Perfection: A Rant

Coming from an advertising background I definitely think the appeal of reality TV has crept into the world of blogging/social media. Brands are definitely looking for a "type" as annoying as it is because bottom line for them is about eyeballs. I also think that we have a celebrity-centric society with many who are striving for their 15 minutes of fame in any way possible and portraying/packaging yourself in a certain way plays into that - false advertising and all.

I follow a whole gamut of blogs - some to aspire to or be inspired by and others because they do keep it real. I think it's so fascinating that we are so "transparent" now in our society passing our sometimes intimate thoughts off for everyone to see. Myself, I do keep some things for private in my journals and remind myself of my own personal reasons for blogging.

Finally, a few things to share:

-Design Sponge had a great recent post about not falling into the comparison trap: http://www.designsponge.com/2012/04/biz-ladies-how-to-escape-the-comparison-trap.html#more-133613

-I've noticed a lot of these "shiny, happy, perfect" blogs tend to be Mormon and there's definitely a more sociological aspect as to why that is which the Salon so interestingly covered here: http://www.salon.com/2011/01/15/feminist_obsessed_with_mormon_blogs/

-The parody blog entitled http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/ a making fun of the "perfect blogs" (but has since stopped posting) is really hilarious - you should check it out!

Overall, I always remind myself that I have no idea what is really going on behind the screen. As an example, Young House Love which is wildly successful has "pulled back the curtains" at times to give details about how much time/effort goes into their blog and seriously, I wouldn't trade what I have right now for any of that as much as I like their blog.

I've found that keeping my nose to the grindstone and not changing who I am to garner followers has worked best for me. With anything I've noticed if I try too hard I don't get the desired results but awesome opportunities/accolades/success comes my way when I'm hunkered down with tunnel vision.

I agree with Veronica. The people doing all that "extra" put a lot of time and effort into making that stuff happen. Either their blog is their job or they are not employed in the traditional 9-5 type situation like most of us so they have more time on their hands. If you are making a regular salary from your blog, I think it should be a little more "perfect" than the average blog. Plus, I would imagine that there are some strings attached to working with certain companies and sponsors. They look for a certain brand and revealing too much might mess up your brand.

Sometimes, I think it would kind of be nice to have free trips fall into my lap. Then I remember that I'm just not that interested in doing what it takes to make all of that happen. I barely have enough time to post regular blogs! Besides, I have a career that I enjoy and I have no desire to make a living in that social networking/marketing/freelance writing arena.

I read blogs of people I can relate to for the most part. 90% of those people don't post every day or have perfect photos. Keep doing what you do!

FWIW, I think your photos are always gorgeous!

Girl...that's why I try to keep it real...and for the most part it's worked and I've gotten to work with companies and represent brands.. Continue doing what you do and trust me those old boring blogs will not be "what's hot" any longer..

Inknow I'm in the minority but my blog isn't a space for keeping it real. At all. My husband has a career I may have one another day. What is said here lives forever not judging but I have NO idea why some women share what they do. I cannot imagine my husband having to explain to anyone some crazy ish I wrote about "real life" then again I'm pretty boring and have a pretty calm life these days.

The reason why they get the opportunities is they have the time and money to invest in their blogs. Many of them have marketing backgrounds or other blog friendly type background like advertising etc that provided the foundation for their knowledge and allowed them to SEO Network and fine tune their blogs to exactly what readers today want.

I'll never ever be someone that shares deep things about my life on the Internet. It doesn't make me fake. I have real life interests that I value a whole lot more to protect.

Now there are a ton of bloggers that are huge that make me cringe Dooce? Bloggess? Scary mommy? They're not perfect at all. People love them. Me? I respect their hustle but I'd never put anything like that out there.

You. Have a full time job. You can't compete. Do you. You do it well xo

Ditto! Folks have told me I reveal TOO much but its MY blog. I do what I want to with it. You keep doing you.