If you are blogging, you probably often scratch your head and wonder why some posts get comments and others get tweeted out. Some posts benefit from both kinds of affection. What is the difference?
I am certainly not the be-all and end-all of blog readers, but I thought I would offer some insight into what molds my decision making process when I’m reading a post. There are five things that automatically make me not tweet a link out to your post. And here they are.
1. Cussing: I know that this is a controversial issue. A lot of people feel like you should be able to talk online just like you do in real life. If you cuss a lot in real life, cuss a lot in your blog posts. Well, this is in direct combat with my general philosophy that when I’m online, I’m at work. I’m talking to, potentially, existing and future clients, family members, your 85-year-old grandmother, and who knows who else is out there. I wouldn’t introduce myself to any of those people by saying, “Hi, I’m bleeping Margie Clayman. Who the bleep are you?” I won’t send out a post full of swear words for the same reason.
2. Tearing someone down: A lot of people have noticed that a great way to get a lot of comments is to rip someone to shreds. While I may comment on such posts (usually in a “REALLY?!?” kind of way), I am not going to support this behavior, nor do I usually want to directly associate my Twitter account with such content.
3. Lots of grammar mistakes: I don’t know about you, but to me, if I tweet out a post, I feel like I’m saying, “I think this is so awesome that I just have to share it with you.” If your post has a ton of grammatical errors, I just can’t feel like I can recommend it. I don’t lambaste people in the comments sections of posts like that, but some of the mistakes I see in posts reflect poorly on the blogger. If I tweet it out, it will also reflect poorly on me. Some examples? Your/You’re. It/It’s. These are really basic, really important things to get right when you are writing a lot.
4. Lots of spelling errors: I know that by now you’re probably rolling your eyes and thinking what a jerk I am, but this is just part of my analysis process. Spelling errors in a post make you look sloppy, especially since most blog sites offer a simple spell check feature that you could click. Again, if I stand behind a post, it needs to meet the standards I set for myself. That means definitely should not be spelled definately. Just an example.
5. Super personal stuff: It’s hard to define what TMI is, but generally, if you are doing one of those “I’m going to get personal here” posts, I won’t share it. I always go back and forth in my head about this. You posted it to the public domain, so you must have thought there was a chance it would get shared. It just doesn’t seem like my place to tell people I don’t know to check out really personal information about you. I’ll likely comment, but it just usually makes me feel weird to tweet out a post called something like “My personal battle with cancer” or “My struggles with domestic violence.” It’s your story to tell.
Are there triggers that make you pause before sharing a post? Do any of these resonate with you? Let’s talk about it in the comments section!
Image by Kjell-Einar Pettersen. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Kjelle69