I read a lot of blogs. I've gone through the process of purging and organizing a great number of them. I've deleted those that no longer hold any appeal. Many have not lived up to their promise. Some have blown me away. What is the difference between a good blog and a bad blog?
I've finally figured it out.
It is whether or not you can see yourself in the posts of the blogger. Either the you of now, or the you of yesterday, or maybe even the you you want to be.
Can you relate to the blogger? Are they flawed? Are they honest? Are they engaging? Do they challenge you? Do they write well?
A couple of weeks ago, a commenter asked that I post those blogs which appeal to me the most. Now, I have all of my blogs categorized in my reader: Attitude, Books, Business, Challenge, Crafty, Design & Style, Digi, Domestic, Friend, Inspiration, Recommended, Mentoring, Opinion, Photography, Scrapbooking, Writing and Zen.
That is a lot of categories. And a lot of blogs! The beauty is that the majority of Design & Style and Photography blogs are totally visual and I can scroll through quickly just soaking up the optic brilliance. The rest take some effort.
To answer the request, I decided to share a selection of blogs because it is on those blogs I find that I can relate: they are flawed, they are honest, they are engaging.
Before I start though, click on the image below and have a visit with Stephanie Howell:
Stephanie is a young talented mum of two adorable, precocious daughters. Married to a lovely hard working man. Stephanie has a sense of self, a confidence, I wish I had at her age. She can laugh at herself, her children, her daily life and never lose sight of who she is. I admire that she is not in the least bit intimidated to be anyone but who she is. I wish for my own daughters that they are equally as self possessed and poised at the same stage of life.
Anyway ... to the list, in no particular order:
Woah. Back up.
I was going through my reader and looking at all kinds of lovely posts when it hit me. I've done this exercise before. Recently. Hmm. What was I doing?
That's right. I was designing this blog!
<<< Take a look to your left. OODLES of bloggy goodness! I have broken them into two categories: GO ENJOY WHAT MY FRIENDS SAY AND DO which includes a mix of links to friends and those who have become friends through this lovely social networking medium; and, GO NOURISH YOUR SENSES AND SOUL which is a collection of talented, engaging, honest and accessible bloggers who make me want to create more, write better, engage fully and hold a mirror up to myself. They are fearless and make me want to be fearless as well.
I suppose I like to surround myself by people who inspire me to be a better person, those who bring out the best in me, challenge me. I'm always up for a challenge! So though I can see myself in the posts by these bloggers, each of them, in their own way, make me better.
What have I missed? Do you have brilliant blogs that appeal to you? What blogs make you want to be better?
