I don’t know either.

Tim,

I think people are afraid of passion.

Jasmine,

Exactly. You’re there to serve your audience, and ultimately, you’re in control of how you do that.

Welcome everyone!

I don’t know either.

Tim,

I think people are afraid of passion.

Jasmine,

Exactly. You’re there to serve your audience, and ultimately, you’re in control of how you do that.

Welcome everyone!

I do have a couple of personal blogs, and I stopped trying to make money off them ages ago and just went back to blogging. I used to do PayperPost on one of them – after a while, it just didn’t feel right – I felt I was forcing myself to like the product I was promoting. And then Google stepped in and started penalising paid posts left right and center.

The last straw for me was when I asked myself ‘who owns this blog? Me or them?’

And now my blogs reflect more of me than they ever did. I feel good about that.

I do have a couple of personal blogs, and I stopped trying to make money off them ages ago and just went back to blogging. I used to do PayperPost on one of them – after a while, it just didn’t feel right – I felt I was forcing myself to like the product I was promoting. And then Google stepped in and started penalising paid posts left right and center.

The last straw for me was when I asked myself ‘who owns this blog? Me or them?’

And now my blogs reflect more of me than they ever did. I feel good about that.

AMEN! I love it when I get to a website and see nothing but 125×125 ads, adsense blocks, and text links!

Seriously… I’ve been teaching people for years that if you are not passionate about what you’re writing, or selling, then you shouldn’t be doing it. People can see it. And in the long run will not return to your site when wanting new information.

AMEN! I love it when I get to a website and see nothing but 125×125 ads, adsense blocks, and text links!

Seriously… I’ve been teaching people for years that if you are not passionate about what you’re writing, or selling, then you shouldn’t be doing it. People can see it. And in the long run will not return to your site when wanting new information.

Paul, since your comment was so recent, I’ll answer you first, as I’m sure everyone else has forgotten about me…. *dramatic sob*

I understand how you feel about Blog Carnivals. At first, so did I. But like anything else, it all depends on the quality and caliber of the carnival. Some pretty much suck, but many are run by top-tier online businesses who are respected. If you’re a mid-level blogger, not in say, the top one thousand blogs, but definitely in the top 40K, then it’s a matter of finding only the quality carnivals. All it would take for you to participate is to submit a post – you don’t have to link to all the other posts all over your blog, just go back and edit in an addendum linking back to the main carnival page.

Even that isn’t required and is more like etiquette. It can bring you lots of new readers, and can be a good way to network.

Blog trains are a totally different animal. I rarely participate in memes, though I’ll do so if tagged, just as a bit of fun. If you can’t have fun once in a while and help other people who get less attention than you, heck, what is the point of blogging in the first place.

Thanks for coming by! I’ve already been by to comment, and I actually stop by every blog that’s linked from here, and comment if it moves me.

Paul, since your comment was so recent, I’ll answer you first, as I’m sure everyone else has forgotten about me…. *dramatic sob*

I understand how you feel about Blog Carnivals. At first, so did I. But like anything else, it all depends on the quality and caliber of the carnival. Some pretty much suck, but many are run by top-tier online businesses who are respected. If you’re a mid-level blogger, not in say, the top one thousand blogs, but definitely in the top 40K, then it’s a matter of finding only the quality carnivals. All it would take for you to participate is to submit a post – you don’t have to link to all the other posts all over your blog, just go back and edit in an addendum linking back to the main carnival page.

Even that isn’t required and is more like etiquette. It can bring you lots of new readers, and can be a good way to network.

Blog trains are a totally different animal. I rarely participate in memes, though I’ll do so if tagged, just as a bit of fun. If you can’t have fun once in a while and help other people who get less attention than you, heck, what is the point of blogging in the first place.

Thanks for coming by! I’ve already been by to comment, and I actually stop by every blog that’s linked from here, and comment if it moves me.

For instance, I’ve been offered to participate in “blog carnivals” or “blog trains” to promote my blog, but have so far respectfully declined… not that I’ve been tempted, but I just feel posting that kind of thing would decrease the quality of my blog.

Thanks for the thought-provoking post.

Paul Hancox

P.S: If you get a moment, please hop over to my blog and leave a comment, because I’d really appreciate it.