I keep reading many blogs but I rarely comment as I have to log into wordpress or blogger accounts every time I read something in order to comment. I read whenever I can squeeze in few minutes in between work. I usually leave an instant comment if your blog allows anonymous comments or does not require me to login. I usually login on a particular day and leave comments on the blogs which I liked reading from past few days. Yeah this is how I comment these days because of busy schedule.
I came across many new blogs recently and I liked some, while some I did not like. So here is a list of the kinds of articles that make me not read that blog. Usually I skip reading articles like these on most blogs. Sometimes I wonder why other people still like to read these articles.
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Sponsored posts like every other day
I understand that you want to make money using your blog. But just think about your readers. We read your blog because we like what you write. I click on a link to some article on your blog thinking you have written a new post, only to be disappointed that it is a sponsored post after reading it. And you share sponsored posts as if you have already tried and tested that website or product to which you are linking. Making money is fine, but at the cost of your readers’ time? No.
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This trip was sponsored by blah blah but the opinions are completely mine.
This is the most absurd line I see in a post. You read a travel post believing in everything that person has written, only to realize that he/she was paid to do that. How genuine can the article be? How can this person have an opinion of his/her own, when he/she was paid/given a free trip to write that article? They are obliged to write only nice things about the trip. Also I feel such posts are useless in planning a trip, as the person got a free stay in a costly hotel which we can never afford.
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I got this product for review from blah blah but the opinions are completely mine.
This is exactly like the above point. Reviewing a product which somebody got for free is meaningless. How can we even trust that review? And why would we trust the review?
Source: Here -
Review of an obscure book which was reviewed only because the blogger got a free copy of it.
Some new author wrote a book and gave you a free copy of it. You reviewed that book because you got a copy. And since you got a copy, you cannot say that the book was pathetic. So you use flowery words and try to say that the book is worth buying. You are actually fooling genuine readers into splurging their money on a book not worth buying. And why would I want to buy some book that I have never heard of before, just because you wrote a nice review for it?
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Daily activities
Some people write posts that sound like this – “I woke up today morning and then brushed my teeth. I forgot to bring a new toothpaste and the one at home is almost empty. I should enter this into my shopping list. I am planning to go to the supermarket tomorrow evening.” I am not interested in knowing every single detail about how your day went. Writing about some important or memorable events is fine.
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Obfuscated diction of confabulation
Yes! you got me right. These people hold a masters degree in English and try to showcase that on the blog. Just look at the books written by some of the popular authors. They usually write in simple English. You don’t need a dictionary to read J.K. Rowling’s books.
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Posting for contests
Participating in blogging contests is fine, as long as it is done once in a while. If you keep posting them every single day, readers will get annoyed. As most of these contests involve promotion, adding a link to some product page or reviewing some product etc.
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Sad and heartbroken poems
I am sure you had a heartbreak and just came out a terrible relationship. But posting sad poems will not help you, nor help the readers. So please cheer up!
So these are the ones that I could come up with. Are there any other kind of posts that annoy you?
One of the best posts I have ever read. I am with you on all 8 reasons you gave for disliking a post. Item 6 and 8 are always combined. I don’t understand the meaning of most of the poems.
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Even I see #6 and #8 together often and I cannot understand the meaning. A friend used to write such posts and force me to read it.
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OMG Ash. I could just copy this post and put it on my blog. I am with you. I dislike some of these posts, but I absolutely hate reading the rest of post types. I would also add TMI posts to my list. I just CANT READ about others personal or intimate stuff. LOL on 5. 🙂
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Oh yeah same here. Even I cannot read TMI posts. That’s one kind of posts that I missed in my list.
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I too don’t like such posts. There is one more category I don’t like: Daily blogging challenges. In the name of having to write something daily, they often don’t have a clue about what to write, and write the first thing that comes to their mind after opening their blog editor! Some posts maybe interesting, but it’s difficult to be consistent.
Destination Infinity
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How did I miss Daily blogging challenges! They should have topped my list. Most of them write for the sake of writing, without quality content.
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😀
I think most of us do this. But you wrote about it! 😀
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Glad to know that many people dislike such posts. 🙂
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I have to agree to all the points you have mentioned here, Ash. I have quit following a few blogs, because of this very reason.. Sometimes even my posts are a little sad and all, but I take the liberty of being personal, and genuine as much as possible, without gaining sympathy, whereas some poems out there are like perpetually sad… 😦
and I love the idea of people making money out of bloggin and writing sponsered posts, but every single post needn’t be commercial.. SOmehow, I love people whose blogs are personal.. and not commercial!!
I think I’ll do a post like this too! 🙂 🙂 great idea!
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Yes Mi, even my posts are sometimes sad but sad poems are something I can never read.
Same here. I like personal blogs too or even blogs that help me learn a thing or two are okay too.
You should write a post. 🙂
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haha….so enjoyable and agree to everything you said…I have stopped reading a few blogs because most of the time they are advertising something…..
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Yes these days most blogs are advertising something to win a contest or to make money. It was good in those old days when people blogged because they liked to write.
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ha ha ha ha ha….your post echoes my thoughts….in fact couple of hours back only I published it 😀
Loved the post!
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I read your post too Smita before I saw this comment. Loved your post too. You wrote everything that I have been wanting to say.
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you know my thoughts on this don’t you?! 😀
lol!
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Of course I do Pixie. You are one of the very few good bloggers left these days.
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Yes to all of that, plus lists. Write it on a piece of paper. I don’t need to see it on your blog. If it’s worth writing about it’s worth elaborating on.
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Agree about the lists. Lists with some explanation would at least make sense. Thanks for visiting my blog. 🙂
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And it was only yesterday that I was regretting missing the chance to get a free speaker coz I missed Indiblogger’s mail 😛 😛
Well, I myself am guilty of committing few of the above given list – But I make sure to mention it at the top before penning the blog down
Anyways, noting down all the points 😛
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Haha Harsh. I don’t see any of these on your blog. Blogging for a contest once in a while is okay I guess. Even I am guilty of doing that. But on some blogs, I only see contest related posts. It’s like they have a blog just to participate in contests.
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That certainly holds true but not everyone is going to write what others want to read.
They have thier own motives to publish such posts and yes there is a choice to whether one should read it or just pass along.
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I agree with you. Not everyone writes to be read. I guess many people use blogs as a source of income or for other purposes.
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Haha. Totally loved this post :-), though I’m wondering if I’m guilty of a few things myself. I honestly think I’m not 😉
Sometimes, reviews after reviews makes me lose interest in a blog.
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I don’t think I have seen any of these posts on your blog, Ashwini. 🙂 Same here, only reviews on a blog make me lose interest too.
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#5, ‘the dear diary, this is what I did today’ is something that I just don’t understand!! Except your own mom maybe, who could possibly want to read that!!!
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Thanks for reading my post Roshni. Even I can’t understand why such posts cannot be written on a diary, instead of having a blog for it.
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