Blogger's Remorse

Recently I asked several friends and acquaintances to please visit my blog and tell me what they thought, in other words I was asking for a critique. More than likely it had been a bad idea as I received so many suggestions. Everybody seemed to have a different idea of what a good blog was, and most of those ideas would have me believe that my blog was decidedly not what they would consider a good one...guess that's why not one of them have chosen to follow me.

I was told my blog should be instructional, tell people how to do things, how to make things; That my blog should be about information, tips, tricks, advice; I was told that my blog was too long, a blog should be short, just quick snippet's of things (Isn't that what Twitter's for?); It was advised I should focus on one particular subject and not stray from it, since my domain name was A Beader's Blog it should be JUST about beading, bead work and beads, beads and more beads; Another told me my UFO project had no purpose in my blog and why was I including stuff about my yard and garden, that these discourses were confusing and did not pertain.
One person chose to give me advice regarding my post on my Rotten Tomato plants, I should have used Seven to control the early blight fungus instead of the copper spray and I should have staked them much sooner, the poor little plants needed support (but they were only 6 inches tall in that photo!); Yet another felt a good blog was political and news worthy (if you want that, go buy a newspaper!). BLAH I say !

In the end I was over dosing on advice, my parade had been totally rained out, my balloon deflated. Amid dejection I finally decided that there was no magic formula, no way to please all the masses. It is imperative to follow one's own desire and my gut instincts say a blog is an extension of one's self, it can be any and all things. One's thoughts, dreams, fantasies, it can be a place to teach and give instructions, or it can be a forum for your political viewpoints, a podium upon which to preach environmental issues, theoretical ideas, religious beliefs. A blog is a blank book awaiting the words of it's author and just like a library there are many different types of books. How dull, how bland how utterly boring it would be if every book were the same ! And to the acquaintance who asked me why I apologized for a post I used, that if I had to apologize for it then why did I even use it ? I respond; "Lesson learned" and in addition; "This is my blog and my viewpoints and I ain't apologizing for em !"