After blogging more regularly, since October last year, I have also started to read a lot more blogs and this made me notice some things that really, really annoy me. I don't think there is a guide to what you should and shouldn't do on your blog so this is just a list of things that annoy me when I'm reading a post. I'm not saying that people shouldn't do them, it just means that I don't find posts like this to be engaging or entertaining for me.
The first thing that really tends to annoy me is using the wrong spelling of a word, or the misuse of a word. If you use "there" when you mean "their" or just "could of" instead of "could have" then I am going to want to pull my hair out. I try to take into account that some people might have difficulties with English, due to dyslexia or something similar, but I think if you want to have a blog that people read then you should ask for help with checking through what you've written. I'm not trying to tell people what to do but even published writers have editors and proof-readers and people to make sure that there are no simple mistakes like the ones mentioned above. I ask my sister, my boyfriend, and even some other bloggers that I'm friends with to check through my posts sometimes if I don't feel confident with them.
This is because, in my eyes, a blog should be written correctly. Yep it is your own personal space but you want people to be able to read it without any confusion. There have been a couple of times when I have not understood a sentence and I feel that is a shame because the ideas are usually pretty good but if you struggle to read it then why would you want to come back?
Although I do have more patience with people who are writing in English when it isn't their first language. Having the courage to write a blog online for all the world to see is amazing, and they should be proud of what they are doing. I know that if I ever attempted to write anything in French or Spanish it would be filled with errors, and that is kind of why I haven't done it so far!
One other thing that annoys me, and I think most people would disagree, is the amount of pictures in a post. I've always seen blogging as a way for me to improve my writing style and to practice writing regularly. I understand that a lot of people are really into photography and want to show off their skills and also any products/areas that they are talking about. But if you post the same picture 10 times but in slightly different angles I am going to be bored. And they are always placed in the middle of the text and it stops my flow of reading. Even when I read a magazine, I read through the article before going back to browse through the pictures but placing a picture in between paragraphs stops me and leaves me more than a little frustrated.
I know it's only a couple of things but it tends to frustrate me a little and I needed to get it off my chest! Hopefully the next post will be more light-hearted!
Hasta la fuego
Lauren :) xLabels: blogging, blogging pet peeves, lauren rants, pet peeves
