The 10 clans of blogging...!

Image Credit @Sergey Konyakin/Stockfresh

I never expected to start writing this type of post today (in fact I was planning a cool-toned makeup look), but man, the amount of blogging drama that I keep seeing every few days on social media (would be daily if I logged onto fb more often) has gotten SO out of hand, that I just had to address it!


So today, I'm presenting you the many clans of bloggers, each distinguished by one main characteristic (though some, in reality, are overlapping). So far, I'm counting ten - though, truth be told I was never really that good at math! Ok, let's start:

1. The Kiss-asses. You know, those that will stalk and compliment anything and anyone that will help them get ahead - they're pretty straightforward. Now, these have a sister clan, the... Cyborgs as I'd like to call them, because they never ever have anything negative to say. I think it's only human to be sick or angry or upset every now and then and be able to express that, and it's only natural to present the cons of a product, not just the pros, but no, these individuals apparently live in a pink bubble that never bursts - heaven forbid they show they're human and sound negative to other people or brands! We no likey that, right?
2. The Negative Nancys. Those on the other hand have always something negative to say, it's like their social media is a never-ending venting playground! Which is all ok when they're complaining about their broken nail or the bad weather, but that's not usually where they stop: these people take it upon themselves to criticise what everyone else is doing/wearing/saying, and point out what they perceive as their flaws. Did anyone ask for their opinion? Guess. Is their opinion constructive criticism? Again, guess (though you've probably figured it out by now).
3. The Copy-Cats. Ah, yes: those bloggers that copy what other, more popular bloggers are doing. Like, every-thing and all at once. Now, this may have proved to be a successful formula in some cases, however, any sense of personality goes down the drain. In fact, if the blogger you're "inspired by" said it first, sorry love, I'll probably just skip you alltogether (you are, after all, identical)! Also, blatantly stealing another fellow blogger's work and style? Let's.not.even.go.there.
4. The Spammers. Everyone's "favorite"! You've all seen them, it's those that post the same thing on 100 facebook groups simultaneously clogging up your notifications (seriously, how do they do that?), those that tweet the same thing 10 times a day and those that leave their blog url's everywhere on their marathon commenting sprees. Bad use of internet space if you ask me, but they can't help it, despite annoying everyone (plus, we know you're not actually following the blogs you're saying you are 99% of the time)!
5. The Freebie-holics. Those are usually bloggers that began blogging just because they saw that PR's handed out samples left and right and figured it was the most cost-effective way to stock up their cupboards. Some of them even contact the PR's first, requesting products. Now, this practice doesn't affect me personally, but it does give the impression that bloggers are sell-outs and have no shame doing whatever it takes to acquire a sample. If you must, request the g*d* sample. But at least, swatch it, test it, present it properly. Copy-pasting the press release has no value to any reader whatsoever.
6. The Queens (with a Court). Now these are not bad bloggers to begin with. They're hard workers, and they always strive for improvement, qualities which are admirable. The issue in this case lies in their holier-than-thou attitude: they're always right/the most successful/the best at what they do, they rarely reply to anyone, they never ask for recommendations and you'd better not utter anything other than a compliment towards them, because if you do, you're automatically a hater. Now the Queens need their Court, and here's were the Kiss-asses prove to be useful (one doesn't work without the other).
7. The Con Artists. This is the most obscure category of all. You see, these bloggers have an agenda, an ulterior motive so to speak. So, they may be Negative Nancys or Kiss-asses, but it's all deliberately done: they need a plan to increase their pageviews or a way to become more popular in order to succeed professionally. Obviously, everyone blogs for their own reason, but luring people in under false pretenses is a cop-out at best!
8. The Green Eyed Monsters. You've all heard before that jealousy is a bad trait, but, I fear it's only understandable to a certain extent. It's envy that's the problem, which for me is jealousy expressed in a malicious and hateful way, and it's usually the source for other behaviors in this list. Unfortunately this is not that hard to fix: stop comparing your life to those of others (or to what others present to you), be grateful for what you have and just work to improve yourself.
9. The Blue Jasmines. These are the sensitive people: most of them are hugely intuitive and artistic and when they do blog it comes naturally to them. Unfortunately, they can be put off easily by all the surrounding drama and/or they can feel upset when they see others succeed not thanks to their hard work, but their indirect ways. Yes, life is unfair in general, but if you're true to yourself, then be certain that there will be readers out there that will hear you out. In fact, those may not come in hordes, but they tend to be the most loyal ones, and that is an achievement in itself!
10. The Athletes, which basically includes everyone else. Because those that enjoy what they're doing and treat it with integrity, those that respect their readers as well as themselves and those that compete in a noble manner without comparing, those are all athletes in my book. Screw that, actually, they're champions.

I guess the moral of this story is that we don't need any other clan, except for the last one (wishful thinking, but hey)! People have enough troubles in their daily lives as it is, and the beauty community should be a safe and somewhat "light" place, not a garbage pit used for anger expression (at best) and jealousy and even bullying (at its worst).

And if you're a newer blogger wanting to make it big (whatever meaning you attribute to that), don't stress it! Be polite and respectful to others, stay unique, do your research, try out as many products as you possibly can (believe me, they don't have to be the newest high-end release), keep your layout easy to read, be honest, and above all enjoy what you're doing!

The rest is only a matter of time! :)

Who am I to say all this? Let's just say I've seen and heard so much over the past 6 or so years that I've been around (since before blogging even) that I cannot just keep it all to myself. Those of you who know me since way back when, surely remember my views on blogging and the time and effort I put to support fellow bloggers.

I'd love to read your thoughts on this!
PS: Comments are always welcome, however if they get too heated to the point of rudeness or abuse, I will moderate them (that's basically why I don't keep them open in the first place).

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