The horrible truth

I received a blog nomination from the reluctant Coco Girl. In the end, she didn't have a choice...I mean, how could you not award this fantastic blog an award? (Throw up in mouth)

I was extremely flattered, then I was excited (woohoo...yay me!) and then it dawned on me. I would have to pick 5 bloggers for the award. That part wasn't hard. I follow/stalk a few great blogs that I would have awarded in a second. The problem is that most of them have just received the award, and I don't want to be a copycat, and if I did have to copy, I would prefer not to copy Sleepless or Coconut Girl, who would whoop my sizable behind in writing and my presentations would just be blah.

The truth is, I like the 5 or so blogs that I follow. I like them very much and I'm happy with liking just them. The horrible truth is, I'm not one to venture out into the unknown, and discover the wonders of the different blogging tastes out there. If only blogs were like food, I'd be throwing out the awards left, right and centre.

But (before you think I'm a complete hermit loser, which I am but that's not the point) in the spirit of the whole blogging-award-and-spreading-the-love theme, I have endeavoured to try reading a few new blogs. Some I have found to be a bit awkward to read (e.g. sex poems are definitely not my thing...I take my poetry and sex separately and not necessarily in that order). But (good but, like Pippa Middleton's) there are some that I have found to be refreshing and funny and bullcrap-less (thanks for the recommendations, Sleepless).

So, this is not the award blog. This is to let you know that I have not given up on the award blog, but that it is a work in progress. Just in case you're sitting there eager to receive your award. Good things come to those who wait (and deserve it...ha!).

No comment

Since I started blog-following (stalking) a little while back, I have found that on top of the generally entertaining blog content there is the added treat of blog comments. From what I have seen, the commenters are usually seasoned bloggers themselves, so they add their own flavour of humour to complement the original post. I myself have been guilty of spending more time commenting on the other blogs than writing on my own (blame the lack of creativity and imagination, with a pinch of laziness).

Then comes the big butt BUT.

But...I have also seen some strange (for lack of a better word) blog comments. You know the ones of which I write. Here are some fundamental principles of blog commenting that I try to abide by, not just for blogs but for Facebook, Twitter, and pretty much any place that a person is able to publicly post personal information/statements/ideas and receive feedback. I'm not saying you need them. In fact, you probably don't. But this is my blog *shrugs*



No (bad) comment

 BLOGCOM101: Commenting for idiots beginners

Humour
Probably the biggest thing that gets lost in translation between blog content and comment is humour. It's annoying when a post is HILARIOUS, and it is pretty obvious that about 0% of it is serious, and then you see some hardcore sneeeerious feedback at the end. Lecturing, finger pointing, berating.
Tip: Log out, look on TradeMe for a sense of humour to buy, install, then log back in and comment. Then continue to regularly update your humour software for optimum results.

Context
The circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.
Don't see a word and go ape-mad and start commenting. I've seen comments that have had absolutely nothing to do with anything, and have made me question whether the commenter had actually read the whole post, or whether they are having their "monthly sick time" and need an avenue to vent.
Tip: If you are not prepared to read the whole post, please don't comment. That is all.

Faafetai lava mo le fesili (Thank you for the question)
Some blog posts end with a question that invites feedback, and most importantly YOUR opinion on things. In this case, please feel free to unload the burden you bear on the topic.
But some posts can be a personal recount, or the blogger's own opinion, or just a statement rather than a question. Consider this if/when commenting.
When someone posts a blog saying "I don't like sausage rolls", and they're quite serious about it, then don't comment multiple times trying to convince them of the health and economic benefits of buying/eating sausage rolls. They don't care. I don't care.
Tip: If it's not a question, don't answer it.

To comment, or not to comment
If in doubt about any of the above, just don't comment. Don't feel pressured to comment, just because everyone else is coming up with something witty or enlightening on the matter. If you don't think you have anything of value to add, you probably don't maybe another blog post will be more down your alley.

Hateration
Some blogs allow "anonymous" comments. Some people use this to protect their identity when stalking hot rugby boys *cough*
But some people use this to straight out hate and curse on comments, and pretty much just do everything they don't have the gall to do under their own login. To the latter group, I have no tips. Your issues lie much deeper than a 5-minute read of my waffley post could even start to address.

Disclaimer
This is my view on commenting, and not a reflection on all bloggers. Please, comment freely on this post :P