I have to say that I was not looking forward to X, not at
all. It is probably the letter I have worried
about the most during the challenge. My
usual fall back plan of googling “words that begin with” didn’t yield great
results. I just can’t see myself writing
a post on Xanax or xylophones, or even x-rays (though I’m sure I’ve had more
than my fair share). Then inspiration struck when I was visiting this blog, and
read the Q post. Yes, I realize it’s a
bit of stretch to get an idea for X from a Q post, but here’s what happened.
I was tossing around the idea of X-rated posts as my topic,
not in a dirty way (minds out of the gutter please), but in a “what makes you
uncomfortable” kind of way. I’m sure
we’ve all seen a lot of different blogs, in a lot of different styles this
month. Some of the posts have encouraged
further perusal of the blog, some have had me looking for the “follow” button
as fast as I can, some have really made my day.
Then there are The Others; the ones that have had me clicking the X in
the top right corner like a madwoman, the ones that have me feel like I need a
shower, the ones that have made me feel like I overheard a conversation I
really wasn’t meant to hear, and the ones that have just annoyed me in
general.
Don’t get me wrong; I really, really look forward to
clicking on different blogs every day.
The vast majority have at least been a look at something from a slightly
different perspective, or a new fun fact; something positive. So I decided to try and figure out what it
was that made me decide I would NOT be coming back to certain blogs, and here’s
what I came up with:
Too much personal information – yes, we’re all sharing a lot
about ourselves with a lot of people, but for me there are limits. Hearing about your struggle with infertility
is one thing, detailed posts about the state of your cervical mucus is quite another. I also do not feel the need to know if you
post naked or not. I don’t consider
myself a prude, that’s just not in the need to know category. Bodily functions are also another topic that
will send me clicking away from a blog in a hurry.
Language – yes, there are times when only a four letter word will
do, and I’m no stranger to them, but when the post has more words I wouldn’t be
comfortable using in front of my mom or my boss, I’m not inclined to keep
reading.
Tone – this is a much more subtle one, but if a blog’s main
intent seems to be to educate the illiterate masses (i.e. those of us who
aren’t the author of said blog), or to preach a religious doctrine, or to
promote a political ideal I tend not to come back.
Now for the fun part and the part that was really inspired
by the blog I mentioned earlier, what are the things that you consider
“x-rated”, that make you uncomfortable, or very unlikely to return to a blog?
I tend to avoid the blogs that want to teach me how to write, that are all about kids and family life, religion, politics, fantasy....wow....I could go on apparently.
ReplyDeletefoul language is a turn off for me too. Also, sarcasm or bitter rantings. I prefer to be uplifted or encouraged or just made to laugh. Good post.
ReplyDeletei am just looking for all types--but don't want to read x rated ones for sure--but i don't mind being taught or educated as long it is interestingly done--xcellent post
ReplyDeleteThis is the best post I've read all week. I'm so glad I clicked on it.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for that pesky letter X
Definitely the best "X" I've read. I suppose since they pretty much let anyone have a blog these days (and almost everyone does), there is something out there for everyone. Some people might be interested in mucous, not I, but you never know. I just like people to be authentic. Even if someone says something in a blog that turns me off, I do have to respect if they are really going there and saying what's on their mind. Good post!
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent blog you linked to! (Thanks by the way, that was a lovely surprise when I clicked on it!)
ReplyDeleteThere's not much that will make me uncomfortable when reading someone's blog (though descriptions of cervical mucus would probably make me squirm). I agree with your point about the tone of a blog though - I don't mind being educated about something, but not in a way that makes me feel patronised. I like it when you find someone who just wants to educate you about something because he/she finds the topic so damn interesting themselves that they would probably have exploded had they not written a post about it ('enthusiastically nerdy' I like to call it).
I'm also quite impatient when it comes to how a blog looks. I don't mind people personalising their blog (things would be pretty boring if they all looked the same), but if I have to fight my way past too many flashy adverts or clicky links in order to get to the blog post, I lose interest very quickly.
Interesting post! But now I'm worried about my own blog... a lot of what I've been writing is related to what I teach, so I hope I haven't been committing the crime of annoying tone! I haven't been thinking about that at all! But it's a good thing to keep in mind I guess!
ReplyDeleteI post about my life. I try to be somewhat classy and yet funny at the same time. I dislike reading blogs by people who don't have a filter. It's hard to explain but if I get grossed out and think to myself "why would she talk about her husband shaving himself in THAT place" or if someone says something humiliating about a family member that would hurt their feelings if they saw it, I'm out. Also if the commenters are rude to each other.
ReplyDelete