Some honest thoughts on blogging

I've thought about writing a post like this for a long time and I think it is time that I put what is going on in my mind into a post. Some people won't agree with what I'm going to say but I'm sure 80% of my readers will as I know that I'm not the only one who has been feeling this. It makes me sad that I'm even having to say these things but it is about time some truths were told.

For three years now I've been running this blog and it wasn't until the last year and a half that I really started to gain a large reading. Numbers have never been important to me and never will be, I do this because I love it and it something that brings me so much joy and throughout the past few years I have made some amazing friends. Blogging excites me and I love putting together content for From Roses and thinking what else I can bring to it but within the past week it has made me feel like utter crap. I never want to be putting out posts for the sake of it or that I have too, I think we all go through this feeling once in a while and I know it is just a phase. I blog because I love it and I love taking pretty pictures I'm a photographer after all.

Lately a really ugly side of blogging has really come into light and so many people have written posts about it and how it affects them. This side of blogging has always been there, it's not something new but when actual bloggers use it to write absolute crap about people it makes me wonder what kind of people they are and why they even have a blog. I don't go onto websites to look up what people say about me because I really do not care so why would I go out my way to upset myself? I don't value the opinion of somebody who doesn't know me and just has an impression of me from what I put on the internet. I always respect peoples choices in life whether I agree with them or not and I think it is something to remember in life, we aren't machines we all believe in different things so why can't we just be respectful about it? 

I have met so many girls in the blogging world that I simply adore and I would never take myself away from it for that very reason for every 20 good people there is always going to be that one idiot. We aren't all going to get along and that is fine because we don't have to but at least show people a little bit of common decency. We should be supporting each other not tearing each other down and going behind peoples backs, when my friends achieve something amazing it makes me feel so proud that I know such awesome people not jealous. People take blogging far too seriously now for most people it is just a hobby and for a few a job but lets not make it into something it doesn't need to be. We're talking about beauty not the state of the economy or issues in politics there is no need for all this negativity and upset for something that is so much fun.

From when I first started blogging to blogging now it is a completely different world it is very PR and sample obsessed which is something I can't get on board with.  I don't agree with posts on how to speak to PR's and how to have a 'successful' blog and I don't think that if you start a blog to gain free things or be a success you are doing it for the right reasons. Just because you have a blog doesn't make you entitled to samples and free things. I used to have an idea in my head of what was a 'successful' blog and now I couldn't have a more different opinion. I would rather have 10 people read my posts who I had an amazing relationship with than 10,000 people who I had no engagement with. I reply to every single one of my comments because I value the relationships I have with the people who read my posts and I think it is a matter of respect if somebody took the time to leave a comment I want to also take the time to reply to them. Granted not everybody can do this as they have 1000's of comments a day so it simply isn't possible but even replying to people on Twitter is good a start.

So to sum up this post in some simple bullet points:

• Don't listen to the opinion of somebody who doesn't know you.
• Being a nasty person won't get you anywhere, treat others how you like to be treated.
• Stop taking blogging so seriously, it is something that is so much fun lets just all just take a step back and enjoy it.
• Care about the people who take the time to interact with your blog not samples.
• Talk to people. 
• Numbers are not important. 
• The only person you should be a success to is yourself. 

I would be really interested to know your thoughts on these subjects

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