Someone called my blog boring!

[PavlovtheCat]

He said that I had some quite good things to say, but it was a dull read. that maybe I should add some video or photos or decent links to make it more interesting, less boring and keep people returning.

I know it is, and have not posted much last couple of weeks as I think I am too boring, so this just makes me feel even more and crap at it!

[katese11]

What made me laugh about that comment is how it cites Yahoo! News as something to aspire to....

[katese11]

feels slightly smug but happy for Pavlov

I've had that same comment, which is why I thought it might be sp@m. Glad it's all cleared up and you can get your blogging mojo back :D

[PavlovtheCat]

thanks Tee! I feel happier now I know it is spam that's for sure.

[TeeElfOnTeeShelf]

Mark it as SPAM and move on! Filters aren't infallible.

And I still don't think your blog is boring.

[MmeGuillotine]

Hurray! Glad that I could help! :)

[PavlovtheCat]

BOF yup! but it brought some the naysayers out from the woodwork though...!

[BOFingSanta]

So we've all been getting irate about a bit of spam?

I didn't know anything about how bloggers get spammed (still not sure why, to be honest), but I was most amused recently when I commented positively on a blogpost along the lines of "great blog, really interesting, thanks", only to see a really snotty reply from the blogger saying "I am going to allow this comment to stand for now, but it looks suspiciously similar to a spamming account" . I thought "Oh how gracious of you "...Twat.

[PavlovtheCat]

mme yes, that is exactly it! Why didn't it show up in my spam box then? phew. So, while my blog might be boring no-one has in fact told me so

thanks for posting !

[MmeGuillotine]

Pavlov, was your comment something like this:

'I think everything published made a lot of sense. However, what about this? suppose you added a little information? I mean, I don?t want to tell you how to run your website, but suppose you added something that grabbed a person?s attention? I mean Madame Guillotine | Blood Sisters is kinda boring. You could peek at Yahoo?s front page and watch how they create news titles to grab people to click. You might add a related video or a pic or two to get readers interested about what you?ve written. Just my opinion, it could make your blog a little livelier.'

Because I have about six of them in my blog's spam filter. ;)

[Thisisaeuphemism]

The nebulous, A friend is a highly regarded writer and when she got just one bad review on amazon, she was devastated. She got over it of course within a few days, but yes it hurt. Why wouldn't it?

Pavlov, I like your thoughtful blog too and have same Wordpress layout. I'm not going to use pics or videos because that's not what it's about. Not everyone is gonna love it but so what...meh to them.

[PavlovtheCat]

delta thank you, and the same to those who have said lovely things.

As I have said before, I am not shy of criticism, and have myself asked for a full critique of my blog to help develop it, I sought opinions, in particular ones that were what could be improved, and the feedback I got was very useful and I implemented some changes because of it and try to do things differently in some areas. But, suggestions were clear, 'this might not work so well for this reason, maybe you could think about changing it this way to get this effect'

Being told something is boring, actually saying those things, well, why would I just brush it off? I have feelings. But, I so know not to take it too much t heart now, especially as d I am putting it into perspective relating to number of followers and clicks.

tee that is true actually, there a several blogs I pop back to from time to time or stumble upon again and enjoy reading but don't 'follow'.

[PavlovtheCat]

nebulus well. I guess that I haven't developed a thick skin yet. And it's not the same as a private diary, as how wild I get to learn about the new surgical routes I had nt considered, or some helpful suggestions of how to cope with medication wide effects, or be able to help someone else have the courage to revisit her gp for more investigations after being told they can't do anything.

Like another poster earlier, part of my reason for blogging was an extension of MN. I have had some absolutely amazing advice and guidance about spinal conditions and have gone from knowing nothing and accepting a fate of drugs and pain forever, to becoming a master of my own condition, and taking control of my treatment, and I think I do have a lot to say about it. I felt that I was banging on a bit too much on MN and losing track of the advice and support, information I was learning and how my condition was progressing. So, yes, the blog is a diary (clue's I the name, 'weblog') but one that I want others to access.

This thread is actually excellent, as it is helping me explore what I am doing, why and how, so thanks!

And, no I am nt 100% convinced it was not spam, but it was not in spam folder. He did not have a blog attached to his 'avatar' that I could see.

[OatyBeatie]

I have only blogged a few times, and I had a fit of the horrors recently when I had a rather negative comment about something I wrote. I actually deleted my post because I became mortified at the thought that it just wasn't good enough. That made me feel a heel and I haven't bounced back yet to the point where I feel like posting again.

It wasn't an abusive post but it was just rather brusquely uncomplimentary. Part of the problem is that once you put your writing up into the public domain, people treat it as ripe for a different tone of response: you tend to respond with more callous honesty when assessing something "out there" and published than you would to a friend's writing. It is important to be ready for that changed status. I'm not sure that I am!

[MmeGuillotine]

I always ask the negative commenters to give me a link to their blogs as clearly I have SO much to learn from them. Funnily enough, they never have one...

[DeltaUniformDeltaEcho]

Very late to the party as ever Pavlov but just wanted to say I love your blog :)

I got my first bad comments a few days ago and it really shook me to be honest (I'm entitled benefit scum who will teach my children to be the same was the general tone)

But after a while, I realised they don't know me. They don't see how our situation has led me to feel stigmatised which is why I rarely share it with RL friends etc. Don't let this one guy get to you.

I mean, who actually takes the time to say you're boring them? Did he happen to offer up any of his own blinding examples of enthralling text?

[WithTheDude]

I delete MRAs. I can not adequately explain how much pleasure I get out of deleting posts by MRAs. It is just the best feeling.

[TheNebulousBoojum]

I'm not meaning to sound critical, I'm genuinely puzzled by the OP's response.

[TheNebulousBoojum]

'If you were to put a lot of effort into something and someone called it dull or boring, wouldn't you be upset by it?'

I'm a teacher, it happens all the time and my response is always to say that I welcome suggestions for improvement and I mean it genuinely. So saying something is boring needs to be qualified It is boring because... and to improve it I need to.....
The children in school get this continuously, as do staff. Which is why the idea that constructive criticism is something nasty to be ignored is a difficult one for me to understand. If I felt like that, I wouldn't blog, I'd keep a diary as I said.

[MmeLindor]

Pavlov's critic said her blog was a dull read, no it was also about the content.

And of course it hurts when someone says that.

I don't blog for me. I blog for my readers. I have lots to say and hope that some people will find it interesting. I spend quite some time researching what I am writing about, hence I post just a couple of times a week and not daily.

If you were to put a lot of effort into something and someone called it dull or boring, wouldn't you be upset by it?

At the same time, I do think that receiving critique is part of blogging. Tanya Byron said at the Blogfest, 'If you can't hack it, don't blog it', which I agree with.

Particularly those who write about their lives can find it difficult to accept critique because it feels very personal. I write more about politics so disagreement is less hurtful.

[TeeElfOnTeeShelf]

I have mine set up so first comment has to be approved. After that its automatic.

[TheNebulousBoojum]

I only read blogs if they are on a subject that interests me. Including history.
But I agree with those that are saying that blogging is done to benefit the writer for the most part, and I'm a bit puzzled as to why you would blog if you are upset by criticism of the content. You are writing for an audience when you blog, and some of them may be judgemental.
Why wouldn't keeping a diary, a la Pepys fulfill the same function for you?
What is it about a blog that anyone can read, as opposed to writing down the details and your thoughts and ideas in a private book for yourself?
Blogs, like Christmas round Robin letters can be very tedious to a reader, which is why I'm selective.
The critic in the OP may have thought he was being helpful in suggesting ways that he would improve it with links and images, rather than being rude about the actual content.

[MmeLindor]

She only publishes if you agree? I hate that.

I used to moderate comments to weed out abusive ones, but learned recently that if you do this then you are in effect 'publishing' the comment and thus liable if the person has libeled someone.

I don't get many abusive comments, so decided to let all go on unmoderated.

I do moderate Jump! Mag comments, cause they are young girls and often include their full names or other identifying details.

[DillyTante]

Well exotic you have already told us that most bloggers are boring so that isn't strictly true.

[exoticfruits]

It is very rare that anyone tells me that I am remotely interesting on MN - I get quite overcome when they do!
No of course I wouldn't tell a blogger they were boring- it would be most rude- I merely click off after about sentence 3.
I have one that I read where I get moved to comment - politely- but she is strictly controlling and only publishes me if I agree!

[TeeElfOnTeeShelf]

Pavlov I just saw what you said about followers. People may not be using the follow option on your blog but still reading it. I almost never follow blogs in that manner, but I add them to my RSS reader.

I think that's especially true of 'old school' blog readers like myself. The follow thing is relatively new and it never occurs to me to use it and I've been reading blogs for years.