1. Autoplay Music:
I HATE this. it's so annoying to open a webpage and suddenly have music blasting at you. it's especially annoying for me because i'm usually doing several things at once and so i have several tabs open. Now I have to go hunting for the source of justin bieber so i can eliminate it. it's highly irritating. i don't mind if you have a playlist in your sidebar that i can choose to play, but autoplay is annoying and potentially inconvenient. (What if I like to read your blog while procrastinating at work?)
2. A Cluttered Interface:
One of the disadvantages of having a dark background for me is having to deal with this a lot. The black always seem to make everything look closer together and jumbled. i've actually been experimenting with switching to a white background. This is a legitimate problem. it's confusing and distracting to the eye to feel like everything is battling for the same piece of real estate on your blog. it's important to remember that reading on the web is a whole different ball game. you have to take into account the varying sizes and brightness of other people's screens and the effective that will have on their reading experience of your blog. it's best to go with a clean simple design.
also, i know that there are professional bloggers who rely on the ads in their sidebar for revenue, but i really hate ads on blogs. like i REALLY HATE ADS ON BLOGS. the smaller ones are ok, but rows and rows of ads turn me off.
3. The Social Media Bars at the bottom of your Screen:
I'm not sure why, they just tick me off. i hate them. they're distracting.
4. If I can't find your "ABOUT" section, or said section is not adequate:
One of the first things i do when i find a new blog is read their about page. if their content grabs me, then i want to find out more about them. i want to know what inspires them to create what they do or what got them started in said interest. if you're a blogger who creates amazing fashion illustrations and uses them to make 3D sculptures (or something equally amazing) and your about page just says "I like to draw and that friday song is pretty sweet", i'm going to be annoyed. the fashion pawn has a great post on how to beef up your about page.
5. You no haz a grammar:
I'm pretty lenient about capitalization. i don't mind if you start you sentences with common letters. i DO mind if your subject and verb don't agree. i DO mind if you don't know the difference between "its" and "it's". i DO mind if you do me the disservice of forgetting to spell check. i'm not the world's best speller. (i still sound some words out every time i spell them) but i DO take the time to proofread when i'm finished. that's the difference. i can't take you seriously if you don't bother to properly articulate what you're trying to say. and yes, i am a grammar snob.
6. You don't like "U":
this is related to the last one but it really only applies to me. I learnt to spell the british way so when i see "color" and "favorite" i start to twitch.
7. You don't source your photos:
Despite my best efforts i'm still guilty of this sometimes, but i HATE when a blogger makes no effort to source photos. or ANYONE for that matter. as a photographer,and journalist, i know how important a byline is. not giving credit where it's due is pretty much punishable by death as far as i'm concerned. even a simple backlink will do. and if you're unsure if to use a photo, this should help.
(funny story: there is "lifestyle magazine" on my campus that credits all article photos to google images. i wish to smack them)
8. You think you look really great today and feel the need to prove it to me. From every angle. Several times:
I recently commented on one of Vahni's posts that i hate blogs that have a bazillion shots of the same outfit. i feel like i come across very anti-OOTD sometimes because i'm so vehement about my distaste for this trend, but the truth is, it feels like you've substituted pictures for content. so i'll say again here what i said there, "i see no problem with ‘one shot wonders’ as you call them. i’d MUCH rather see one great shot of a fantastic outfit, than 5 bazillion shots of ANYTHING."
9. All pictures and no text:
This is almost the same as the last one but not quite. it applies more to bloggers who travel a lot i suppose and post pictures of the stuff they've found. while this is well and good, 50 pictures with not text to give it context is essentially, useless. don't do it. group themed pictures together and write a little story about why these things were significant enough to post about.2-3 lines will do.
10. Unrelated and/or out of focus photographs:
really?
REALLY? this should be a given.
in my media law class last semester we talked about a case where a girl sued because her photograph was used in a magazine about promiscuous sexual activity in teenagers. the article explicitly states (in fine print) that the photos are separate from the story. my questoion was, why the hell would you use the photos if they're unrelated? it can be hard to find pictures that are relevant for particularly obscure topics, but the internet is a vast place. keep looking. also, ifb to the rescue! keep tabs on the new ifb flickr pool. it isn't functional yet, but the aim is to help you avoid exactly this.
also, any toddler with a P&S can take a focused picture. and that's coming from someone who hopes to make a living from taking pictures. don't sell yourself short. you don't need a fancy camera to take great shots. all you need to the know-how to operate the damn thing, and the patience to get the shot.
Head on over to Modly Chic to read her answers, join the fun and read the answers from other members of FBFF.
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