Kelly’s talking about whether a blogger’s physical weight plays a role in her popularity. It got me to thinking, are there other factors that contribute to a blogger’s success, but really shouldn’t?
What about age? Older bloggers could be considered more experienced and “wiser,” but a younger blogger might be more thought of as more savvy and more fun.
How about general attractiveness? Ethnicity? Gender?
There was a time when the Internet was much more anonymous. Many people worked and socialized online under screen names and never posted pictures of themselves. Now, especially with social networking being so popular, people realize that building relationships is a better way to market online and we’re making ourselves know by name and picture.
Does putting a picture out there to be more personable end up backfiring for some?
To Kelly, it appears that it’s the slender, beautiful mom bloggers that are attending live events. Or at least that’s who is in the pictures from the events. Self-confidence is probably a contributing factor and those of us who aren’t so skinny may stay home because of it. Or are we there and just good at avoiding having our picture taken?
As I said in response to Kelly’s blog post. I think it’s no different in the blogging world than it is in society in general. Thin, good looking bloggers are likely to be more popular because for the most part we all many of us still hold on to stereotypes about overweight and unattractive people.
What do you think?
March 5th, 2009 at 1:37 PM
Great additional thoughts Linda!
I agree with you that it is the same as the offline world. I know quite a few are saying that it doesn’t matter online – but when it comes to the top levels of success, it does. It clearly does.
March 10th, 2009 at 9:14 PM
no, I don’t agree. It has everything to do with confidence and although there is nothing you can do to change some pplz minds on stereotypes, you wouldn’t be attracting those types of ppl – anyway…unless
unless you focus on those types of people, and you will get more of those types of people.
I’m a black 20 year old guy, and yet the number thing I noticed that made the difference for me was not my race. my age (or my good looks) – it was my confidence in my ability to make money online and my passion to help people make money online that got me to wher eI am today.
If stereotypes is something people are using as an excuse, I would say “get a clue”
March 18th, 2009 at 6:57 AM
Hi Josef,
I absolutely agree that we shouldn’t use any stereotypes as an excuse. But at the same time, I think it’s important to acknowledge that they exist, to work against them, and to plan to overcome them. And yes, confidence is critical in the process.
Thanks for your comments!
March 31st, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Unfortunately I probably agree that these type of stereotypes do come into play online. It really shouldn’t be this way offline or online but especially online as I judge people and blogs by the content they produce and their ability to communicate well. However the old “judging a book by it’s cover” still rings true for many people. Despite this I believe it can be overcome, if you continue to produce quality content and information people will link to you and you will become popular nonetheless. There may just be more of an initial hurdle to overcome.
April 3rd, 2009 at 6:10 AM
Hi David,
That’s a good way to put it, “an initial hurdle to overcome.” Thanks for stopping by.
April 9th, 2009 at 1:32 AM
blogs, are unique tools for communicators because they’ve made it possible for everybody to publish online. Although blogging seems to lend a much more amateur tone to communications thanks to the abundance of self-publishing software, professional communicators have been successfully utilizing them to promote their organizations.