Why Are These Bloggers So Weird?
It’s Weird Wednesday, and today I’m highlighting an odd trend within the blogging community. Bloggers are often a quirky bunch to begin with. But having spent the last year finding my way around inside of the strange Middle Earth known as the Blogosphere, I’ve discovered it’s even weirder than I had suspected.
What are some of these strange bloggers doing? I’ll tell you. Instead of promoting their own work, they promote other businesses and blogs. Now that is seriously weird. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this very weird stuff, my friends….
Martha Giffen, author of Be Social Be Rich, recently wrote a post called “Do Blogs Really Matter? These Do!” where she shows off the work of four other bloggers. Martha, Martha, Martha! Why wouldn’t you proselytize about your own work? After all, you’ve got an awesome book on Amazon.
Christy Birmingham, a freelance writer, poet and award-winning author of the blog “Poetic Parfait,” spends much of her blogging time reviewing other people’s poetry and music! Come on, Christy. How do you expect to get your own work promoted if you’re spending all that energy shining the light on other people’s stuff? Good luck trying to wade through the sea of comments she gets on all of her posts, by the way.
Anne Marie Dwyer (just call her “Red”), a prolific blogger at Momma’s Money Matters, hands out Gold Star blogging awards to other bloggers! She also interviews musicians and writers. And she recently promoted my first Weird Wednesday post on Google+ with a message titled “You Had Me at a Skull in a Blender”. Seriously, Red, what are you doing pushing other people into the limelight? We need to have a little talk about PR, honey.
Knikkolette Fahrendorf Church, of Your Social Media Mogul: When she’s not educating people with her short snappy video training and educational blog posts, she’s all over the Internet coaxing people into promoting each other. Now that’s just strange behavior. If I could hazard a guess, I’d say she has been responsible for at least 100 to 200 people improving their Klout scores and overall online visibility, if not directly helping them to land more clients. Why does she do this? I don’t know. Maybe you can learn something about this weird approach from her blog post about the Benefits of Online Communities.
Keri Francek Jaehnig, of Idea Girl Media. I don’t even know where to start with this gal. She takes the prize. At the end of last year she put out a blog post called “My 2011 Gratitude Honor Roll” highlighting the people and online communities that had made a difference in her business last year. (Again – it’s all about them! What is up with that?) But here’s the show stopper. She spent the entire month of January 2012 hosting a program she called “January Jig” featuring other business and marketing professionals in live interactive chats on her Idea Girl Media Facebook page. I’m not kidding! There was a different one every single day!
And it’s not just women. Men are out there promoting other people too.
Fabrizio Faraco, whose blog is available in both English and Italian, is also into the business of promoting others. He recently wrote a blog post about improving your online presence with content marketing that was devoted to highlighting the recommendations of another blogger. He’s just all about sharing! If you so much as comment on one of his posts or +1 his content, he’ll turn right around and promote you or give you a K+ on Klout.
And check this out. His Google Plus feed reads like a catalog of other people’s content!
Well, that’s just a brief survey of this weird trend, my friends. It’s happening everywhere. I may just have to cover this topic again because I have merely scratched the surface.
Please, if you have any insight at all as to why these weird bloggers are doing this, I beg you to share your thoughts in the comments below.
To your content marketing success,
Jayna
p.s. Doesn’t anyone want a promo brochure anymore? Anyone? Anyone?
What a fun post! I have to admit, it’s not the first time I’ve been called “weird”!! Thanks for highlighting my work
And you know I say it with love, Martha! You really are an inspiration. The trends today are very different. Self-promotion doesn’t work. And it was fun highlighting some business owners who are doing things right!
Very well written Jayna. They truly are amazing and generous individuals. They are true leaders that we can all learn from!
Kudos to you and the featured bloggers on this post!
Jocelyn
Thank you, Jocelyn. You know them! It’s so nice to be a part of a community of people who are setting a great example. Looking forward to sharing your wisdom soon in a guest post!
Most definitely!
Jayna,
Honored to be grouped with this sellar group!! {Even if we are all weird – hehe}
They have all done amazing things, and I am personally connected to all but one. Nifty things have been going on, eh?
Thank you for featuring the work of others. Thank you for including me.
Looking forward to our upcoming chat…
~Keri
It was fun to write about you, Keri! And thanks for being able to take some ribbing. I think the most successful people are all a little weird… meaning they think creatively and lead the way with innovation. And they all do one thing really well, which is to help other people grow and flourish. You’ve set an awesome example. And I look forward to chatting with you too!
Jayna!
I loved the post and am thrilled to be featured with such amazing, generous professionals. I wear my “weirdness” as a badge of honor if it means I get to hang with people like you. Thanks so much for the post. YOU ROCK!
What a weird way to compliment …
Great list of great people and you are right! What IS happening?
Could it be SOCIAL media, do you think people are catching on?
Let me know when you get your answer. I want to be in the know as well.
Dorien
I agree Dorien! It’s a very weird way to compliment people. And you are in that group of creative, inspired (“weird”) social media pros too. How many professionals wear funny orange glasses on their Facebook page?
Thanks Knikkolette! Well, it just goes to show that I chose some awesome people to tease about their weirdness! You not only take the teasing well, but you wear the label with pride.
In all seriousness, you are one of the Queen Bees, and I really enjoy learning from your generosity and all you do for your online community!
Well done Jayna! I have had the pleasure of working with some of these brilliant and strange people. I won’t mention any names to protect the innocent, but I prefer to think of them as just different. You know in a weird kind of way. LOL
Thanks Tom. Your comment went into a “special” place, and I just uncovered it. Thanks for visiting and commenting!
Jayna recently posted..How a Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead Guy Got Over 100,000 Fans
A fantastic read and a great approach by those above
Thank you Social Ben, and so nice to meet you! Come on back and hang out with us again, okay?
Oh, Jayna! This is just fun! One of my long-time job descriptors has been promoter. It is a way of life for me. I commented to someone recently I must have been an emcee in another life. Or it is just fallout from having so many children. A debate of epic proportion!
Thank you for using me as an example. It seems you have taken the lesson of promotion to heart!
Red.
SUCH a pleasure. You have no idea. I merely collected a small number of the amazing people who have influenced me with their wit and wisdom over the last few months and had some fun describing what really is intelligence and creativity. “Weird” makes a much better title, though, don’t you think?
Another great post! You’re on a roll!
Some of these very people help me out on a regular basis, and without them I would be utterly lost, probably back at Helium writing articles for a buck (if i am lucky enough to have them accepted, and there are titles available that i like!)
I’m not sure that you could’ve picked better choices!
Hi Marc,
Thanks so much! I knew you’d agree with me. :^)
It’s great fun to be a part of a community of talented and engaged social media and writing pros. I know you’re on your way too and it’s fun to see all the neat things you’re up to!
Excellent, Jayna! Great job on this writeup–an interesting angle–and you were right on with your selected bloggers. They’re fantastic!
Thanks Raymond! I appreciate your stopping by and saying hello. Glad you’re a part of my blogging community, and I look forward to reading more of your work!
Great post Jayna! That is what I call CREATIVITY and thought provoking
Oh, thank you for the awesome compliment. It’s great to hear when your blog post provokes thoughts! Best to you, Anne.
Jayna, sorry it is taking me a lengthy time to comment here as I have been too busy promoting other people’s works! hehe I think you’re equally weird for promoting our work in your blog post
hehe all in good fun 
Christy
See? I knew you guys could take a little teasing. And I appreciate you throwing me in with the Weird Bloggers mix. I’m so flattered… I’m verklempt!
Jayna I love your style! I’m honoured to be in this fab group and to have been reviewed (for the first time in my life) by someone like you. I considering weird a compliment! Weird is always associated with creativity and this is positive. Thanks.
Oh I am so glad you enjoyed this, Fabrizio. And I’m also glad that you took it as a compliment. And of course it is!
And you, Jayna, fit right in: I saw you recommend my blog for Darren Rowse to interview – that’s in the midst of everyone else blowing their own trumpet.
THANK YOU!
Thanks so much, Ana! Great to see you here. You’re one of my absolute favorite bloggers of all time because you provide so much value and education that people can really use to enhance their blogging skills and traffic. I am honored by your visit and your compliment. I hope Darren connects with you!