Blogs: What are they really for?

This is a debate that I've had in my head for a few months now, and I think I can only understand it now that I have my own...What are blogs really for?

There are several types of blogs that I've come across:

1. The self-help blog
2. The agony aunt blog
3. The informative blog
4. The opinionated blog
5. The ranting blog (or slagging-off blog)

Now, although these are all perfectly decent ways of voicing your opinion and/or helping people online, there's one blog that I don't agree with (and to be honest, I'm finding it hard not to fall into the trap of it with this post): The ranting blog.

Every now and again, bloggers like to rant, and so does every human being, but the ranting blogs that I'm talking about are the blogs that are FULL of it. Every single post is a rant about something, but it is disguised in a way that tries to give advice to people or tries to look like you're getting something out of it when really, it's just full of bullsh*t. Each paragraph near enough contradicts the last one, then the conclusion gives some sort of advice or moral to it's audience. I find it really difficult to read them.

What's even more annoying is that these are the blogs that get a stupid amount of views for something that requires not much skill at all. Ok, yes I'm ranting now, but I can't quite understand why these blogs get so many views for basically nothing. With some of the things you can read in blogs, you might as well meet up with your most gossipy mate and listen to them ramble on for a good half hour, at least in this way you're getting out of the house.

Ok, back on track....

The thing about the ranting blog, it always has a theme. It can be that it gives advice or just generally talks about school or something, but at the end of the day, you know that the person writing it has been pissed off by someone and they just wanted to slag that person off on the Internet but in a way that it wouldn't come back to them.

I know I fell into the trap of ranting about this but at least I'm not slagging someone in particular off. I read a lot of blogs to find inspiration or information about a post I am writing, but nine times out of ten I come across these types of blogs. My advice to people is to stop slagging people off on the Internet, gaining hundreds of views that boost your already massive ego, and buy a journal, that you actually write in....with a pen! (shocker!) and keep your slagging off to yourself. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all :D

(See what I did in that last paragraph? Oh dear, I've become a hypocrite....meh, they need to know...at least most of my posts are information not opinions :D)

Sorry for the slightly hypocritical ranty post. I'm in a lot of pain and this topic was annoying me. I actually hope you have a good laugh at it :D If you have any ideas/topics for me to explain or talk about, email me at sophiimaria@gmail.com or tweet me at @SophiiMaria :D

The Power of Social Networking

A lot of us believe that social networking is a good way of staying in touch with friends, family, and celebrities. However, the power of social networking can extend to much more beyond that, as I have found out recently. Networking sites like Twitter and Facebook can have huge effects on your career, whether it's a job you do on the side of your actual job, or a dream that you are trying to achieve. 

Recently, I have been much more active on sites like Twitter because of this blog! And I can tell you, the effects are extraordinary! Simple things like retweets are an excellent way to recommend things to your friends, family and colleagues, and get your ideas around the world. Since becoming an active twitterer I have gained so many more followers; not just people that are interested in my blog, but high-end twitterers like West End producers and agencies have started following me. It makes me think that my blog is doing something right! But the absolute power of this is emphasised with how long I have been on twitter and blogger: I only started my blog at the beginning of November and I now have over 120 followers on twitter (which is a lot for a student with a blog!).

NOTE: I have just checked my twitter followers and I have over 140 now! ...crazy!

When I post a new blog, I post a link through twitter, facebook and myspace, just to get my blog out there. I only get views from my family and friends on Facebook but through myspace and twitter I can get my blog out to the public. Now I know Myspace is rather unpopular nowadays, but seeing as I have my old account, and a fair few "friends" on there, I thought why not! The more people that see my blog, the better!

Now twitter is the ultimate social networking site in my opinion for people with public blogs or companies because you can get your content out there to the public really easily. By adding hashtags and words that are in the trending topics, people all over the world can find your links and look at what you have to show the world!

The best way to get your content out there is to post your links on every social networking site there is, especially twitter! Get your posts labelled with trending topics and other links that can help get your links get noticed but don't spam! There's nothing worse than getting a load of spam in your timeline!

Sorry this was a short one! If you have any comments or experiences with social networking please comment below or email me or tweet me at the information at the top of the page!

:D

#Project 100: A Huge Thank You!

This is just a little post to say a huge Thank You to all those people who clicked on my site yesterday! I cannot thank you enough. Just doing this helps me gain more exposure so I can achieve my dream of becoming an actress! 

Apparently, there is now a campaign on call #Project200 so if you would help me out by just re tweeting mine and @glazingblogger's tweets about this site that would be fantastic! Also recommend me to your friends or family or anyone you know in the entertainment industry as this would be a big help to me and my audience because every single page view motivates me more to work hard at my degree and my blog!

Thanks again and I hope you like what I write :D