Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Do you have blogging rules?

I do...

They're all in my head and I don't feel like they need to apply to other bloggers
and sometimes I break them
(with a certain degree of stress and anxiety),
but I have them.

Sometimes they help me keep this blogging life in order,
sometimes they're just silly and maybe a bit restrictive.


Here are the two good ones...

1. Never ever write anything that you don't want your mother, mother-in-law, father, sister, husband or kids to read.
This one is a pretty hard and fast rule, can't break this one.
I suppose I could if I had a "secret" blog, but I don't 
and I do not need real life issues to come from my blogging life mis-steps.

Having said that....

2.  Be real
I really, really want to be myself.

I'm not a Pollyanna in real life and I'm not going to be here.

I don't preach here or elsewhere.

I don't claim to be an expert on anything really... motherhood, photography, military spouse-dom
so you probably won't get a lot of posts full of advice on those fronts,
but a word of "wisdom" here and there might find it's way to the blog.

(I'm also no expert on blogging and I feel like I'm both preaching and giving advice here. Erggghh!)

(Rules are stupid.)

Okay so that was a bit of a fail...

is there any way to dust after the picture has been taken??
why didn't I dust??


Here are some more stupid rules.
(Seriously, these are the ones that I think only apply to me.)
(I never judge another person's blog because they don't play by my imaginary rules.)
  • I don't like to publish a post without pictures
  • I don't like to post old pictures.  If they're more than a week old and I haven't put them on the blog, they'll probably just sit in my archives for eternity. (Unless, there's some photo challenge that that particular picture fits perfectly, but that rarely happens.)
  • I really, really want to respond to each and every comment that I receive.  This isn't the stupid part... I like this one, but I don't like the pressure that I put on myself if I don't have the time to respond to each comment.
  • I don't like to enter blogging link-ups if I can't check out everyone else's links.  
(Or at least a good portion of the other links... )
(I've broken that rule a lot this week... it's been a busy week.)

  • Oh, and here's one of my dumber ones... I don't like to post a picture more than once.  This really messes with my head, especially now that I'm doing a 365 project.  It gives me the twitches. 
And really... I know that it's stupid!

Photobucket

23 comments:

Jen said...

not stupid at all. totally agree. and I feel the same way esp about comments and being REAL!

Ashley Sisk said...

LOL I actually have a lot of the same rules - they aren't dumb at all. But I definitely agree about being real. When people meet me, I want them to feel like they already know me -and so far, that's the case. I also add that I don't bring up my family's drama. That's not what my blog is all about so I leave them out of it.

koreen (aka: winn) said...

Your rules are common sense. Which is good to have.

But still... blogging shouldn't be stressful... just fun. I love your blog... you have such real stuff and emotions and great pictures. No worries there!

Take care. :)

Jess said...

All very good rules.

I added a new one for myself, to not put my kids faces on my areavoices blog. I didn't realize how much of my content was based on them!

Alyssa S. said...

A very good friend told me the other day "don't aologize for anything on your blog because it's YOURS" and it's true. If you want rules, then by all means have rules! My blog is sort of a shapeless mass. I try not to put anything out there I would be ashamed or embarassed of somewhere down the line but I try not to be too self censoring. I want it to be me...the real me without feeling too confined. I, for one, love your blog, rules and all!

Anonymous said...

Computers really are dusty creatures, aren't they? They attract everything!

Susan said...

I have a lot of the same rules too; they're not silly at all. I'm about as real as it gets, with the exception of not posting the true identity of my cats. :-)

I have had a hard time with the "Shoot and Edit" challenge lately, because I'm essentially posting the same shot with some alterations, but for the sake of learning have made an exception.

Catherine said...

Those are great rules! Blogging should be fun but yes some rules come in handy sometimes. I love photo challenges most of all because I find fun new blogs, like yours! :)

shellycoulter said...

This post made me chuckle! ;) I too hate having posts without pictures. Sometimes I do...and it drives me crazy! Haha!

Gina Kleinworth said...

Okay- are you in my head???? I have all these same rules for myself- all of them. Seriously- I thought no one would understand.

Oh- and I can't tell you how many times I have taken the perfect shot- with the exception of the dust I forgot to clean before snapping. Aggghh- talk about frustrating :)

Julie said...

Good rules Colleen! and funny how you slipped in the technology pics. I was thinking of joining you capture this week, but technology? i don't know... You did a good job though. funny about the dust.:)

Bunch of Barrons said...

I'm the same way with my "blogging rules". I rarely ever post without a picture.

4 Lettre Words said...

Not dumb at all, Colleen! LOVE it.

Honey Mommy said...

My in-laws DO read my blog, so I can't really say anything I wouldn't say in front of them either!

I also have a hard time not posting a picture when I blog. I suppose I should get over hat one because then I would post a bit more!

Grammie/Mom said...

You know I had the same rule about posting without pictures. I hated words only. My problem(not a rule)is nothing is interesting enough to put in my blog and I don't have any real photo opportunities anymore. So....as you know, I've shut down my blog. Maybe it will be temporary or not but I sure do love reading yours!!

I'm glad you adhere to the rule of not posting anything that would put me "in a tizzy"!

elizabeth said...

love your creative take on the key board -
great job -
funny but we have some of the same "rules"
enjoy the rest of the week

Saj said...

These are great rules! I also feel a post with no pictures isn't worth posting (though I've done it in the past a few times)!

Brooke said...

Totally nodding my head to all your rules. I must have photos in my post - let's face it... my posts are pretty much ALL pictures these days. And love the being real part. I sometimes feel so dorky on my blog - but heh, it is real! I added a rule after blogging for a bit. I stopped (for the most part) posting pics of other people. It didn't even occur to me at first that people wouldn't want their photos (or photos of their kids) plastered around blogland. Weird, right? j/k! Oh, and the double posting thing is getting HARD with the 365 project and all the other challenges I am doing. I try to make sure not to overlap, but it is tough! Anyway.... loved this one! I think everyone can relate to these "unwritten" rules!

terri browne said...

Great rules, especially rule #1! Breaking that one could only cause more problems. I don't have a lot of blogging rules, but I would like to post on my blog more often! The days slip away so quickly. But I am looking forward to next week's You Capture. Hopefully William will be cooperative...

Unknown said...

My rules are all in my head too! The one I have to often remind myself: "Relax, I make the rules on my blog!"

Kristen Andrews said...

if it makes you feel any better I had dust in my photo too and I dust like crazy!

Secret Mom Thoughts said...

I have most of the same rules. Not stupid but mostly common sense.

Jientje said...

I don't think your rules are stupid, in fact I totally agree on them!