Like it or not, your blog is a brand. Slummy, Crunchy, Idealistic or Crafty, those boxes define you….From the design- to the voice, you’re kinds stuck in a niche…. None more so than myself, who feels compelled to add a humorous anecdote to everything…. Thank God for pant escapades…. Anything to propel content and reinforce my chosen slant.
But I can’t help but wonder sometimes, mainly when I should be doing something more productive… Just how much of a caricaturehave I made myself into? There are times when I want to blog about important shit…..like Mental health, world policies…. The art of doily making etc….but I can’t… I mean I could…. But then I’d look a bit flaky, confused and slightly like I was trying too hard to reach every possible angle. Appeal to all!…. Viral goals!!!
Being ‘Slummy’ affords me a bit of leeway, I can, for example, mix up my non existent schedule, have a few days off here and there… Leave posts unfinished…. That’s my box right? It does make things easier. I don’t always have to look for beauty in a basic ham sandwich….or craft up amazing dinners every night….. I mean, I can pretty much photograph a plate of fish fingers and it would all been cool and on point…… Providing I used macro settings and didn’t have too much crap in the background.
I missed out on rapeseed images this month…. I drove past a chosen field this morning and the once bright flowers we dying down, more green than yellow…. Dam it. But I think it’s easy to forget the amount of work that goes into blogging.
Apparently….. You only need to stand in the playground to see the ‘mummy stereotypes’ the yummy mummies chatting in their gym wear with full makeup…. The earth mothers with their monkey like offspring wrapped on their shoulders, the PTAs with their raffle tickets and sensible shoes… But does this really happen??? Is this what we really see? …Bare in mind I’m normally a bit late and rushing into the building…. But I’m not always…. My branded character is, sometimes I’m actually on time, and sometimes my house isn’t a mess…..
I know I live in the middle of nowhere, the schools here have much smaller numbers… Sure there’s a few odd school gaters who never offer me a smile…. And I wonder if my acne or stained cardigan contributes to this…. But there are also plenty of what I would call ‘normal mum types’ just that…. Unbranded… Real…. Perhaps it’s the pace of life too, we are all a bit slower in Devon… Even our phone numbers are missing a digit…. Family sizes here seem to be double the national average…. But I’ve never felt competitive or concerned about parenting trends before. Not until I started linking in with the parent blogging community…..
I don’t for example, covert my mummy friends lives….. I don’t see them in a rapeseed field and feel the need to frolic myself. I don’t see the light box in the their child’s nursery and ask where it was from. Or consider taking a peek to see what they’re cooking for dinner…. I don’t notice if they have Tulips (these seem to be the in flower) in a vase.
I also don’t really care!
I have some wonderful mum friends who I admire for just being them, those who have overcome difficulties, those who make me laugh, those who’s children are kind to mine, those who laugh it off when our children fall out rather than apportion blame.
This is really interesting and I can certainly agree with some aspects. Some people choose to share everything and others are just more selective. They don’t make me feel bad or anything, though. I am often inspired by the parent blogs I read x
Though my blog is based on me and my family, I’m trying to keep it quite separate and certainly don’t ‘wear my heart on my sleeve’ in my blog. I understand your point, but I suppose it depends on your reason for blogging as to where it takes you and the type of person you wish to portray or just be you! Interesting read xx
Really interesting. My blog has been pretty warts and all, became we’ve had some rubbish times and A) I’ve needed to get it off my chest and I find writing easier than talking to people, and B) writing about our experiences has helped other parents. I guess I have a bit if a theme, but I do mind dump quite a lot!xx
My blog is an honest tales/fails kind of outlet for me. I share the good, bad and outright ugly. I think that’s why people read it. It has a bit of both, the positive and the negative. Very interesting read x
This is so interesting!! Really well written.
This was an interesting read. I agree with a lot of it. Especially the school mummies. My blog shares every aspect of our parenting life so not sure I have a character on it. X
I keep reading posts about how to improve your Instagram page, but I don’t want to style up my kids everyday and put the same type of images up. I don’t mind making an effort with my pictures but it’s my real life, what you see is what you get!!
Emily I loved this post and I can completely understand where you are coming from. Blogging just like anything in life has its niche in the world like you say. I have actually been thinking about starting up another website. But then I also think I can barely keep up with this one how on earth will I keep up on another one! Also I managed to visit the Rapeseed fields… just!! lol xx
Yay! Gutted I missed out, there’s a few still in flower, but every time I spot them on heading to work or tesco (cos that’s pretty much the extent of my life) and don’t have my camera. One day I might create another blog too! X