Wednesday, March 5, 2008

WFMW Backwards Edition: Blogging Questions


It's a Backwards Edition today at Rocks in My Dryer, that means I get to ask for your input and advice.

I didn't expect to enjoy blogging this much! I've met some great people and learned a lot from you smart bloggers out there. I just published my 100th post.

I'm curious about a few things.

  • What are some of your favorite blogs?
  • What are some of your blogging pet peeves?
  • What are you looking for in a blog - humor, advice, motivation, free-stuff, information, etc.?

19 comments:

Totallyscrappy said...

My favorite blog is mudpiestodragonflies.blogspot.com, but I'm a bit partial!
I'm a bit of a comment addict and I like that when I visit a blog and leave a comment that blogger comes over to "my place" and comments.
Humor wins my attention every time!
And I think pictures are important.

Unknown said...

My favourite blogs are straightforward, down to earth women who aren't afraid to be honest, but are sensitive and seeking to honor God in word and deed.

I'm looking for humor AND advice AND motivation, people I can relate to, be blessed and enriched by.

My only pet peeve is when there is no feed to subscribe to.

Kristy said...

This is problem my hands-down favorite:
http://todayscreativeblog.blogspot.com/

I look for blogs that provide inspiration - cooking, decorating, whatever it is that I'm interested in.

Jenni said...

Favorite blogs? I have so many, and they have nothing in common. I love Big Mama (www.bigmama1.com) because she is so darn witty and writes like a more-shallow person than she is, but you can tell that she's just being kinda goofy/indulging her girly side, and it adds to the fun. I love www.stevepavlina.com, which is a straight-talk personal development blog. I love ohdeedoh because of all the cute pictures. I love Home Ec 101 because it has cute little 50's housewife illustrations, and because the ladies who write on it are so darn sweet.

I'd say that I like humor, people being real, good thoughts/advice, interesting information, pictures (but not so many that the text is broken up and hard to follow), and pleasing design. If someone could give me all of those at once, I'd be hooked, but I have yet to find all of it together!

Kathy in WA said...

I love blogging and I love the bloggers I have met over the past year and a half. I've found, however, that I just don't have as much time to devote to blogging as I would like.

I like blogs that are colorful and interesting visually - lots of great pictures, recipes, giveaways.

I like insightful, thoughtful blogs that aren't full of ranting and raving.

Great question!

Duckabush Blog

Marcia Francois said...

I love getting a sense of the person - I like real blogs, warts and all. If I connect with something instantly, I stay.

If I like what I read, I add it to GR instantly but I declutter ruthlessly. I like it around the 40 - 45 mark because some don't blog every day (thank the Lord for that)

Partial feeds make me pull my hair out and I don't read those daily - I'll read once a week but as for the rest, I "mark all as read" unless something catches my eye and makes me click through - of the partial feeds, there is maybe one post every 20 - 30 that makes me click through.

I have about 5 - 6 photography blogs on my GR so I love pictures, not just any pics but GORGEOUS pics that support the content. I never watch the videos though.

Sister Honey Bunch/Judi maloney said...

My favorite blogs are Bossy, Redneck Mom, Oh, The Joys, Greeblemonkey, Milk breath and margaritas, Big and Boo, Rachel Lucas, Pioneer Woman.

I look for interesting writing that is going to draw me in whether it's funny, sad, informational, etc.

Mom2fur said...

Most of the blogs I go to tend to be very domestic--by moms or dads, by people who love to cook and sew like I do! I love "Days of the Week," like "Works for Me Wednesday," "Kitchen Tip Tuesday" (at Tammy's Recipes) and "Sew Crafty Friday" (at Waiting for Him--link is on my blog). I'm always looking to learn something new. I especially love tutorials!
One thing I don't like is gross pictures. I really don't want to see your kid's festering boo-boo, thank you very much. And I never return to blogs that are mean-spirited, snotty or self-righteous! (Well, okay, sometimes I go back out of curiosity--but if it's a regular thing, then bye-bye!)

Llama Momma said...

It's hard to beat boo mama for humor.

And, of course, Shannon.

I find blogs I enjoy through clicking on the blogrolls of blogs I enjoy...

Have fun!

Brenda said...

I love so many blogs, I don't have a favorite! I started blogging to keep in touch with my family and friends we moved away from, but have found that I enjoy the fun of hearing other's stories, ideas, tips and humor of course. My blog is www.kenandbren.blogspot.com

Veggiemomof2 said...

http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/ is the funniest blog I've ever read.

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ is a wonderful frugal blog.

http://www.bloggygiveaways.com/ contest blog

Patterned Pants said...

I read about 9 blogs everyday, but my absolute favorite is The Pioneer Woman. She lives in the country after growing up on a golf course in Oklahoma. Her writing is witty and creative. You never know what her next topic will be.... Don't miss her love story. She has an ongoing series on how she met her husband. If you start from the beginning and follow through the months, you will be waiting for her next edition, just like the rest of us.

She is one smart gal. She also incorporates photography and cooking into her niche. I save her for last everyday - just like when I eat dinner. I eat everything on my plate and save my favorite thing for the last bite!

Happy Reading!

Anonymous said...

I love so many blogs. My favorites are:
Absolutely Bananas
Brazen Careertist by Penelope Trunk
Make Use Of
Make Money Online by Courtney Tuttle

I like blogs that are domestic oriented. But I also like tips, whether they are motivational, household, cooking, whatever. Humor is great but I am not very good writing it myself. I wish I were.

Oh, and one more thing. I really like blogs where you can subscribe via email. I have a pda phone and a lot of times I only get to read the blog posts that come in my email. Or I read them while laying in bed when one of my children wakes me up at night and I cannot get back to sleep. I do not like to posts where I have to click to read the end. I guess that is good for traffic but I hardly ever click to finish the post.

Anonymous said...

I love a great sense of humor and terrific photography the best. :)

Bonnie Way aka the Koala Mom said...

Some of my favourite blogs are Rocks in My Dryer and Novel Journey (http://noveljourney.com). I like blogs that are original - someone sharing their ideas/thoughts/point of view on a matter. Humour is also good. Blogs that are cluttered with too much advertising, pictures or other things that take forever to download are annoying. Keep it simple and easy to read. :) And good luck! Blogging is tons of fun - I'm hooked too!

Anonymous said...

I'm so impressed with how smart and savvy you've become in such a short time, Alana!

I'm a little late showing up to respond to your great question, and after cruising through the comments, I see that the last one said what I was going to say--my pet peeve is that I can't stand the ones that get so cluttered with buttons and ads and photos and whatever else that they take forever to load.

One thing I love about blogging is that visiting blogs has some similarities to meeting new people--each one is so different from the next. I learn something interesting from each one. So I might like one for its practicality and another for its storytelling and yet another for its contemplative insights.

So what I think I'm looking for in a blog is meeting a person who is writing what interests her (or him). If it interests her, I'll probably find it interesting to some extent. And I'll enjoy getting to know the person. Some of the top bloggers are very eclectic--Boomama, Pioneer Woman, and a not-famous but favorite of mine, One Thing (Jenni/beautifulheritage). They just write about whatever in their inimitable style. But Like Merchant Ships is wonderful, having honed down her topic to talk about classy frugality. So I like that, too--that she's found a niche. I know when I show up that I'll get the same general topic.

Whether a person zeroes in on a specific, narrow subject/topic or writes a crazy mish-mash doesn't matter that much to me. I like great writing and great ideas.

In my opinion, to sustain interest over the long haul, a person should definitely blog and write about topics that they feel passionate about--that way they'll have fun researching, thinking and writing about it for a long, long time.

Anonymous said...

I love blogs where people are just themselves. I like to read the funny stories that happen in their everyday lives as well as lessons they are learning, problems they are tackling, hobbies, family, etc. Just people being themselves.

Daiquiri said...

First things first - I love your 3 column Blogger layout! I'll have to go visit Blue Yonder and see about hiring them! I've been on quite the quest to get my little place is cyber space to look the way I'd like...still not quite there.

Anyway... personally, I like great pictures and an original "voice". I want people to be themselves! If everyone is going to try and write with Pioneer Woman's or Boo Mama's sense of humor, they all start to sound and feel the same.

I also really appreciate reading blogs that I can learn something from. I love practical tips or inspirational stories.

I must say though, I'm sure shocked that I wasn't listed as anyone's favorite blog here in your comments section! I mean, come on. I've been blogging a whole 90 days or something ;)

Just kidding, of course! I blog primarily to keep in touch with my long distance family, to share my faith, and to keep the blood flowing to my intelligent-thought-deprived mommy brain.

Thanks for the great question. I really enjoyed reading through all the comments :)

Megan@SortaCrunchy said...

Hey mama! I am so totally late to this. I'm late to everything these days! Anyway, one of my fave blogs of all-time is Lifenut (http://www.lifenut.com/blog/). AMAZING writing. Love her.