April 30, 2016
Vintage Photobooth
77 Comments

A Pictureless Post

A while ago I saw a truly, terrible rant by a blogger on WordPress who was outraged that people were liking their posts without actually reading them. They had a list of reasons to justify how they knew people were doing this.  They also had a long list of grievances against subscribers who treated their posts so shoddily.

So, here I am to say that I am guilty of this heinous offence. 

I sometimes struggle to get onto WordPress. When I do feel well enough and I see how many posts I have missed, I feel overwhelmed. I try to click into each post using the WP Reader, to at least get a sense of the publisher’s aim, or to look at the pictures, but frequently find even that too much for me. 

Quite apart from the fact I have a grand-sized excuse for my lethargy, (for those who don’t know, I have a degenerative condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome), I don’t understand why anyone would be upset at getting acknowledgement for their post, even if cursory.

I am very fond of the people who write the blogs I follow and want them to know I haven’t disappeared into the ether. A quick click on the like button lets them know I am still interested and still trying to stay in the loop. A quick check-in also helps to maintain my passion for publishing my own posts, when I am back to being able to sit up long enough to write them.

So, am I bad? Am I insulting you? Are you offended by the careering clicker? Let me know in the comments section, below.

77 comments

  2. So this persons stuff was so awesome that everyone should stop and read it? Hmmm 😀

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  3. People get outraged over lots of things. 🙂

    It takes a lot more than than to offend or insult me. I do the same when keeping up in reader. Most of the blogs I keep up with here are very visual, either art or photo-oriented in any case.

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    • Yep, I like the pictures, too! Easy on energy but often very stimulating and exciting. I still haven’t grown out of ‘picture books’.!

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  6. therescuedphoto said:

    First, let me say that I appreciate every single like that my blog posts get. In fact, I appreciate every single VIEW! People don’t even have to click like and definitely don’t need to comment. As far as my participation in others’ blogs, I’m not always able to read everything, for many reasons. Also, many of the blogs I enjoy are very visual, so I will like a post because of the image even though I didn’t get a chance to read it all.

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  7. I tend to click ‘like’ onto posts I don’t like at all, while ignoring the ones I really do like in order to discourage the competition. I also comment on posts I don’t like, as though I do like them, saying complimentary things, when I don’t mean them. I’m a new breed, and call myself a llort, which is troll spelled backwards. It’s okay, I’m not really a llort.

    It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you get pleasure out of blogging. I have so few followers I have to beg them for likes.

    I do find I’m following far too many posts and am thinking of cutting down. Not because I don’t like them, but simply because following takes up too much time. I’m looking for the ones that have most followers so they won’t notice. I’ll check your number of followers after this, to see if your qualify for deletion. Another joke.

    Have you noticed how Leicester CIty are doing in the UK football league? They’ve taken the world by storm, so much so, people from New York to New Delhi now know how to pronounce the name of the city. That bit of the comment is for real.

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    • You never need to explain your jokes Bryan. I enjoy and comprehend your wonderfully perverse sense of humour. The only part of your comment that confuses me, is that you want me to believe that Americans have learned how to pronounce Leicester. Impossible! I’m more likely to believe that the people of said county in which resides said city, have started referring to themselves as Leicestershites.

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  8. tam said:

    I can’t lie and say I haven’t felt this in the past which may not make my opinion very popular 😅 I was writing a story not long ago, it got a small following, which I will be eternally grateful for. Each chapter was long, almost 2000 words and I put a lot of effort into it. I remember once someone liking it within a minute of me posting it if not a few seconds and I thought hang on; how could you have possibly read all of that in a minute? I was slightly annoyed I’m not going to lie. This was because it felt like a pity like, or a for the sake of it like which I didn’t want for the story. I wanted honest feedback for it and it didn’t matter if some people did not want to read it but but if they liked it I would have liked to think it was for the actual content. Maybe that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Other than that time, I have accepted that some people like without reading and that some feedback is better than no feedback. This was an interesting post, thank you for sharing.

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    • I can certainly understand your feelings. When one is putting oneself out there for the world to see, a lot of emotion goes along with it.

      Especially in the case of long posts that make up part of a longer piece, I tend to be more likely to at least skim read before hitting like. I somethings like a post and then go back to read it hours or days later, as well. It really depends on where I am in my day.

      I guess I find that the likes I get, regardless of whether they are ‘genuine’ or not, tend to drive more likes and send more people to my blog in the long run. I suppose I hope that that is the case for other blogs, too. I also see it as a gentle encouragement to keep up the effort, as well. I might not have kept up my blog for so long without the likes and followers. I get a lot of pleasure from those little successes. Is that horribly shallow?

      If people like my posts, I also want to reciprocate, even if I haven’t had the energy to put into the reading.

      It is great to get a different perspective on this, so thanks for taking the time to read and reply to my post!

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      • tam said:

        Not at all shallow; these little successes are part of the reason why we all started blogging 😊

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  10. Austin Hackney said:

    I’m with you on this one. Anyone who becomes huffy about interaction on their blog needs their head seeing to!

    I’m enormously grateful if anyone so much as glances at a post I’ve written. If you goes to my blog and finds something you think is worth your time – even just a glancing fraction of your time – and you care to do something lovely like click like or a share button, then believe me I take that well.

    I *love* that.

    It totally makes my day! It puts a smile on my face and a spring in my step.

    I’m certainly not going to go behind your back and snoop out how long you spent on there, or whether you scrolled through quickly, or whatever. I’m just going to love you.

    And anyone who leaves a comment can expect fawning adoration!

    Liked by 2 people

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      • Well.come on over and leave a comment. I will fawn. I will admire. Actually, I enjoy your blog so much you don’t need to do anything. 🙂

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  11. The fact that a post is not read does not mean it is not appreciated. I am pleased with any one who reads my post And to those who just have time to click like. People are free to read or not to read😊

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    • I’m the same Cate. Every little bit of positivity builds more and more. (Thanks for reading and commenting!)

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  12. I see what you did there 😜 Yes, I too am guilty, and I bet the person who wrote the original blog is guilty of it too! They’re obviously blogging for the wrong reasons, trying to find fame; and they’re upset at not everyone being compelled to read their posts like its the next Harry Potter instalment. There’s just no way everyone can read everything and still have a life to even write about. Take the digital ‘thumbs-up’ and be grateful someone’s taken the time to give some encouragement in the way they have time for – is what I say x

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Yes, exactly that! Encouragement! It is shorthand for saying, “Good on you for getting out here and having a go!” We all want to support other bloggers but it just isn’t possible to be dedicated to every word.

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  13. sometimes a quick click to show somebody you’re still in their loop is really all that matters; nobody really reads The New Yorker.

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  14. John said:

    I read your entire post Katherine. Kind of crappy for the person to have wrote what they did. How snobby. At the least, I will sometimes skim over a post, reading what I see as interesting then Like. Sometimes I can tell straight away that I don’t like a post and will delete it.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • And sometimes I like a post and then accidentally unlike it and then like it again! I sometimes wonder if the alert gets sent more than once and confuses the whole system. I’d say that is what the WordPress twiddlers who keep changing the writing platform deserve, eh?

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  16. I read your post, but I know exactly what you mean. I follow so many great blogs but some days are so crazy busy that’s its hard to read each and every one in detail. As a matter of fact my blog posts are becoming less verbose and focuses more on the images simply because I don;t have enough time to sit and write a log post.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Images are my thing, too. And time is often the thing we are most poor in. We have to ration the best we can.

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  17. Mike said:

    Mike likes likes. Anyway I can get them, I like them. I also like you, and if ever you are offended by some fool, well, you know I got your back.

    Liked by 1 person

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  18. It doesn’t bother me one bit if someone fails to read what I write on my blog – their loss, I say!

    I guess it’s good that someone’s world is SO MUCH in order that cursory blog visits are their biggest problem…

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  20. I do this all the time, but they’re all photo blogs so really, I DID look at the photos! I will understand how someone would get offended if their post is 3 pages long and they feel they don’t get the feedback they deserve -human nature- but damn…I have many WordPress followers and MANY many who come from tumblr and go through a hundred posts at once. I’m not bothered if they don’t leave likes, mostly it’s probably because they don’t have a WordPress account. Likes are nice but not an accurate gage of how your blog is doing. The lack of, or the skimming people do, don’t mean they are not appreciating your blog. For me it’s a turn-off to read a rant about that, it means the blogger isn’t confident about their blog.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • I agree, Caroline. Likes are not an accurate reflection of the success or lack of success of a blog but they do offer some indication of support that encourages me regardless of whether my words are read or not. I hope others feel the same way.

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  21. Oh you are so wonderfully honest!! There are times I have skimmed and liked – but I do try to read as much as I can. I’m sure not everyone reads my stories but I”m ok if they just like the images too lol. Mind you. just ok as of course I want people to read my stories!! But I get that there is often a time factor. I follow many blogs. Sometimes I go back to posts that might be a tad long but worth the read! Blessings Kate, you have a lot on your plate!

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  22. António Marques said:

    Well, I always read it before I “like” it … but I confess that the visual part is what trigers my first attentions.

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  23. Not offended at all. I think we all sometimes take the easy like, not out of disrespect, but on the contrary. 🙂

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  24. I feel that when someone “likes” a piece, it is a digital touch saying, Hey I was here and you exist! So honorable of you to bring up the subject. I am with you that “likes” are a good thing!

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  25. Click or no click, I’m just happy to see your little avatar smile pop into my digital life from time to time. Stay well. Cheers Sue

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  26. Moni said:

    no you are not bad! I have done this as well. I think we all do, truth be told (except maybe the guy who wrote the post). Life gets busy and we can’t all read everything. I am blogging for myself. The comments and “likes” are icing on the cake.

    Liked by 1 person

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  27. Cannot agree more. I am grateful for every ‘like’, let alone a comment. No one owes me a reading, and if one or two of my thousand-something followers reads some of my posts from the beginning to the end, it is absolutely awesome.

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  28. elmediat said:

    Social Media is a strange beast, in particular blogging. The blog functions as self publishing, which can be hobbyist, amateur trying to become pro, pro ( marketer or vanity press). It is also personal – a cross between a letter (public/private) and journal.

    Depending on the creator and the intended audience – and what becomes the actual audience, there can be a lot of “Holy Moley !”. 😀

    I can understand why the likes can be an easy way to express support and cope with an array of Mass Media. There are a couple of problems as well. One of the reasons I like the likes is that it can play into the interactive connectivity and ephemeral nature of blog layouts and posts. My setting in my blog allows me to feature icon images of the latest posts I liked. It add an ever changing visual link to other bloggers.

    Now one problem is the marketers who are clicking simply to spread their link and name across the internet. If a blogger would get an over abundance of those, it can be very disheartening. I had an interesting result when I titled a post Salt & Vinegar Yoga. I noticed an up-tick in likes from bloggers of health & life style. 😀 They seemed to liked based on the terms used, while ignoring the context and tone of the post – or else they had a completely different interpretation.

    In the end, you have decide whether likes are of value to you as a blogger. You then have to have sufficient media literacy and humility to understand that not everyone will like your post for the same reason.

    I’ve just posted a new video (on Vimeo) incorporating my B&W photography. I included the video on an Implied Spaces post using the title of the video, Crepuscular Solidão Margo Noir. Who knows what kind of response I will get with a title like that. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

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    • I will be interested to hear if the Margo post changes the statistics for your blog. I have tried some different titles and tags to see what it might bring in the way of follows and spam. The word banana brings pornograpy spam and follows from some strange blogs. Mentioning jewellery brings a flurry of follows from cosmetic and “bling” selling blogs!

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  29. Very interesting read. Ultimately I want people to like my stuff if they read it and liked it. If that’s skim reading, I’ll take it. If it is just because I like their stuff or they want to encourage me, I’d prefer they didn’t. You don’t have to like every post to be nice to me or my blog. I’m just looking for honest engagement. Sometimes people don’t comment or like for a few posts and that’s fine. I do the same. What annoys me though is people like a few posts, follow me, I check out their site, if I like it I like a few posts and follow them. Now I’m reading their stuff, liking and commenting and they’re liking and responding to my comments but no likes on my page or comments for months. That suggests I was baited to follow and I don’t like that. You raise a good point though. How do follow and read and comment on 100 blogs let alone 500. I’m reaching my limit at 35.

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    • I started blogging having no idea the way it would develop. I thought I’d just be looking at other photography blogs and looking at pictures. That is still mostly what I do, but I have followed quite a few blogs that have writing as their main content. I would carefully read one in three posts of those if I am well enough but my health sometimes precludes reading anything at all for a couple of weeks at a time. As I get back into things, I tend to go back and look at the pictures and furiously like all my favourite blogs till I get back up to date. I understand your feelings and frustration but I guess we cannot always know what the motivation is behind randomised liking.

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      • Too true, it sounds to me that those you follow you genuinely follow so I wouldn’t worry about anything. 🙂

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  30. Brett said:

    Hi, Kate, your post and the ensuing discussion in the comments is great. Thanks for your sharing and instigating. 🙂 That someone would be upset over a “Like” for any reason is partly testament to people being such strange creatures at times (maybe always!), or (esoteric reference coming), as the fellow walking around the wheel in the movie “Midnight Express” observed, “We’re all bad machines.” Yet, there’s some aspect of such displays of emotion — like the one from the disgruntled blogger you mention in your post — that makes one appreciate, yet again, life’s rich tapestry. And being predisposed to find for the silver lining in any untoward situation: his rant prompted your wonderful post and an enriching virtual conversation among your adoring readers and fans! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks Brett. Your comment reminds me that it is all part and parcel of life’s multitude of perspectives that are neither good nor bad, they just are. Sometimes the negative prompts the positive. I have certainly been surprised by the response to my post and enjoyed hearing what others think. Blogging just gets more and more interesting. PS thanks for the compliments!

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  31. I think you’re using common sense. Some people don’t have common sense, and often they combine that with a lack of manners. Glad you stopped following that blog.

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