Book Blogger Confessions is a new meme hosted by All-Consuming Books and For What It's Worth. You can find out all about it here.
Every second week there is one topic that has something to do with book-blogging that you can discuss on your blog.
This week's topic is: Memes. Love em or hate em? How many do you participate in? Which kinds do you like best? Do you feel like there are too many?
I think when you start blogging, memes are great. I did lots when I first started - Waiting on Wednesday, Follow Friday, On My Wishlist, and In My Mailbox. They're a great way to get your blog out there when you're a new blogger, and they helped me a lot in the beginning.
Now, though, I'm not a huge fan anymore. I don't like being so dependent on other blogs, and I think it's important not to overdo it with the memes - make sure your blog has original content. Making your blog stand out is hard when most of your posts are memes. I've replaced most memes with original features. Instead of On My Wishlist and Waiting on Wednesday, I do my Bookish Wishlist and Bookish Anticipation features, and instead of In My Mailbox I do My New Treasures (although that change wasn't because I wanted to not do memes anymore but because of the recent drama). I like that this way, I can be more independent in how and when I post. Make sure to still credit the people who came up with it, though!
The only memes I still do now are Book Blogger Confessions and Top Ten Tuesday - I like these two because they let you post original content with each post, and because you can't do these by yourself, since they give you a topic each week.
So that's what I do on my blog. Now, for what I like on other blogs... it's the same thing, really. I like memes, as long as you don't overdo it. I'd say no more than two or three memes a week. I think some memes are better than others - basically, the more thought you have to put into your post, the better. I like memes like this one, since you can see people spent some time writing the post. I don't want to sound rude, but I'm not a fan of memes like It's Moday, What Are You Reading? and Teaser Tuesday - those are often just a picture and a few sentences. If it's just filler, then I prefer not posting at all.
So, that's what I think of memes. They're great when you're just starting out, but once you've established yourself a little, I think you should try to do your own thing. If you're putting some thoughts into it, memes can be great, but if it's just filler, I'd just prefer not posting - quality always beats quantity.
What do you think of memes?
Posts
Hi I'm Bones over at Getting Lost in Words. I love reading what "veterans" of the blogging worlds advice. Since we are relatively new, it helps to observe the bloggers who are doing so well. Memes are helping us a lot right now. I guess it's interesting to compare your content vs. another blogs. However, I also see the dependency side of it too. :)
ReplyDeleteI think my blog would have been lost at the beginning without memes. It was how I got people to come to my blog and how I met other bloggers.
ReplyDeleteNow though? I find most of them kind of dull but I don't mean that in a nasty way. I just sort of wish I could see more reviews and discussion posts around. Sometimes I'll look down my Blog Reading List and just see meme meme meme meme meme meme review meme meme meme. I LOVE the memes that generate discussion- like this one. And I still do my mailbox meme every Sunday because I think it's a whole lot of fun and I get lots of new book ideas from it and it's just a nice way wrap up the week. I know a lot of people don't like the mailbox post and that's cool too. It'd be boring if we all liked the same things! I think memes are cool but not when there's more meme posts than reviews etc. :)
I agree that participating in a bunch of memes when you start blogging can be a great way to get to know other bloggers. I started out with a few, like Teaser Tuesday, that I just stopped doing --- and now, I keep it to 3 (and even then, don't participate every single week). I think it's all about balance --- I'd prefer my blog to be a mix of discussion and book reviews, with an occasional photo --- so the 3 memes work well for me.
ReplyDeleteMemes really help when you're just getting started. It's hard to get a lot of reviews ready to go on a regular basis at first plus the topics can give you some guidance but it's always good to branch out with your own original content after a while.
ReplyDeleteIf I can't tell much about the bloggers personality and reading tastes I move on.
I agree, memes are a great way to meet new bloggers when you first start out. But they do become a bit repetitive if there are too many - I only read the meme posts for memes I'm participating in myself usually.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to put your own spin on things and feel more comfortable for it - no pressure or stress with linking - this is supposed to be FUN after all!
Personally I use It's Monday What Are You Reading as more of a record for myself - although I usually visit the other participants too! I'm nosy like that ;)
Oh, I think doing those memes is totally fine - I personally just don't often read them, and they'd be kinda pointless for me because it says on my sidebar what I'm currently reading, and I don't often plan what to read next. If it helps you keep track of what you're reading, that's cool :)
ReplyDeleteHi Bones! Thanks, even though I wouldn't call myself a veteran of the blogging world :p But like I said, I think if you're just starting out, memes can be a great way to get your name out there! I personally just want my blog to be more individual, now that I've established myself a little :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not a blogger, but I can see how using memes not only gets you introduced to other bloggers and readers who link to people following their memes, but it's also a way of trying out new things until you find out what you like to do.
ReplyDeleteI really like your memes, because there's thought that goes into it. I'm also kind of attached to Teaser Tuesday because you get a small sample of the book and you can see if you like the style or dialogue.
Swoon Thursdays are good too, because they put in extended excerpts of kissy scenes, and if you're looking for a good romance in a book as well as an action-packed plot, that gives you a good idea of how the romance is handled.
True, that could be nice - I personally just don't really read Teaser Tuesday posts. You could get the same thing from reviews that include quotes, though. (Which I don't do. But still :p) And I haven't heard of Swoon Thursday - that sounds fun!
ReplyDeletethat's great advice about being more original. i do enjoy participating in some memes though!
ReplyDeleteVery few reviews include quotes, though, which is why I love this meme! I know that reviews are for the blogger's reactions and thoughts but sometimes it's good to get a taste of the actual dialogue.
ReplyDeleteSwoon Thursday is a lot of fun:)
Memes are okay but not when people depend on them coz I feel like they are topics just to have a post for the sake of having one. it takes away originality
ReplyDeleteI love memes. It's like a sideline for bloggers that instead of writing a book review, they get to do fun stuff. But, I think it kind of gets boring when a blogger has memes from Monday-Sunday STRAIGHT. I know as much as possible, bloggers want to have something to post in their blogs. But I find it odd to have a meme everyday just to say that you have posted something. Though I enjoy other blogger's memes. LOL I'm not a blogger but as a reader, somehow, it's gets really odd and not so much of as an attention-getter (is there such a word?).
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to know that you minimize your memes to original posts. I'm not saying that the other memes are not original. But you know, it's not really attractive to read some memes which are the same with all the other bloggers. Though I know each meme aims to speak out a blogger's thoughts, some memes are not just really for me to read at all.
I like Top Ten Tuesday too! It's fun to read the things that bloggers love and hate. :)
Yeah, true. I'd llike to include quotes in my reviews, but I'm too lazy to keep notes of what passages I'd like to quote, like most bloggers, I guess. But that's the point of memes, isn't it? There are so many that everyone will find some that they like :)
ReplyDeleteI dunno. An excessive overload is really terrible, I hate blogs that participate in EVERYTHING, there is no original content.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I participate in IMM every fortnight and that's it. I have features on the blog that I post sometimes but I'm not a huge fan of memes. I like to offer original content!
Very true:)
ReplyDeleteI participate in Teaser Tuesdays when I am kind of struggling to come up with ideas for posts. Otherwise, I prefer to have original posts as opposed to one that everyone is posting on the same day.
ReplyDeleteJust found and followed your blog. Some really great stuff on here! :)
ReplyDelete