It’s been way too long since my last FBFF post and I love this week’s questions! Today, we’re talking about the blogging community, which I touched on a little bit in this post. Let’s dive right in, shall we?
1. What blogging communities do you belong to? I belong to the big one, Independent Fashion Bloggers, which has so many great resources and tips, especially for a newbie blogger. I also belong to the awesome NYC Bloggers’ Collective which I love because it’s given me the opportunity to meet several other New York City bloggers in real life!
2. What do you think the role of community is in blogging? I think community is the best thing about blogging! When you interact with other people through blogging, it’s a great feeling to know that you’re not alone out there on the world wide web. Supporting each other in the blogging community is so important. Just as someone helped you grow by interacting with you on your blog and maybe giving advice, it’s great to pass along that knowledge and community spirit to another blogger!
3. Blog comments, twitter interactions and meaningful Facebook threads have decreased in the last several months. What are your thoughts on why that is? Hmmm, as I mentioned before, I’ve noticed that comments on blogs have generally decreased. As far as the other two platforms, Facebook and Twitter, at least for me I would say that my interactions on those networks have only increased as I became really into Twitter in the last year and created a Facebook page for my blog a few months ago. I think one possible reason for this decline is that there are now so many social networks that you can interact on! For example, I may see someone’s post on my Instagram feed and “like” their picture, but not necessarily click through to the actual blog post and leave a comment. And oh boy, the increased difficulty of CAPTCHAs has deterred me from leaving a comment many a time (not because I don’t try, but because I can’t read those darn things!) In general, I don’t think of this as a bad thing- I would rather be interacting with my readers in some fashion, than not at all!
4. How do you cultivate community around your blog? I try to cultivate community by asking questions at the end of my posts. I’m always interested in what you have to say! Also, I try to respond to every single comment left on my blog, even if it’s just a simple thank you. I want my readers to know that I read their comments, appreciate them, and will make time to comment back or respond to any questions. If it’s been a crazy week and I just can’t respond to everyone, I’ll at least try to leave a general thank you comment. Interactions via comments, twitter, or Facebook are important for building community because it makes it two-sided (as opposed to one person just talking to the air!).
5. If you could make one resolution to be a better community member what would it be? I think my resolution would be to leave more comments. When I was first started blogging, I was commenting on so many blogs a day by clicking through from other comments and I discovered some really great blogs that way. I’d love to get back into the habit of doing that!
As usual, I’d love to hear your answers to any and all of these questions in the comments! :)
Fashion Beauty Friend Friday was created by Katy Rose of Modly Chic. Become a member at the Fashion Beauty Friend Friday Google Group to join in the discussion!
![BOOKS I WANT TO READ BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR
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There's a couple weeks left in 2022 and here's a few books that are on the top of my TBR this month (thank you @seekingdystopia for tagging me and thank you to the publishers tagged below for the free copies)! Check out the books on my list below:
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KISS HER ONCE FOR ME (via @atriabooks): This one I've actually finished already (✔️ for me!). I was in the mood for a holiday romance and this book was first up on my list.
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FIVE SURVIVE (via @getunderlined): I also finished this a couple days ago and this book kept me on my toes. So nice to read a thriller that was actually thrilling!
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PEOPLE PERSON: I freaking loved QUEENIE, so I was very excited when I heard that Candice Carty-Williams was coming out with a new book. And I love the UK edition of this book, which I picked up when I was in Australia a few months ago.
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AGE OF VICE (via @riverheadbooks, out 1/3): I was lucky enough to attend an event for this book a couple months ago and I finally started reading it this week. I'm not very far in, but I'm already intrigued by the story.
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Have you read any of these? What books are you trying to read before the end of the year?
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[ID: Three images of the books listed above from various angles, spread out on top of a white fluffy blanket.]
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#KissHerOnceForMe #FiveSurvive #PeoplePerson #AgeOfVice #stackofbooks #bookstack #booksinbed #2023books #holidayromance #yathriller #bookstoread #TBRlist #TBRpile #thrillerreads #endofyearreads #nycbookstagram #bookaccount #idratherbereading #debutnovel #TBRstack #tamingtheTBR #bookstoreadbefore #bookishphotography #bookishcommunity #paperbackbooks](https://starcrossedsmile.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
I agree, comments on blogs definitely have decreased. But for me, Facebook hasn’t been a real help like it used to be! Alot of people aren’t getting on it like they were before. Anyway, great post! :) xo
http://diaryofafashionista.com
Thank you Aya! I haven’t really noticed a decline in Facebook, but that’s probably because I only recently started using it for my blog!
I think oversaturation of social networks definitely reduces blog comments. I love twitter, but I don’t use facebook and I’m not sure if that hampers how many hits and comments I receive. I try as much as I can to comment on blog posts as I know how nice it is to receive them on my own. Great post to get us thinking! x
Yes, I think you definitely have to pick and choose the social networks you like the best ! Thanks for sharing your thoughts Claire :)
I agree that having so many social networks to interact on definitely contributes to the decline of commenting on blogs. It’s also a big time suck too. We can only do so much in a day. But I miss interacting with people on comments though. You can really say what you want without having to use 140 characters or less!
Great answers!
So true- it’s so hard to edit yourself down to 140 characters sometimes! Thanks M.J.! :)
I agree – community is what blogging is all about! I oscillate between leaving loads of comments and devouring new blogs, and having (usually short) phases of doing the absolute minimum. The demise of GFC for non-Blogger-users has been bad for me, as I can’t quite get into the Bloglovin’/Hellocotton habit as easily as just seeing a list of posts whenever I go in to edit my own blog. I love interacting and leaving comments, and am also overjoyed whenever anyone comments on my blog! Twitter is also a big thing to me, and sometimes I will fave a tweet, like on Bloglovin, give a G+ or like on Hellocotton if I don’t have time to leave a comment! It’s better than nothing, I always think – a little gesture.
Yes, I think Google removing GFC for non-Blogger users really hurt the non-Blogger users because you then had to actively refollow those people in a different way. And yes, a little gesture is always much appreciated, I think! Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment Suki :)
oh those darn word verifications… I wish I could just put out a disclaimer that I’m not commenting because I can’t deal with those any more and have it not come off as being totally rude, haha.
It’s definitely hard to try and keep up with commenting back, AND discovering new blogs, AND keeping up with the ‘big ones’ you enjoy even though they never respond or comment back….
Oh gosh, I know what you mean! I literally breathe a sigh of relief when I go to comment on someone’s blog and there’s no word verification- that’s how bad it’s become! Agreed, there’s just not enough time to keep up with everything, as much as you may want to!
Oh I hate word verifications, I wish I would have mentioned that in my answers. Loved reading your answers. These were great questions this week!
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post and share your thoughts Jenny! :)
I agree with you about leaving questions for readers at the end of posts. I find that it often does help you with getting more feedback and it generally increases interaction too! By the way, I mentioned your blog in my post about the same topic. Thank you for all the comments you have left me! :)
Yes, a question is a great way to generate discussion in your comments! Also, thanks so much for the shout-out on your blog Gayle- I really appreciate it! :)
death to captchas! i can’t even spell it right, as i hate it so much
Ugh, I know, I wish they would just abolish them!
I definitely believe that its important to belong to a blogging community. I kind of drifted away from IFB until now but I miss it because everyone is soo helpful!
Agreed- IFB has great resources and publishes great articles too!
Oh good point about social networks. I find so many people like my Instagram photos but never actually come to my blog haha I am happy anyway someone lets me know they’re reading. I just feel like even Twitter and other social media platforms have gone down. My friends like to remind me that not everyone uses Twitter like I do. I also pose a question at the end, hoping to start a discussion :) Keep up the great work!
Yes, it’s interesting to see how you’re reaching different audiences on various social networks, and of course there’s a bit of overlap with those people. I wonder if interactions on social networks are just going to keep decreasing as more of them pop up! Anyways, thanks so much for your comment Kimberlee! :)