When people ask me what my blog is about, I tell them everything. When I started in 2004 it was about dating and room mates and work. Then it became about recipes for a while. Then it was dating and moving into a house on my own. Then it was getting married and family and friends. Then it was about weight loss. Now I'm adding in mastectomies and reconstruction. It's a blog about my life.
Early on, the blog was private. I did it to journal for myself and be able to go back and read what I was going through at a certain point in my life. At some point, I was reading lots of public blogs and decided to make it public. But I'm very sure that no one read it other than me, for a long time.
When I gathered so much support and motivation from other weight loss blogs I realized that I could impart some information to others. I hoped that others could learn from what I went through, just like I learned from the ones before me.
But (and you knew this was coming, right?) you have to be aware of your audience when you do that. Very aware. There is a blogger who is currently getting lots of flack for how she posts and I cringe when I read the criticism. When you start out blogging for yourself, and then get big and well known, you have to make sure that your voice changes a bit.
In weight loss, someone who has 120 pounds to lose and loses 70 of it is very happy. And the next person who has 40 pounds to lose and loses 20 of it is similarly happy. But they're both in different places. The woman who went from a size 24 to an 18 is happy with where she is at and may have no plans to lose further. Just as the woman who was a 18 and is now a 10, or the 12 who is now a 4. The size makes no difference, it's the progress and the focus needs to be on the progress and how to get there. When it turns into a battle of sizes, people's feelings get hurt. The change in voice and how you blog is slightly different, but can make a big difference.
So when you blog for others, keep your audience in mind. And when you read blogs of others, remember that you can't compare your numbers with others, but you can compare your JOURNEY.
That said, go check out the new sponsor of the Weigh In Wednesday. Check out the new bloggers and see who you can connect with and get inspired from or who you can inspire!
Great post! Thanks for linking up. I think a person should celebrate at any size change! I was celebrating when I got to a 16 and I am not celebrating 12s, it all depends on where you are in your journey and where you feel great!
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone should be judged, I get a lot of encouragement from other bloggers. I hate seeing others put down or bashed.
I totally agree with you, what a great post! I'm pretty sure I know the blogger you are talking about and I'm sad to say that my opinion of them has been tainted by the criticism I've read. At the end of the day, I think it's much more important to be healthy than to focus on size and lbs lost - that doesn't make you as a person.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking up with us today!