"The World of Blogging"
10:00 AM
For my English class, we were assigned to write a research paper about our favorite hobby or activity and explain to the reader why it is worthwhile. Of course, I chose blogging. I decided to post this on my blog to share with all of you why I do what I do and why it is so important to me. I also asked for thoughts from Kristin from Fancy Things, Jessie from Style and Pepper and Sara from Glitter and Grace, so they are quoted in here. I hope you enjoy my paper, and PLEASE leave feedback! It would be much appreciated.
In the past decade, the
internet has become the primary source for everything—news, fashion, recipes,
reading, keeping in touch with people, and even writing in one’s diary or
journal. For years, people had
newspapers delivered to their house so they could see what is going on in the
world around them. Many people used to
write in their journal to record what happens in their day to day life. However, a lot of this now happens on the
internet through blogging. Blogging has
become one of my favorite activities because it is beneficial in many ways, and
is also a form of expression.
I have had my own blog for about two and a half years
now, and I love it. I created it in
December of 2010 after watching the movie Julie
and Julia. One of the main
characters had a blog and I thought it looked fun, so I jumped on the computer
and created my own. It took me about
half of an hour to come up with a name.
I thought about what I wanted to write and post about—it was fashion, of
course—and I ended up naming my blog “allGLAMMEDup.” I started off using Blogspot as the
supporter. I began writing one to two
posts a week for the first couple of months, then it started to slow down, and
soon I stopped posting for about four to five months. When I started it up again, I created a whole
new website using Webs.com and updated it pretty regularly, as in about three
times a week. Then I started to slow
down again. I recently picked it back up
and started using Blogspot again because I realized that it is more
customizable and easier to track the statistics and members. I now update it three to four times a week,
and have been focusing on publicizing my blog so that I can gain more readers
and subscribers.
The main topic that I write about on my blog is
fashion. My audience is the fashionable
and chic girl that likes to stay on top of the current trends without spending
hundreds or thousands of dollars. With
this in mind, I write about the current styles in the fashion world, and put
together layouts of outfits using those current trends from affordable stores. A couple times a month, I will find a picture
of a celebrity that showcases at least a couple hot trends, and find look-alike
items that are a fraction of the price of what the celebrity paid. I also sometimes write about my new
discoveries of clothing, jewelry, or makeup companies that I want to share with
my readers, as well as a weekly post called “Precious Moments” where I share
photos from throughout my week. I like
to regularly update my blog with a variety of posts in order to keep my readers
interested.
The first and most important thing to me about blogging
is that I am able to express my thoughts about issues and what is going on in
the world around me. Since I am a
college student and am not constantly around people every day like I was in
high school, I feel a need to interact with people, even people I do not know, and
share what I love with them: fashion. I
love being able to share my thoughts about new trends, what I am loving, what
I’m not, and my discoveries. I am also
able to share whatever is currently on my mind that I think should be
heard. Since it is my own blog, and I do
not have someone dictating my writing, I am able to write about whatever I
like. I can bend the rules a little bit,
and talk about something other than fashion once in a while. There has been a blogger movement happening
in the past month or so called “Things I Am Afraid To Tell You” where bloggers
share with their readers a few things that they do not normally share with
people, or are embarrassed about. I
decided to go out on a limb and share a few semi-personal subjects with my
readers. I usually only talk about these
subjects with the people who are closest to me, but it was nice to be able to
get it out in the open and not hide behind them anymore. Blogging is a great outlet to express your
ideas and opinions to a community that continuously wants to hear from you.
The more you blog and share your blog, the more readers
you have giving you support. Most
bloggers have the comments option turned on so that they can receive feedback
from their readers. This is beneficial
in two ways: First, you get feedback on your posts. In an interview with a fellow blogger,
Kristin Brophy of Fancy Things, she
stated, “One of the benefits of blogging is feedback, comments by people who
admire your blog gives you more of a reason to continue writing. One of my
favorite things about blogging is the interaction I have with other bloggers,
who share my same interests.” If the
readers like what you wrote, you will hopefully get positive feedback and
praise saying what was great about the post.
If they do not like it, they might leave a negative comment. Sara Bacon of Glitter and Grace stated that “There's
a great community in blogging. I have made so many ‘blog buddies’ and it is
encouraging and uplifting to meet so many fun, cute, creative, positive, real,
and encouraging people that I never would have met otherwise.” Although this can sometimes be discouraging,
it can help you figure out what your audience likes and does not like. Having a large audience of readers is also
nice because it gives you an online support system. Successful bloggers constantly receive
messages via all of the different social media websites and applications that
they are on, lifting them up and complementing them. Hearing positive feedback makes it easier to
continue blogging if there are times of doubt or discouragement.
Depending on where your blog is at statistically, you can
make a little extra cash. There are
websites that you can submit your blog to and earn commission off of the links
that you put in your posts. One of these
websites is called Reward Style. In
order to sign up with this website, you have to submit an application. The company takes a look at your blog to see
how many views it has, how many readers, if you use social media to promote it,
etc. If you are accepted, you are able
to earn commission on a great deal of products from many different websites and
designers. All you have to do is insert
the link into your post, and when the reader clicks on it, the site will
automatically know you are the source.
Another online source is Google AdSense.
With this, you get paid a certain amount of money each time someone
clicks on the ad that you have placed on your blog. Many well-known bloggers have also been known
to sell jewelry that they make. Obaidul
Haque mentioned in his article “21 Key Benefits to Blogging” that although
there is potential for making money, “A lot of
research, time, energy and effort go into making blogging earn you a decent
income” (Haque).They use their blog to promote it, giving them more
sales. If your blog is well known, there
are possibilities of earning an income using your blog.
Some people may see all of the tasks that are necessary
for blogging and think it is too time consuming or that it can become addicting
to have one. However, it is completely worth
it in the end. In Virginia Heffernan’s
article “A Case of Internet Addiction,” she explains how “Dr. Young told [her] she believes the Internet is
addictive in part because it ‘allows us to create new personalities and use
them to fulfill unmet psychological needs,’” which is definitely true
(Heffernan). Like I previously stated,
because I am not constantly around people like I used to be, this is a new way
for me to interact with others and fulfill that need to connect with others. Having a blog can be very beneficial,
depending on what you plan to do career-wise with your life. For example, I plan on working in the fashion
industry in the future as a stylist for celebrities or a magazine. Along the way, my blog can be useful as a portfolio
or to add to my resume. If I apply to a
magazine, it will show that I know how to write and put together an
article. If I apply for a styling
position, the employer can see my sense of style along with my existing
portfolio on my blog. I interviewed a
well-known fashion and lifestyle blogger, Jessie Artigue of Style and Pepper and asked her why she
loves blogging: “What began as something that I did in my free time to express
my creativity (as is the case for most bloggers starting out), has become a
platform that I now use in a handful of different ways; It is a space to share
inspiration with others, a professional portfolio of sorts, as well as a
marketing tool that I use to connect with and reach out to potential clients.” Although blogging can take up much of your
time, it will be beneficial in the end if you put your heart into it and put
forth an effort to make it successful.
Sometimes, bloggers will receive hateful comments on
their posts. Although this does happen,
it is not that common. If it does
happen, all that needs to be done is ignore it.
There is no need to pay attention to hateful comments when there are so
many other positive comments to give you a boost.
Blogging is one of my favorite activities for quite a few
reasons: It is a great form of expression; you can build a supportive audience
of readers that will stand behind you and build you up; depending on how
successful your blog is, you can become successful financially through it. Although there may be a few downsides to
blogging, it is all worth it in the end.
Blogging is fun, entertaining, and rewarding in many ways and I would
encourage anyone who has a passion of any kind to try it.
I hope you enjoyed it, and please remember to leave some feedback!
XO Katie
1 comments
You write really good! Really enjoyed reading it :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting! It really does makes my day :)