Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Breakfast with the Bookie - Let's Talk Blogger Manners, Attitude and Etiquette

Breakfast with the Bookie is a semi-weekly feature here @ Badass Bookie which is making a reappearance in 2012. Every other Wednesday morning ( read - when I'm not drawing a blank), let's all grab our teas and coffees to gather and discuss and share our opinions! Everyone is welcome to join and make sure you leave a comment to state your opinion. Don't be shy!


This Week's Topic - Let's Talk Blogger Manners, Attitude and Etiquette


Okay I'll start off by saying - I hate the fact that I have to revisit this topic every year - EVERY YEAR. If you scroll through my blog archive you will see that I have posted something along the same lines in 2010 AND 2011. BUT this controversy just keeps reappearing in the blogosphere. 


Book bloggers are very nice people, extremely friendly and generous! Meeting new bloggers is like reuniting with old friends - there is no such thing as an awkward moment when it comes to book bloggers. However, there are just those "few" bloggers who ruin it for everyone else. I'm not having a go at anyone - in fact while I know there are nasty bloggers out there, I'm not aware who they are. BUT people, you got to stop this BITCHING! 


I said this on Twitter and I'm going to say it again - Bitching about other bloggers only reflects on yourself, please adopt a more professional, more mature and friendlier attitude.


That's all it comes down to you need to 1) Remember your manners, 2) Adopt a Friendlier Attitude and 3) Learn the Proper Book Blogger Etiquette. 


Things to Remember - 


1) Twitter is NOT your Personal Diary - Do not use Twitter a ranting source, do not write mean tweets to other bloggers and definitely do not tweet about bloggers behind their back on twitter. WHY? Because someone is going to read that tweet and word will travel and before you know it, a bunch of bloggers will have the wrong image of you. And then that image will be passed onto publishers, authors and professionals and THEN you've screwed it up for yourself. It's pretty much "Book Blogger Suicide"


2) Keep Your Bitch on a Leash - If you have nothing nice to say - don't say it! Stop the bitching, whinging about other bloggers isn't going to solve anything. Really, the name-calling is really just not on. AND you know what else is not on? Ganging up. Do not recruit other people to fight your battles for you. 


3) Image is Everything - Ask yourself this: do you want to be known as "that bitchy blogger" or "that blogger with no manners" or "that blogger who is totally unprofessional". People might not say it to your face but that's what they're thinking. Book bloggers are pretty tight and if you attack one of us, you attack us all. In other words, the chances of you being shunned are very high. Be the better person and keep your mouth shut, go punch a cushion but do not verbally slam other people. NOT ON. 


Conclusion - Every time, an episode explodes on Blogosphere ( mainly on Twitter), it doesn't only give yourself a bad name but the whole blogging community. We are not the only ones with social networking, the chances that a publisher, agent or author picks up on an episode is really high. Obviously, if you feel the need to bitch someone has obviously done something to piss you off. Be the better person and walk away. Don't be the person who ruins it for everyone. 


What's your opinion? Do you think lashing out at other people is right? Do you think it's right to fight back? And what are others things to be remembers?


Badass Bookie xx

5 comments:

  1. Amen! There's something to be said about stepping away from the keyboard when you get upset. Because everyone gets upset or jealous or irritated or downright pissed at some point but those who are smart, take a breather rather than letting loose on the internet. Great post!

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  2. I so agree with all of this. I am fairly new to book blogging, so I haven't been around this problem for years like some, but I have definitely chosen to unfollow certain people on Twitter over the last month or two after seeing behavior I don't like.

    Mostly that behavior comes down to a couple of things; If you call someone names, obviously try to start a fight/keep it going, or in any way behave disrespectfully, I have no interest in knowing you. There are plenty of fun bloggers out there - there's no reason for me to waste my time on the few that cause trouble!:)

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  3. I totally agree. I only started my blog about 5 months ago, but I love the blogging community and have met some awesome people. I think it's horrible that bloggers or anyone really would be mean to others. I think it's really sad and there is no need for it ever.

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  4. OMG! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!!!!!! This post! I'm sharing like crazy!


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  5. I'm new to the book blogging world (as of today actually!!!) so it's nice to have a few pointers. Thank you for the post! I just hope I don't end up doing a faux pas...

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