Listen up people, it is I, the almighty god of blogging. She who has no name, she who you will obey. She who… oh what the hell, it’s just me *waves* trying to pose as the god of blogging. Today I have written down some commandments; things I consider to be important when it comes to blogging and life. You can choose to obey them or not (’cause I’m a nice god), in any case I hope they will entertain you just a bit…
“Thou shall not steal”
This one’s worth mentioning first. If you have ever been in the situation where someone stole one of your belongings, let’s say your wallet, then it’s not hard to imagine how awful you feel at that moment. You want to kick, punch or stab (you KNOW I’m tough enough to do this, right?) the person who did this to you, but you also have this excruciating feeling of helplessness since there is no way of knowing who took it. The same – sort of – feeling will come over you when you find out that someone’s been stealing your content and claiming that it is completely their own. No reference to your blog, nothing, zero, nada. The only upside here is that you have the power of the word and you can alert people of this blog thief. First things first, however: you can also kindly ask if the person wants to take down the “stolen” content. It may get you further than stabbing them.
“Thou shall not brag”
This one is quite tricky. You see, if you are a blogger and you get invited to events, or you become a superstar blogger, you may, on occassions get treated with goodies. This is all kinds of fun. But that should absolutely not be the main reason why you’re blogging. Now, why is the sharing of the goodies tricky? Most people like to show off a bit and share some of the good stuff that is happening to you because of your blog. You’re quite proud of yourself for reaching a certain level of success and you feel like there’s no harm in sharing this with your followers. This is usually pretty harmless but there can be a few downsides to this story. Be careful that you don’t come off as a greedy b*tch who’s constantly showing off free stuff. There’s sharing and being happy, or just plain bragging about free swag. Second downside? People around you – who have no idea how much time and effort it takes to maintain a decent blog – see this free stuff and respond: “Oh wow, maybe I should start a blog too!” Honestly the.most.annoying.phrase.ever. So what is the lesson here? Blog because you like it, if it’s your hobby or if you feel passionate about it and want to turn it into a job, not ’cause you want free mascara.
“Thou shall not give up”
Stay positive, believe in yourself and work hard. These words could come directly out of a self-help book, but they’re quite true. If you’re serious about making a certain dream come true (in my case, this is related to my blog), it’s important to be persistent since luck & success will not fall into your lap just like that. Now, I may sound all tough and confident, but I hope you realize that I’m also writing these commandments for myself. This blogging road has been bumpy for me, with many ups and downs but I try to keep moving forward and most of all, work my freakin’ ass off to make it into something I can be proud of.
“Thou shall not stay behind your computer”
Sometimes, it’s all about who you know. You may have the best goddamn blog (oops, am I allowed to swear when I’m writing commandments? Oh hell, I already talked about stabbing people) there is, if you are not spreading the on- and offline word, not a lot of people will visit. Connections will get you far into this world, so network, network, network! I know it can be scary to go to an event where you may not know a lot of people, but surely if you’re nice and polite – and crack an inappropriate joke or two -, you’ll have someone to talk to.
“Thou shall not be a bitch”
This one seems to be difficult for some people. How to not be a bitch? It shouldn’t have to be a difficult task, either you are one or you’re not. I’m simply putting this one in here because I believe in being kind and reasonable. Some people (not only bloggers) who have been in this industry for too long, start thinking they’re really, really important and therefore think that certain people aren’t worthy to talk to. Some tips to deal with these kind of “like-super-like-important-like-fashion-people-like-ohmaggoooddd!”: Don’t necessarily be a bitch to them. Your best bet is to be neutral, don’t pay too much attention to them and do your own thing. One day, you may have to work together and then you can feel good about the fact that you were always friendly & polite.
Great post! Love the way you write, makes me laugh so much !
bisous,
J
I just love the way you write!! and It makes me laugh time and time again!!
x
Great post, kind of made me laugh at some points, but they’re all true!
“Thou shall not be a bitch” < hahaha
well said though :)
Beth xx
http://bethlundberg.blogspot.com/
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Thanks for the great post! I try to keep my blogging manners in at all times as I often “borrow” pics from others, but I ALWAYS give credit :) My blog is new, but I’ve been blogging for my company for about 2 years – however, now that I have my own blog, I’m super anal about my blogosphere etiquette, I can see it rubbing off on our company blog too!
Anyway, loved the post – thanks again!
Love Love Love this post – all your commandments are SO true. And I think swearing a little just helps bring the point home! Found this post via IFB email. x
Great advice!!
Words to live by! But aren’t you more goddess than god?
Love,
Heather
You adress the content again with a certain wit. I must retweet and share.
I enjoy your approach on things and the way you put them in writing.
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Great post! Thanks for the advice :) I shall try to obey you, almighty blog goddess!
haha, I love your humor in this post.
Thanks for posting this, hopefully people will take your advice
xx
-Tee
At last. I think someone really needed to throw down the rules at some point or this whole social medium was going to turn into the wild west. Bravo!
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I really enjoyed reading this post.. I agree with you 100% about all these commandments :)
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Good commandements there. I definitely do believe in #1. It happens to me recently when suddenly I found a fellow blogger just steal my work without even referencing it to me. Of course I’m furious, coz it’s certainly unfair to be taking something from someone else and not giving credit. So, I wrote a blogpost mentioning bla bla bla how I am so upset when someone stole other people’s body of work and bla bla bla… and in turn that fellow blogger finally ‘hear’ what I moan about and put a credit. But thats not all. He/she dare to add something underneath that post about something which i think quite ‘hitting me back’. Hmmm… Bottom line – if you wanna take something from other people’s work, please give ‘em some credit. (oops, too long comment, sorry!) =)
The advice is sound and the sense of humor must appreciated! GREAT post.
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Interesting post. :)
xx
Heel in Mint
I love it. Great post. I especially like the “Thou shall not give up.” It’s so easy to give up. I was actually thinking today about it. Thank you for reminding me that it’s difficult but very much worth it.
Love this tips! As a new blogger I especially appreciate #3: ‘Thou Shalt not Give Up’ They’re all great tips!
Well said!
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goei stukje:) Altijd prettig jou te lezen:)
Fijn geschreven!
Bonne journée!!!
Biz
Angela Donava
http://www.lookbooks.fr
heel leuk om te lezen ^^ ik heb nou net een achtergrond gebruikt en ik ben al 2 dagen op zoek naar waar ik hem ook weer vandaan heb … Ik hoop dat k snel de bron vind!
En ja, “you will not stay behind your computer”… laatst zag ik in antwerpen een van de bloggers die ik toch al n tijdje volg/lees en ik heb niets gezegd… haha, ik ben zelfs zowat gaan lopen omdat k niet wist wat zeggen :’) x
Funny as usualy while managing to stay real… I will definitely keep those tips opps I meant commandments in mind ;) xoxo
Geweldige tips :)
HA! Agree! Great post!
xx
Hot Pink Day
Shop Blue Vanilla
Hey, really good and kind of funny tips! I most certainly will try to follow them! Haha
I really can’t stand bitchy people too, so that allready makes two of us.. ;)
Lots of kisses
XOXO
Melvin Jonckers
http://melvinjonckers.blogspot.com
I loved this. So true, especially the “thou shall not brag.” No one is a fan of arrogance.
Lauren Nicole of FRONT ROW SPECTATOR
these are great, and really true…love the last one
Haha, great article ^^
Goodie! Ik vind het grappig als bloggers denken dat ze über belangrijk zijn, het is gewone een fashion hype en op groot schaal hebben ze niet zo veel te betekenen. And there’s no need to be bitchy at all :)
x
Ik vind niet dat dat alleen voor bloggers moet gelden, no matter what je bereikt hebt in het leven/in de mode-industrie vind ik dat je toch altijd met je voeten op de grond moet blijven staan. Natuurlijk ben ik wel pro-bloggers, ik ben het ergens wel eens met je stelling dat het een hype is, maar ik geloof ook in de kwalitatieve, hardwerkende blogger die iets kan betekenen binnen de modewereld :)
Ik ben het niet helemaal eens met het feit dat je zegt dat bloggers op grote schaal niet zo veel te betekenen hebben.
Bloggers betekenen in de mode-industrie net heel veel. Magazines als VOGUE en ELLE mogen dan wel veel verkocht worden, maar mensen lezen liever artikels die gemaakt zijn door een persoon die net als hen een ‘normaal’ leven lijdt… (No offense naar de magazines toe natuurlijk! )
XOXO
Melvin Jonckers
http://melvinjonckers.blogspot.com
Super artikeltje, ik sluit mij er helemaal bij aan :D
I enjoyed reading this! You are very humorous.
came via grit and glamour. :)
makeupandjeans.com
haha these are so funny and cute!
<3 steffy
Steffys Pros and Cons
hey girl! You are too funny! I love the way you write! It is SO hard not to be a bitch these days!! (just kidding) I love your commandments – they are spot on but you left out one thing: You shall not torture your commenters with word verification! It’s like having to genuflect each time you want to leave some love at the altar of blogging!
Forgive my absenteeism Oh blogger Goddess! I will try to improve!
That one is so true! I HATE that damn word verification.
Excellent tips lady! I love your wittiness mixed in with the commandments!
Love this article :)
By the way, your site is mentioned in Flair today :)
LOVE this! So much wisdom here, in a super fun delivery. Sharing pronto! Be sure you submit to Links a la Mode, doll!
Great article!!! Sooo true… :-)
Amen!
Ik wil er nog eentje toevoegen: Thou shall not copy and paste press releases! :p
Sluit ik mij 100% bij aan! Make your own content!
Another great post!
Ik lees jouw blog zo graag, hihihi.
Well done, almighty Kim!
x Krizia
http://www.krizia-shark-attack.blogspot.com
Great commandments! Everything you mentioned here is so true.. and many are so easy to relate to.
goeie tips, ik kon er wel wat mensen in herkennen :D
This list of commandments is fabulous. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to maintain content for the blog. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
Haha, this is so funny! But don’t worry, you’re one of the sweetest bloggers i know :)
thanks darling, I do my best ;) but you’re a sweetheart too, just so you know :)
“like-super-like-important-like-fashion-people-like-ohmaggoooddd!” So true, and funny! Should we add “Thou shalt not wear the same outfit twice”? Just kidding ;) x
Hahaha :) The horror! That is, like, such a fashion crime!
love the post of the commandments. I am picturing you on a mountain with two gold tables in your hand. You look fabulous and gold tables are the most beautiful things alive….
1. I know how many blogs you see from people who are inspired by the big names. I must admit, so am i. I saw a post by the man repeller . she was wearing a strapless dress with a sweater. Why didn’t I think of that. but I know what you mean, the stealing thing goes a lot further. You are so right, it is so hard to stand out in this world, so please give credit to the original post/original bloggers.
2. My reason for blogging: creating a beautiful scrapbook for the offspring. And showing the world my fashion identity.
3. So true! But sometimes it gets frustrating.
4. It is all about networking!! This is the best professional advice you can give. It is not only a command in la la blogland… it is all about the people you know.
5. Thank god I am a good actress (just kidding)!!! And I always will be the bigger person. Every day I wake up and I greet the persons who I meet on the streets, so important to be a friendly person because it makes the world a whole lot more beautiful
Nice piece! Sets you thinking.
Great post and so true! I love this kind of posts , I often come back and reread them :)