Top 10 Lists, Blacklisting, Communities, Brand Wars, & Preferential Treatment.
As a Canadian Entertainment and Lifestyle blogger (who has a teenage blogger chirping in from time to time), my blog is different. Sure I’ve tried a lot of things to grow my readership but I’ve never fallen victim to competition as there is no one out there with a blog like mine. My blog is everything entertainment where interviewing is my passion. I could do it all day, everyday.
Much to my chagrin though I do have friends. Friends who have been blacklisted by brands (I think I have been too). Friends who have been told to get along (even with the mean girls) or get out of the group during a family event. Friends who work their kiester off on their blog only to be shunned, once again, by those horrible best blogger lists which are the equivalent to top song or menu-item lists.
Am I a top blogger? Not F****in likely.
Do I care? (Return to Question 1, Answer 1)
Should you care? (Return to Question 1, Answer 1)
I never ever considered that my blog would compete against another and neither should other bloggers. Bottom line, we are all unique because our lives and stories are so different.
Julie and Julia
When Julie Powell first started blogging about her mission to cook recipes from Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” little did she know that her little project of cooking 536 recipes in 365 days would end up being a worldwide phenomenon. The more frustrated she got with her journey, there was always someone there to encourage her to keep on going!
Rather than competing (like in the modern day rat race), Julie stayed true to her mission and became a successful writer after all was said and done. I really wish we could hit rewind and go back to the infancy of blogging where blogs were interesting and not walking advertisements. I think we have brands and social media to thank for that.
Thankfully, I have not fallen victim where my Facebook or Twitter feed looks like this movie clip while I proclaim that I’m staying true to my brand.
Are Top Blogger Lists Necessary?
It is my considered opinion that top blogger lists are an unnecessary evil because we read blogs that suits our personality. Compare it to a magazine, have you ever seen Reader’s Digest up against Consumer Reports in a “list”? If so, the maker’s of this list was not comparing apples to apples.
After being a judge for the 2012 Ninjamatics Canadian Weblogs Awards, I found so many new bloggers whom I enjoyed because of my personality. Most of the bloggers nominated were unknowns BUT they had appealing blog designs and great content. How do these awards differ from random Top 10 lists? They were nominated by those who read their blog and thoroughly judged, which was an excruciating, yet a required, process.
I know of a few instances where brands have selected the “top” bloggers to attend events without giving thought to the plenty of “niche” bloggers clamoring at the opportunity to work with them. Why not pick the bloggers that suits your brand the best? I think the reason is due to the fact that they have PR reps involved in Social Media and not savvy marketers. With events having a 24-48 hour lifespan, I’m not even going to get into the length of time it takes for them to write about the event after the fact.
I know of a few instances where brands have selected “top” bloggers to conduct product reviews for cleaning products and chose fashion or beauty bloggers over the mediocre green blogger! This is where one says WTF? out loud. It makes no sense what so ever even though they are “listed”. If brands were focusing on their mission, vision, and value statements, they would know better. Take heed in knowing it’s the rat race of popularity and not you.
The only advice that I can give to a blogger is to find your Julie Powell and decide that lists no longer matter! Be proud of your accomplishments daily.
Not on a list? Forgetaboutit. List or no list, you have fans who adore your blog. Take heed in knowing that you’ve got your own pocket full of sunshine that you can be proud of.
What do you think? Do these lists provide a valuable service? Are you swayed by popularity? Do you think popularity generally is deserved? Please let me know in the comments.
