Authentic.
We hear this word a lot with blogging, don’t we?
At BlogHer’12 this word came up a lot. It was in almost every panelist’s list of what makes a great blogger. I’ve read two inauthentic blogs lately and it really stood out to me. One was about a “stripper” and one was about an nyc “actress” and both were so fake sounding it was so obvi just a phony blog set up to hopefully earn some money. And hey, I hope they do earn money…the blogs were fake, but they were kinda entertaining!
Anyway, I did a little soul searching, and okdani archive reading, and realized I wasn’t being truly authentic here. That’s not saying that I wasn’t being completely honest with you all, or not being real or not using my voice, but I realized that I keep a lot of things off of my blog. Some things, like politics, or my feelings on controversial news items I keep off the blog consciously and reserve for twitter or FB. Other items I realize I don’t speak about much here, or just mention peripherally in passing like:
- spiritual life/practices
- business pursuits
- joys and pains of married life
These are huge parts of my life…and while I’m a mommy, and a blogger, I don’t feel like I’m solely a mommy blogger. Maybe I am in denial but I feel I’m a “lifestyle blogger” (if I had to choose a pigeon hole) and want to represent my whole self better here. Sometimes I’ll have a business issue weighing heavily on my mind while I’m sitting down to write a post, but instead of posting about that, I’ll write about Sharkie or review something. That’s not 100% authentic, in my interpretation of the word.
I know I won’t be discussing politics here anytime soon and you’ll likely never seen an “outfit of the day” type post from me. I also won’t be switching up my voice or changing too much around here. Example: I wanted to incorporate coupons on the blog because I’m starting to turn into a bit of a couponer but that didn’t seem to fit my posting vibe, so I made a separate coupon page in case people want to check them out and hopefully save some dough.
That actually leads me to another thought…what do you girls want to see more or less of on the blog? Do tell! If I had made a post with a listing of coupons, would it really have been so odd? The blog is a bit of a random hodgepodge even if it’s been pregnancy/mommyhood skewed these days…(and likely will be from now on.)
I like posting about what hits me, what’s going on with us and I love getting your input on things in the comments. I’ll always “do me” on this blog, but I’d love to know what you guys would like to see, or hate seeing here.
I know being an authentic blogger means different things to different bloggers. To me it entails showing a 360 degree view of myself to you. I’ll try to remember to do this more.
What is authentic blogging to you? What do you want to see more or less of here? You can tell me in the comments or email me at okaydani@gmail.com
I like reading your blog a lot. I like your sense of humor and that you are honest. To me being authentic means being “real” not necessarily sharing everything. Since we are kind of in a similar place right now (in life), I love reading about your mommy experiences.
Mrs. K recently posted..Having a tough time dealing with daycare
HI Dani, I just had this on my mind last week, and got amazing feedback from people who answered the very same question that I asked.
Short answer is: write what you’re passionate about.
I’m sure I’ll be here reading your blog regardless of what you write.
KalleyC recently posted..Recipe: Green Beans and Chicken in Black Bean Garlic Sauce
I love stopping by your blog. I like the voice/tone you use because it seems like you’re really talking to us. You and your blog seem pretty darn authentic to me!
This Cookn Mom recently posted..I Could Have Tore Her Up
I think this blog is very authentic! I never got the vibe that it wasn’t.
And I don’t think posting couponing blogs would be odd at all considering the fact that most of the women I see couponing are mothers. I’m sure you have a lot of mothers in your audience and I think it’d be beneficial.
Brittney recently posted..Battle Royale: Protein-Free Moisturizing DCs
I struggle as well when it comes to my blog. A large part of my life is competing & working out but I have so many other things going on. I worry that if I post about things that aren’t related to competition, fitness, workouts that I will turn people off :/
What to do…what to do…??
T.
Tenecia recently posted..When You Put In The Work…
I have the same issue as Tenecia! I get a lot of readers when I write about my competition journey, but competing isn’t my whole life. However, when I write about family visits or something non-fitness related, I get fewer readers on those posts. I struggle to find the fine line that truly defines a 360 degree view of who I really am as a person. I like this topic and may “borrow” it for one of my next posts, if you don’t mind.
Kari recently posted..Meeting Jay Cutler
You are definitely an authentic blogger. You keep your topics extremely real…which I find very refreshing. You should get more into your relationship if you’re comfortable about it. I know I try to stay more positive, because who really wants to read about the negative…especially in a relationship! Keep doing what you do Dani! You have my attention.
Kathy C. recently posted..Curtain close…
First of all, I am can never pass up a good deal. I literally get a tingly feeling when I see, “You saved x amount.” on my receipts. So yes, a coupon post would definitely be much appreciated.
Now in regards to being an authentic blogger… You’ve got it! Your posts seem real and many bloggers seem to miss that. I must admit that for a while I haven’t been an authentic blogger. Considering I’m a pro freelance writer people expected my blog to be about freelancing and I felt pressured to give it to them. But as much as I love writing, my heart just wasn’t in writing about writing. So I’ve since switched to something that is totally me – inspiration, motivation and changing the world. Since then, I have seen major results. Moral of the story – stay true to yourself and the results will follow.
Terri recently posted..How a Post-It Note Changed My Life Forever
Your blog. Blog what you want. I consider myself a lifestyle “mommy” blogger. Like you I don’t do politics or religion because I don’t argue with people on those things and certainly not in my blog space so I leave those to others where I’ll go and read and leave my two cents.
Like I told Kalley C, our lives are multi dimensional. Authenticity encompasses that. I’ll be here reading.
Mimi recently posted..Escaping a Style Rut…Part I
Write what you feel like writing about
When I found this blog, it was because of hair. I can’t for the life of me remember what blog/website led me here. I stayed because I found you interesting, and I enjoyed getting to know you.
hair, mommyhood, relationships – i like it all. Couponing. you bet I’d like to save some money! If I can use it, i’ll try it. If not, its another avenue/place to look, tip or trick to save. Win win
Spirituality/religion, I’m also cool with. I might not always agree, but learning about things that may be different from my beliefs is cool.
I’m not too thrilled with politics, but I’ll still read about it. You may tell me about something that i was not aware of.
either way, do you!