annoys the crap out of me. So much so I end up not going there any more.
• Firstly it’s annoying. Secondly if you are on a slow connection it takes forever to load.
• If you don’t preview your post before you publish a post with pictures. Start doing it!

Paragraphs were invented for a reason.

• If you are going to blog, use paragraphs. You might be surprised how much your readership will slowly rise. A block of text with no breaks is hard to read properly. Even if you can write the most awesome of posts, if you haven’t used paragraphs nobody is going to want to keep reading. Having no paragraphs are doing your prospective readerships head in!
• If you don’t use paragraphs, now’s the time to start! #1 mistake of blogging, no paragraphs!

Who are you, and who the hell is Boris?

• I get pseudonyms. I totally do - obviously. But if I’m going to read about you, I want to know who you are. A bit of background to the person on the blog. If I’m sitting here scratching my head about this character you continually call, oh I don’t know, “Boris” through your blog, I want to know who the hell Boris is. He could be a cow. Your son. Or your Husband. Or your bit on the side! Your readers have no clue unless you introduce the peeps you commonly talk about.
• Create your “About” page. You’ll be surprised how much that bugger gets read!

Install a navigational expert.

• Something I love about blogs, is “Tags” and “Categories”. You can find them at the bottom and/or top of a blog post. They make it easy for one to jump around your blog to check out other posts of yours without having to go back page by page. Personally I’m not fussed on the generic “Archive” menu’s, hence why I just have the post calendar – I love calendars. Best things ever invented from paper… except toilet paper of course. That’s a necessity. -  on my sidebar and some categories listed as well. Apart from them, go for a jump around my blog via the tags and categories included with a post!
• Navigational experts of some description are a must. Make sure you name them something relevant to what they are connected to!

Housekeeping is good for the soul.

• I imagine you don’t like to live in a messy house. I also imagine you may hate cleaning it as much as I hate cleaning my own. But every now and then, just like your house, your blog needs a sweep and a dust. Every couple of months look at the crap that has accumulated on your sidebar. If it’s not being used, if the ads aren’t doing jack shit for your hip pocket. Hoy them. Your blog space is precious, that mess is taking up your space.
• Make a point of doing some housekeeping every now and then.

You’re not a robot.

• Something that I see time and time and time again is robot bloggers. You have a mind, you have a personality. Use them both. I don’t want to read a post written with no personality. I don’t want to read every day how perfect your life is. Nobody’s life is perfect, we all have days, sometimes even months, that suck big hairy dogs balls. Be human, tell it how it is.
• I know blogs are only a speck of life, but man, show you are a human not a robot.

Don’t be a tight arse. Share the bloggy love.

• The Australian blogoshere is getting bigger by the day. Back when I first started blogging it was hard to find many Aussie’s that blogged. Now there are tonnes! You are not the only Australian blogger on the interwebz.
• If you like a post by another blogger, share the love and share the link!

There isn’t a right or wrong way to blog. Blog however you want. This is just my own personal opinion on things that annoy me and things I have learnt – leaned? – since I’ve been swimming around in the Aussie blogosphere.

Tell me, what have you learnt – learned – about blogging since you started?

And if you don’t blog, tell me what you love or hate about blogs.

P.S. I’m getting back to my blog roll make-over project – yes I know slack arse, it should have been finished ages ago – If you’d like your blog link to be added, just email me a pic of your favourite mug and I’ll add you. cindersATsaturdaymorningogremumDOTcom Once it’s all finished replace my outdated I heart Bloggers page.

Tagged as: aussie blogosphere, the mind bloggles, whinegelina