Blogging: What I Hope I Do Not Become

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I have been blogging for over 4 years, but I have evolved into one who doesn’t just blog to tell my family’s story into someone who blogs to tell the story of motherhood.  I felt it was important because I have some incites that mothers who only have young children do not have.  Plus I have experienced some things in motherhood that were scary going through it and I felt that maybe my words could be helpful to others if they could see someone who came out the other side better for having experienced it.  So that’s how Monica’s Mom Musings began.

I have been reading many blogs over the years.  And while most of the ones I come across I absolutely love there are ones that I read and seriously wonder how did they become so popular?  Everyone has their own tastes of course, but I began to think there are just some things I will not sacrifice about myself, my blog, or my writing just to draw in a larger crowd.

And I thought I would share it here with my readers.  Maybe as sort of a promise to you all, maybe as a way to keep myself accountable, or maybe as something that I look at and laugh at how naive I was way back in the day (although I’m really hoping this last one is not the case).

The Blogger I Do Not Want To Become

• One who is never ever happy with anything.  Sure, things happen and they stink, but the moment I stop finding the silver lining in everything that happens to me is the moment that I become the crotchety old lady.  Who wants to be that?
• One who thinks it’s funny to compare the side effect of a drug I am placed on to being a drug addict.  Seriously, if I ever try to compare a side effect to the life of a drug addict just take my blog away from me because I just don’t deserve to be blogging and insulting people who live with ailments on a day to day basis and implying that makes you appear to be a drug addict.
• One who swears like a sailor.  If I can’t make my point in writing without cursing like a sailor, then I shouldn’t be writing it.  Now don’t get me wrong, I am not the cursing police or anything here.  I swear from time to time, but if every other word is F*** this and B**** that, then it just comes off as a temper tantrum and trashy.  The way I look at it is like this.  If you are using your blog to make money especially, then you want to maintain a certain degree of professionalism.  If in an area that you are supposed to be on your best most professional behavior you are constantly swearing, then I begin to wonder what you’re like outside of this professional setting.  And unless you are going for trashy and that’s who you want to sell yourself as, then in my eyes this just does not bode well.
• One who is not true to herself.  I will not sell myself out for a free product.  I will try things out, but I will give my most honest opinion of it.  No cookie cutter reviews of things.  Along these same lines if I did something in my past that I look back on and think better of, then I will tell you.  For example, I chose to formula feed my oldest.  I had my reasons, it was the right choice for us at that time, but since then I have become a strong believer in at least trying to breastfeed.  I will not tell you grandiose stories about why I couldn’t breastfeed my child or tell you several different times when I stopped breastfeeding one.  I stand behind my choice to use formula and if I had it to do all over again I would, but I am nothing if I’m not honest and true across the board about my opinions and experiences.
• One who doesn’t give you her best every time.  I guess we all have times where we just can’t think of anything else to write about.  There are only so many topics out there, but I always try to put my best foot forward.  I know sometimes typos go unnoticed, but the moment I am just throwing together 200 word blog posts that have no meat to them and have numerous typos is the moment I think it’s time to either hang up my blogging hat or take a serious look at what I am doing here.  I have a few posts a week which are purposefully short (Menu Plan Sunday and Where Were You Wednesday), but other than those which are designed to be short and sweet I hope to never put forth anything that does not appear to have taken some effort, thought, and proof reading on my part to publish.
• One who would use a tabloid like article as my only source in proving my point.  Getting all of your information from a biased site simply adds to the spreading of rumors.  If I can’t take the time to thoroughly research a topic before I talk about it, then I shouldn’t be talking about it.  And along those lines I think I should always provide my source.  I read this article, but then don’t link to it is kind of unfair because then people don’t get to look and see if they would get something different out of it.
• One who spreads misinformation and does not correct it when someone points out my mistake.  Hey, mistakes happen.  I know no one is perfect and maybe I’ll get something incorrect or misread something.  If I’m proven wrong and rightfully so, then I should make the appropriate corrections.  Not laugh it off and say well that hasn’t been my experience.  What kind of trust would I build with my readers if I gave out wrong information and then had too much pride to correct myself?
• One who will not allow for differing opinions or discussions on a topic.  Nothing bothers me more than a blogger who will ban you just because she doesn’t like the way you state your opinion on something.  Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be called names or any of my other readers to be called names, but I do think most of us are capable of having an adult conversation and I think we can only learn from others opinions.  If you have a blog full of “yes men” comments, then are you really in it for frank and open discussion or are you just interested in getting high fives about everything you say?  I think in most cases we might be able to learn a thing or two from other people.  At the very least I would like to think that I am secure enough in my own opinions that someone disagreeing with me wouldn’t hurt me in any way.  If it turns someone else, then so be it.  I guess my argument just wasn’t strong enough to sway them to my side.

I don’t care how popular doing any and all of this stuff would make me.  I will not sell my soul to the blogging devil to gain popularity.  Maybe that makes me foolish, I don’t know, but blogging is just not worth it if I lose who I am.

What won’t you do as a blogger to gain popularity?

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