Blogger Politics
Being a female blogger feels a bit like being a teenager attending school in an American movie. There are cliques, there is backstabbing, there is jealousy as far as your mouse will take you. Growing up in New Zealand I never had to deal with the insipid task of making sure I got in with the right group from day one. Sure, groups were formed, and those groups had their distinct personalities. But none of it came to the extremes that movies like Mean Girls portray.
The blogging world is the first time I’ve come face to face with the harsh realities of working with thousands of opinionated women. We bitch and moan about companies in our blogs, but it’s comments section and places like Twitter where we think we can be sneaky and talk about other bloggers. Mean comments are supposed to make people question why they like the blogger being discussed, they’re meant to discredit, they’re meant to make the commenter seem like the authority instead. Unfortunately for the commenter they don’t realise that the people interested in reading those sorts of comments are bloggers themselves, meaning more often than not the readers are smart fact checkers who can form their own opinions.
It’s not only commenters that need to be careful what they write. Recently I saw a very well known blogger tweet that lots of people rip her off and stated that she could name people that have copied her blog design. She’s smart enough to not actually name names, but those comments make her seem a bit petty. Everyone thinks their work is original, that their statement style or colour is theirs alone. In reality no one has an original idea, there are 6.7 billion people in this world and chances are someone liked pink before you.
Do your thing, do it well, and maybe you’ll make it. I read hundreds of blogs, there’s room for more than one top dog.
24 Responses to “Blogger Politics”
Here here girl!!!! I don’t know which blogger you’re talking about, but yeah, that does seem petty….It would be very arrogant to assume that because somebody has an idea/blog/artwork/blah blah similar to their own that they must have copied the idea! well, I had candy pink hair over 10 years ago, so gala darling obviously got the idea from me… come to think of it, Doe Deere was recently wearing a tutu- funny, but I was wearing them like, 5 years ago! She is like, TOTALLY ripping my ideas! And man am I sick of seeing all these blogs about cupcakes! I ate one like, last week! I’m so sick of everyone stealing my ideas! .*snort*
Glad there are chicks like you who can see through the bitchy crap!
EEEp its not just the blogging world this applies to either, the entire creative industry! EVERYONE gets ideas or inspirations from EVERYONE else. you are 100%. people who claim their work or idea is 100000000000% original are deluded.
Eek, I don’t like mean bloggers! Fortunately I don’t think I’ve read many blogs with mean comments…but then again, I don’t always read other comments….maybe it’s better I don’t – then I can leave an “orginal” comment and not be accused of copying that either.
I totally agree with this. I’ve been experiencing and seeing this a lot lately. Blogging is a very high strung and defensive thing for some people and I never realized it when I started.
A lot of girls and women seem to be very insecure about their blogs, so any sort of threat to them can be an all out war or even a comment that could possibly be misread often will be and will create a ridiculous amount of backlash.
Drama on the internet is so silly and blogging seems to personify it sometimes worse than a social networking site.
“Do your thing, do it well, and maybe you’ll make it. I read hundreds of blogs, there’s room for more than one top dog.” This.
Thank you for writing this.
I actually haven’t come across any/much of this yet, but then again, I’m new to the scene. In high school, I never participated in cliques or girldrama and managed to avoid a lot of it in my adult life, too. I find it both sad and totally sucky that grown women do this kind of crap to each other. There is DEFINITELY room for more than one top dog. And besides, the more we compete with each other, the harder it is to rise above the negativity and social stereotypes about our gender.
Much love, Ms. Constantine!
And this is one of the (many) reasons why I don’t want to try to be a big girl blogger and just want to stick to my quiet nook in the internet.
I’m so glad that I read and am read by so many intelligent women that seem to get it. Thank you!
I’ve seen a couple of posts talking about cattiness in the girblog-o-sphere, and I don’t know if I just run with the right crowd, but I haven’t seen a whole lot of it! I have a lot of people I consider my blogging buddies, who become more important in the solitude of working at home (I’m sure you know what I mean!), and they’ve never been anything but helpful and uber-kind to me, even when starting out. My blog is less than a year old so I’m a pretty new player to the game, but at places like IFB I always felt really welcome and haven’t experienced any of the bloggier-than-thou BS. I have no doubt it exists, especially in a realm like fashion blogging! So far, though, I’ve been lucky enough to dodge experiencing it myself. *knocks on wood and crosses fingers*
Very well said and good on you for saying it! There’s no need for hating I say. I think like others being relatively new to the scene I am pretty oblivious to a lot of the politics but am starting to get savvy to it. I just think that in the end it’s all a bit high school and we’re better than that aren’t we?
Oh I hear you! I came to realise the blogging politics not so long after I created my blog. Honestly, why can’t be we adults heh?
Anyway, I just stumble on your blog today and loving it :)
Hi Anh. I just checked out your blog too. Your photos are amazing!
I’ve only been reading your blog for a small amount of time, but I really enjoy the honestly, realism & thoughtfulness you convey.
It’s refreshing!!!
Wow that stuff goes on? I hadn’t really noticed between-blogger-bitchiness!! Yeah, some people comment on certain blogs, but they’re never the same blogs as someone else, so not sure about the clique thing. In actually meeting bloggers, I’ve found them to be really nice! Will watch out for this cliquiness now!
Don’t get too disheartened, there is a lot of good stuff, and a lot of smart women around. It tends to get bitchy when people are jealous of the big bloggers or when the big bloggers feel they’re being hard done by.
Great post! A couple thoughts:
Cattiness happens to some, not everyone… but in the end, what is it worth? You act like a snot and people see it, and say “what the hell is up with that?”
Readers are smart enough to read between the lines and having that outward attitude of cattiness, pettiness, or general passive aggression only makes you look a fool. It doesn’t matter who the recipient is or what the situation – the only one who really seems to care is the catty one.
I know exactly what you mean, and it’s exactly why I kind of try to “keep to myself” and avoid the dreaded Drama Llama. :P
[...] the flip-side, Kim of Cupcakes and Mace wrote this recent post (interestingly enough also name-checking Mean Girls). She doesn’t name-check Gala, instead [...]
Wow. I can’t believe I missed this post before (I just found it after ‘Sparkle & Glitter’ ‘s Vixel linked to it!), because it is BRILLIANT. Hear, hear, Ms. Constantine! I agree with you 100%.
Late to the party. I don’t really give a crap about the drama but… yeah, who ever you are, be yourself. Be authentic, it’s what writing is all about.
People can always tell if you’re being a fake-ass. Hah and if you need to check that – get a loved one to read your blog*. My Dad reads mine, bless.
*If I could I’d elimnate that dirty word ‘blogger’ from the world. We are all writers.
That’s good advice Amber. My sisters and a couple of my Aunties read my blog, but even if they didn’t I don’t know how to be anything but myself anyway!
Sorry to comment twice, but I penned my own thoughts about online authenticity & the positivity vs. negative debate, and if you had a spare moment to add your thoughts (because you’re pretty darn good at throwing forward an excellent point of view!), I’d love to hear them!
http://www.frockandrollonline.com/blog/online-authenticity-the-positivity-vs-negativity-debate/
[...] Poppy Gallico (& article no.02), a Love & Sequins review from Cupcakes & Mace & this, the article from Cut Out + Keep that’s sparked the recent debate, Vixel’s take on it [...]
Youve got to admit. you are a bit of a rip off.
haha
10 points
Um, right. I can’t tell if you’re trying to be funny or trying to be a douche. Without some more words you’re looking like the latter.
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