Each of us likes recognition. Who doesn’t like positive re-enforcement for doing something well? In the blogging world, where it isn’t always clear if anyone reads your blog, a little recognition is especially appreciated. Right?
Be honest with me and yourself: When you receive notice you’ve been nominated for an award that comes with a little graphic to attach to your blog, it is an ego boost.
Then you read through the details of the award, find out you are expected to nominate fifteen more bloggers for the award. The whole “specialness” of the recognition goes down the tubes…fast!
If only new people are eligible, mathematically you hit an impossible number of potential special people to nominate very fast. If anyone may be nominated, including previously awarded individuals, then the same mathematical conundrum kicks in: everyone is less special, their blog less recognized when everyone nominates 15 more individuals for special recognition.
I’ve received two nominations in the past month, which I appreciate on some level. You’ll notice, however, I don’t display either on my blog. I also didn’t pass the nomination on to 15 more people, a number most awards call for.
The table demonstrates why.
I haven’t even read the rest of the comments. I’ve come to your blog via Paul Militaru’s. I just want to leave a comment to say I like your words on this matter. I agree. Regards 🙂
Thanks! People nominate others in good faith, but the whole business…well, you’e read the reasons I don’t do it!
The system takes advantage of sudden self-satisfaction and euphoria, but it’s something that brings sudden disatisfaction too. We should be very careful about these things if we want to keep creating and sharing «in good will». Thank you! 🙂
Alright, you have a good reason not to accept a Blogging Award. However, there are many blogs that deserve this award, if you don’t nominate them, who will? I know you have the right to reject, then if all of us should reject it, then are you suggesting all the awards should be canceled. Right?
No, I’m just saying I don’t want them because they feel like chain letters to me. There are other ways to recognize blogs you appreciate.
I simply bring attention to them in my blog, noting why I enjoy reading them and encouraging the 1550+ followers of my blog to take a look based on my review and my perception they might enjoy the blog based on their interest in my blog.
People have so much time to devote to blogging and following updates on blogs they follow. If someone recommends one blog and gives me a link, I might have time to check that blog out. If someone lists 10, 15 blogs, chances are, I won’t have time to check that many out.
I don’t follow blogs based on how many awards they have, though some I follow are buried in them – but have interesting content I enjoy anyway! I follow them based on my interests and on taking a look based on previews on the Reader or on checking out people’s blogs when they follow me.
Also, just coming up with a list of 10, 15 blogs you like, then reviewing them is time consuming. when I got more than one of these “awards” in a week, things got ridiculous! I’m retired, but I have a life outside of blogging! That was when I did the math, verified my sense that the process made no sense to me, and began declining the “awards”.
Again, the comments from others is my reward for blogging. I enjoy the contact, and that verifies I’m not just sending fluff out into the ether, that there are people who enjoy the gentle humor that arises from living with two Persian kitty brothers. (God knows there are eight zillion cat blogs, but apparently there is room for mine in that universe.)
You have taken a right decision sir! I understand your stand, but it is not necessary one checks on all the 15 blogs. What I normally do on my side here is that whenever I come across a blog that impacts my life. I copied the blog and the post link and save it in a Word Document I already prepare for that. Then, whenever an opportunity comes for me to nominate blogs for award, I just copied and pasted, and that’s just y secret. In fact, everybody knows that it is hectic to accept a Blogging Award, what we just need to do is to define a means to make it less stressful; I have cited one instance above. Thanks for this “postable” reply. The reply is just a post on its own. Lot of love!
Actually even nominating 2 people expands exponentially, just not as fast.
2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024
2K, 4K, 8K, 16K, 32K, 64K, … 1024K
2M, 4M, 8M, 16M, 32M, 64M, … 1024M
2G, 4G, 8G, 16G, 32G, 64G, … 1024G
As in computer RAM
Nominating one person should be sufficient.
Yes, exactly! Personally, it’d be more meaningful if it were an occasional thing sponsored by WordPress, for example, a sort of Pulitzer Prize of bloggery or a small award given by vote of the ?, some authority to be defined.
You are quite right. Chain letters can be found on lists of ‘demonic doorways.” I’m putting together an article at the moment which includes some information on ‘demonic doorways.’ Certainly many if not all things that induce fear or trauma can be used in such a way. Also chain letters are not really loving, and can often be rooted in pride, boasting, greed or superstition and according to the Bible such things are cursed by God (in both the Old Testament such as Deuteronomy 28 but also in the New Testament). Especially if they are part of a form of idolatry, such as love of mammon (money) or especially pagan deities.
It should be an interesting post. Who hasn’t received a chain letter e-mail with lovely Biblical overtones, a picture of Jesus healing the sick or some such thing, along with a prayer that ends in a bit of bad theology about good luck and things coming that you want if you pass the prayer on to X-number of friends or terrible things if you do not? I delete these before I read them. What sort of friend sends you a threat if you don’t pass on a prayer?
I’m looking forward to your post!
Great visual. I have refered to this page on my webpage: http://anarette.com/awards-and-collaboration/
Thanks! I hate to trivialize the awards business because many people do like to get them, but I am uncomfortable with them because of the chain letter-like aspects.
Same here. Had to think long and hard before I dared to put something on the web. I hope people understand.
That was a concern for me, too. I don’t want to trivialize these “awards” for those bloggers who accept them, post them, but the table (which I should have ended at fifteen, looking at it several days later) shows the math of the game adequately well.
Of course, the same fifteen people won’t be selected every time. Some “awardees” don’t “nominate” fifteen more people (some “awards” require you “nominate” ten more people; some people arbitrarily “nominate” a few more people they follow and like, but that number varies a lot).
When I was notified the first time I got a “nomination”, I tried to find out if it was some WordPress.com thing or something created by a blogger. I tried to find out, in short, what significance these things had.
The matter of “nominating” fifteen more for the award made no sense. (See table, eh!?) They seemed like an empty recognition to me, though it was interesting to see at least one person felt my blog was fun/interesting/significant in some way. I guess.
gpcox gets it right with his “chain letter” comment, above. These “awards”, at least, are innocuous enough, unlike those awful prayer chain letters where there is an inspirational message followed by a threat that if you don’t pass it on to X-number of people, the chain will be broken, and terrible things will happen. (God works in mysterious ways?) I break those chains every time. Friends don’t pass on threats in the form of prayers.
I am the same. Though I feel bad to turn them down, since it reflects back on the person nominating me, I hope this particular post helps others understand how irrational these awards are. I think a thoughtful comment (even if not in praise of something I’ve written) is more than enough reward for posting on my blog.
As for Smitty, your thoughtful, well-researched and well-written blog honors him – and all others who served in America’s military in wartime – superbly. I think I have a veteran’s appreciation for veterans who served in war, but I come away from your blog with a stronger sense of their sacrifice and the contribution they made to our quality of life.
I tend to be overwhelmed by the amount of work involved in accepting a nomination, but it is nice to receive one. I like to read the nominated blogs as well, but I find that I can’t keep up with all the new “followed” blogs in my reader. I attempted to get email notifications of new posts from all of the blogs I follow, but it is obvious that Comcast is blocking most notifications from WordPress. So I end up not reading much at all.
Yes, it is nice to check out the nominated blogs. I’ve added some to my “follow” list as well.
I’ve had to review just what I want out of following blogs, however, since I regularly received notifications for more updates than I have time to read.
So far, I’ve cut back to original posts, cutting out responses from readers. Many times those are worth reading as well, but so is getting out in the fresh air!
I have trouble keeping up with the blogs in the reader so I am unfollowing and re-following each blog again if the blog has a subscription link. I will spend less time in the reader if I get email notifications – the reader notifications don’t seem to work – and I’ll be able to get some fresh air as well.
I’ll have to try that!
I am always honored when someone nominates me, but then feel bad to turn it down. I just don’t think it belongs in that particular site since they are basically computer chain letters. I want people to read my site because they are interested, want to learn or just enjoy the pictures. And, if I ever accomplish one thing, I wish it would be that someone remember Smitty.