Yes, yes, I know, I know. You are probably asking yourself CRITERIA for WHAT?!? See, that's a tricky blogger thing where I hook you with a vague title to stir your interest, then you take the bait and before you know it, you've read the whole post and are just one more minion of mine, mwhahahaaha! The only trickier thing I could have done is start a land war in Asia! So choose your goblet, have a sip and see if you're a trickier blogger than Bookstooge while you peruse the rest of this fine post.
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I am going to assume anyone reading this already knows what "criteria" means. I won't insult your intelligence nor think you are a stupid dumb dumb head. But just in case, I have consulted the Sacred Oracle and this is what they have replied:
1: a standard on which a judgment or decision may be based
~ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criteria
This post is about My Criteria for who I choose to follow. I don't know how much thought you have ever given to that, but to be honest, as a blogger, it plays a huge part of our blogging experience. Bloggers are not islands unto themselves but a chain of connected and interconnected archipelagoes. The list below is what I consult when I consider whether to follow a new-to-me blogger or not. I also use it as a lodestone to measure the bloggers I am already following.
That is my list. That is a picture and I know that for people on phones, pictures don't always show up the best, therefore I will be typing these out and blabbing about them.
Posts At Least Once Every 30 Days
This is an absolutely non-negotiable item for me. I used to say "posts once a month" until someone posted on the 1st of one month and then again on the 30th of the second month. Technically, they were posting once a month. That's garbage and we all know it. Now, if a blogger needs to take a break, and writes a post informing their readers that they will be gone for several months, and they give an end date (even if "end of summer/spring/blah"), I am more than willing to forego this. I take my blogging seriously (even though I know it is a hobby) and I want to follow people who are committed as well.
Responds To Comments In A Timely Manner
I realize that not every blogger checks in every day, or even every week. But if a blogger doesn't respond to comments from 3 posts ago, then I am forced to conclude that commenting is extremely low on the priority list. Because it is so high on mine, I will avoid the aggravation and just not follow that person. Not everyone feels like I do about comments, but the people I follow need to.
Writes Posts That Allow For Interaction With Readers
If your blog is your doctoral thesis on the Koolaide Man and his impact on the culture of the world and you are writing for your professors and not the Everyman that most bloggers are, that really limits how others can interact with you. I don't just want to read posts by random strangers, I want to get to know them, through interacting in the comments section.
Majority Of Posts Are Of Interest To Me
Nobody writes interesting things ALL the time. Sometimes a blogger writes something that is of interest only to them. I get that, I respect that, I do that myself. But if the majority of your posts are on the rectal and anal functions of wart hogs and their kin, I'm not following you. I don't care about that subject and in fact, actively avoid trying to read stuff about it.
Shows At Least One Spark Of Individuality
I feel like I covered this with my latest PSA post, Blogging and Personality. But in short, I need the people I follow to be themselves and to show a willingness to be independent in what they read and how they review. I refuse to follow people who read nothing but the latest arc offerings from netgalley and who write nothing but the same regurgitated pap that every other empty headed fluff brain is writing.
Doesn't Read Modern Romance Or Smut
This is also a non-negotiable item for me. Smut is an immediate unfollow. Modern romance can't be more than 1 or 2 a year. If I see romance books on a monthly or weekly basis in a bloggers posts, I will not follow them.
Writes A Variety of Post Types
This one is a bit more nuanced and I feel like it's not as big an issue. Some people can write only book reviews, but what they include in the reviews keeps things fresh. But if someone only posts those damnable Wordpress Prompt posts, then you've shown your lack of individuality, thus violating the above item on Individuality. Now, if someone includes the WP Prompts, I have no problem with that. Basically, I need to follow bloggers who are putting some thought and effort into their blog and aren't half-assing it and mailing in a lazy excuse for a post every time.
I hope this has helped you understand my criteria for who I follow and who I don't. I think I will be updating my About page with that checklist. That might help people who follow me understand why I don't automatically follow them in return, or ever.
ps,
please comment away. Agree, disagree, vehemently hate on the list, love it to death? Let me know.
