Blog Criticism

I'm sure you've noticed that little list there on the left of other blogs I read. One of the blogs on the list is Young House Love that I was referred to by a very good friend of mine a while back. I've been following it ever since I first read it. They're a family so much like my own (Sherry, the wife, and I are the same exact age, we got married the same year, our babies were born just a couple of weeks apart... you get it) and I feel like I can relate to them so well. Their blog is primarily about DIY projects that they do around their house. They're very thrifty and share stories about scoring great items for super cheap in random places. Then they of course give lots of tutorials about how they save cash by DIY-ing most of the stuff they do to their house. Intermixed is also some posting about their family, adventures and trips they take, crafty things, and the every day stuff.

Today they posted about blog criticism and said that a lot of their readers ask how they deal with it. They are always very positive in their writing and responses to comments, but admit that it can be difficult to hear some of the not-so-nice/downright nasty things people have to say from time to time. I decided to share this not only because I write a blog and get comments, or worry that readers are thinking things about me and my writing even if they don't comment, but because I have blogging friends who have struggled with blog criticism. I thought Sherry's advice was spot-on and exactly what I would say to someone who was feeling judged based on their blog. If you don't feel like hopping over to YHL to read the whole post, her four pieces of advice were:

1. It's your blog.

2. Be who you are. That's enough.

3. Try to give the good feedback as much weight as the bad.

4. Do everything with love.

Pretty simple ideas. Some might seem easier said than done. But I would encourage you to read the whole post because she does talk about each one in detail in a very genuine and heartfelt way. I do realize that an important difference between Sherry and my friends/myself is that her audience is primarily strangers and our audiences are primarily people we know. This does give the comments a different weight, especially the not-so-nice ones. I think the principles of what she says can still apply, though. It's not possible to take the sting out of all negative comments, but hopefully this advice can make dealing with them a little easier.

Happy Blogging :)