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We all want people to come look at our blogs and spend many hours trying to make our blogs appealing to others to draw readers and followers. We follow other blogs in hopes that they'll follow ours, have buttons made and add them to our blogs hoping someone will "grab" it and add it to their blog, all in the hopes of getting a bigger following, and maybe someone will leave a comment.
We have mini's from Etsy, flickr, twitter, artfire and who know where else, on our blogs, in hopes that people who come to our blog will go to our shop and maybe buy something! We do everything we can to promote our blogs and shops, and draw people in. So then - whey do some people ignore awards they are given for their blogs? We want recognition for our blogs, we want followers, viewers, regular readers - yet when some blogs get an award from the same people they are trying to draw in - they ignore it! I don't get it! With the few awards I've received I've always passed them on. If someone thought my blog deserved an award - it's the only thing to do. After I've passed them on I've gone back in a week or two to see if it was posted on the blogs I picked. HA!! Sometimes 1 or 2 blogs will actually follow the rules and pass it on, 1 or 2 might mention it, a few might even come back to my blog and say thank-you.
I realize that most of the time we have no idea what the award means, or what it is for. What is the Marion Antoinette award? Lemonade award? I have no idea. But still - it's an award - someone liked my blog - so I follow the rules and pass it on.
What got me started on this rant was an award I received just over 1 week ago. I got the award from a wonderful woman who regularily leaves comments on my blog and also has a wonderful blog herself. So of course I followed all the rules and passid it on to 10 deserving blogs. This time I got lucky. I had 5 comment on the post saying thank-you!! Another one mentioned it on her blog. Four ignored it all together. WOOHOO!! That's a record!!
What got me started on this rant was an award I received just over 1 week ago. I got the award from a wonderful woman who regularily leaves comments on my blog and also has a wonderful blog herself. So of course I followed all the rules and passid it on to 10 deserving blogs. This time I got lucky. I had 5 comment on the post saying thank-you!! Another one mentioned it on her blog. Four ignored it all together. WOOHOO!! That's a record!! Then while looking through other blogs I found this week I saw that someone had recieved an award I hadn't seen before, noticed that some comments had been left on that post & checked them out. Well 3 were thank-yous and one was a "thanks, but no thanks - I've already had this one." At least she responded?
I would love to know everyones feeling on these awards and being tagged!
It's possible that people just don't know about the awards. I think that I got one but i've only had a blog for 5 days and had no idea what it was! I just thought it was a "Kuddos". I had no idea it was something with rules etc. Sorry!!
ReplyDeleteI am fairly new to the blogging world. I do not know enough people to pass it on to. I don't feel comfortable passing the award on to someone I barely know. I always reply and thank the person for the award:):)
ReplyDeleteI am new to blogging and haven't recieved one yet or maybe ever but I would at least make an attempt to go with it and I would ALWAYS say thank you.
ReplyDeleteI too am fairly new and the last time I got one of these I didn't even really know anyone to send it onto. Then I was like...ah crap. So I just ignored it hoping it would all kinda go away, but I felt crappy about it.
ReplyDeleteAnymore I get sick of being bombarded with these things that are full of rules anyway...I try to be semi-cooperative, but some days I'm just like...UGH stop sending me this stuff I have a blog to run.
Maybe I sound like a Grade A turdface at this point, but it's the truth.
I am new to blogging as well. I have about 24 post only. As I go along I feel like it is fun, but also it is time consuming. I think the internet is overwhelming..and in a sense to me there is a lot of "consumer confusion". Too much to read, to do, and you really can't be distracted. Its hard when your a mom who is trying to do 20 things at one time! Anyways..don't get discouraged. With education and some time your helping us learn more about blogging! I guess there is an award for everything. Its hard to believe!
ReplyDeleteI very much appreciate receiving awards, knowing that someone enjoys my blog as opposed to "having" to send an award to so many people. I would rather give an award for the giving, and not because I'm required to.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, THANK YOU for the Kindred Award!!!
Kris :)
I hear what you're saying! I've been lucky enough to receive awards, sometimes the same one several times. I ALWAYS say thank you to the person who gave it to me. I mean, that should just be a given!!!
ReplyDeleteI admit to not following the "rules" though. I hate to pick and choose from the TONS of awesome blogs I regularly follow and would hate to have anyone feel hurt or left out. It happened once to me and it really made me feel badly!!!! So now I give all my awards to all my readers if they would like them. Some do, most don't. But at least I don't feel like I'm having a party and not inviting all my friends. Does that make any sense??
I can see that this award is really special and because Cassie gave it to ME, I will pick winners who are extra special to me.
Thank you for making up a new award and explaining why you did so. I think that it was a post that needed writing!!! Great job!
I have been thinking about doing a similar post. I haven't been blogging very long, but I have met some amazing people. For that I am grateful.
ReplyDeleteI, too have gotten awards, followed the rules, linked, written nice things about the recipient, etc., only to find that most of them either never respond by giving out the award to others or just ignore me completely!
Hey, I didn't spend all that time on my post for nothing! I show my gratitude to the giver by sharing the award with bloggers I feel deserve it.
It's like giving someone a gift that they open in front of you, only they cannot conceal their disappointment. It hurts! I can understand if it doesn't fit, wrong color, etc., but to be blatantly rude is quite another thing!
At least leave a comment for the giver saying thanks. That's all. A little acknowledgement goes a long way. I even made a button on my blog for tags & awards so that people could easily find them when they visit. I am not sure if it helped, though. LOL
I dislike tags and very rarely will do them. I figure if I see a game on someone's site AND want to participate, I'll open my mouth and say something. Last thing I want is the feeling that I'm being TOLD that I HAVE to do it. I spent over 10 years being ordered around by a jerk and a half (please read as now ex), last thing I want is that same feeling coming from something that's supposed to be fun. As for awards, I love them. Problem is that in the circle of blogs I read....everyone pretty much reads everyone else's. Some of these awards are "pick 5" or "pick 10" blogs to issue it to and by the time it's been posted to a couple blogs, everyone's received it and of course you dont want to give it to someone who's already received it right? The object is to find blogs new to your readers. At least that's the way I see it.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with awards is that the blogosphere has become far too saturated with them, thereby reducing their importance. They are the blogworld's equivalent of chain letters and people have begun to avoid them. I do appreciate that you like my blog enough to have given me an award. I, however, do not feel right handing out an award (the lemonade award) that no one can tell me the meaning of. I apologize if that offended you. Personally, I would much rather have regular, consistent readers and commenters than awards that are handed out with strings attached (ie. pass this on or else!) lol
ReplyDeleteThat's just my $0.02
I always feel honored and privileged to receive an award...and always make an effort to do a special post to thank those that thought me worthy of an award, but like some other comments have noted, when you take the time to follow all the rules and pass the awards on to other people, then have those people ignore the award you gave them...it makes it a little harder the next time to pick and choose who you give them to.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing I find hard is singling out those to pass the award on to - I don't want others to feel left out if I do leave them out unintentionally. And then there are the time constraints...some of the 'rules' are really detailed, and take lots of extra time to complete. I already spend so much time trying to write intelligent posts without falling into the routine of every post being a meme or a tag or an award or newest Mr. Linky thing - because I've noticed the weeks that I've done that, my readership drops in big numbers. When I'm blog-hopping, I really enjoy reading the 'real' posts rather than the 'canned' ones...if that makes any sense! Plus I try to make time to leave comments, and if I'm buried under the award rules and having to follow them, time runs out and I can't visit as many blogs or leave as many comments as I'd like... ;)
I've also recently gotten a deluge of awards, and appreciated them - but some of them neglected to leave links to go 'find' them at their blog...so eventually they're going to think I've ignored them or I don't appreciate getting the award to begin with. I can't find people without a link!
I do, however, make sure I thank the person for the award - and make a special post to link back to them - because I do appreciate it. I don't, however, follow the rules to the letter, because of the aforementioned time constraints and consistency of blog posts, as well as what kris said - it's nice to receive an award, and would be even nicer if the rules didn't 'dictate' that you HAVE to send it to X number of people... :)
Sorry, I didn't mean for this comment to become its own post! LOL!!
I have been tagged twice, and both times followed the rules. :) I thought it was kinda fun, but I know that not all I've tagged complied, which is okay.
ReplyDeleteAf for awards, I've never had the honor. Perhaps rather than forced rules for awards, the recipient can place it on their blog (as a widget) and when and if they come across blogs that are deserving, having been awarded themselves, they can then bestow the award as well as they see fit.
Feel free to take this award and give it to deserving blogs/people you know!!
ReplyDeleteI thought too that it would be nice to get an award that did not come with rules.
I enjoy getting awards, because it lets me know that someone appreciates what I'm doing. But, I don't know enough people to send them on to, and don't want to send them to people that are pretty much strangers, and then leave them with a "you must send this one". If awards didn't have the "not award others" clause on them, I think they'd be even more appreciated. BTW, I'm one guilty of not mentioning that I've been awarded by you..Sorry!! I do feel bad about that, but I just didn't know who to forward it to. Hope ya understand, and I did appreciate it. :)
ReplyDeleteI love 'em. They are validation for what we do. Nobody said blogging was easy :) Consider it like being famous, you give up somethings, like time, in order to enjoy the benefits, like loyal and new readers! Send them all to me:) I'd be happy to keep finding new blogs that deserve awards!
ReplyDelete