Gloomy Day, Interesting Thoughts
Posted on: October 4, 2010
EDIT: ok, I’m kind of sick of hearing about it now . . . Let’s move on shall we 😉
It is gloom city out here! Cold, rainy and dark. After a long wonderful weekend, it was not easy to get my ass out of bed and go to work. Surprisingly, I got a lot done. However, that may be because my boss, much like a premenstrual woman . . . is taking something out on me without telling me why. I’m a communicator, so it pisses me off when people are mad or upset about something I may have done and don’t tell me about it. Apparently, it is easier to hold a grudge and treat me like shit until it all goes away. Whatever, I can’t worry about it.
Though, I am getting a bit worried that I haven’t gotten my official acceptance letter from school. She said around October 1st. Is today around October first? . . . Eh, I’m just getting antsy.
Apparently, all is gloomy in healthy blog land too! Unless your living under a healthy blog shielding rock, you probably have read about The Article. The one attacking the 6 popular healthy living bloggers. You can find it somewhere . . . I promise.
Your probably sick of reading rebuttals and thoughts already, but I’m going to say my piece anyway . . . .
First, I think that ANY magazine that is targeting bloggers will RARELY ever show them in a positive light.
WHY?
Because more and more people are turning to free accounts of real peoples lives instead of buying crappy magazines full of advertising featuring products and lives we never want to and in most cases, cant afford to have.
I think the article is kind of mean. It showcases these women in a bad light and leaves out VERY important information. Of course you ate more then a brownie after running . . . Why in the world would someone report that you didn’t?
These women have never claimed to be any kind of specialists and have never told anyone to follow what they do for success whether it is deemed unhealthy or not and for that, I feel bad that they were put in a negative light.
The magazine is actually not helping their case because what do you think they are going to research after reading this article?
Anyway . . . .
All this aside, ALL media including blogs must be taken with a grain of salt and I understand that people who are in the midst or even slightly recovering from any kind if disordered eating should heed this advice even MORE.
But, even little old me . . . I must admit, had a hard time starting this blog up. When I first started reading healthy living blogs, a few of those 6 were the ones I read, frankly because I didn’t know that there were many others. When I started Balancing Val, I didn’t think I had what it took to be worthy of having my own blog because I didn’t fit that same mold as them.
It led to my most popular post DO I FIT IN HERE?
I quickly realized that having my OWN voice was important . . . No matter how many chia seeds I DIDNT have in my repetitive bowl of oats. I like where I am, and that I can be ridiculous self 😉 There are SO many blogs out there that you and I relate to better. Just because they arent wildly popular does NOT mean that their worth in this community is any different. No one should be the same and I really enjoy how the differences in us round out this community.
Honestly, I still read these popular blogs. They have done some hard work marketing themselves to the point that I just like reading them for interest and not imitation. I absolutely don’t hold any of them accountable for my successes and failures, and neither should anyone else.
Like a lot of people, I think that this article raises some very interesting discussions and thoughts. I think the main thing we all can take away is . . .
No matter what, people should be themselves . . . Always!
What are YOUR thoughts?
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3 Responses to "Gloomy Day, Interesting Thoughts"
October 4, 2010 at 7:11 pm
I cna tell you I enjoyed blogging a lot more when I quit trying to be like them.
I thought the article was misleading and a little hypocritical–but, it’s journalism for ya.
October 4, 2010 at 8:55 pm
My first blog was going to document my training for the Walt Disney World marathon in 2012. It crashed and burned because that blog isn’t me. My current blog is much more successful because its “Kate” writing it, not “Kate who is trying to be like another Kate.”
I read the article and felt it was rather one-sided. There were some interesting points raised, but because of the tone, no one will take the issues seriously.
I still want to buy a bag of chai seed just to see what the hullabaloo is all about.
Balancing Val 
October 4, 2010 at 7:03 pm
I personally don’t think it’s a huge deal. Media is media, people are people, none of it’s perfect and no one should expect it to be. I personally think these bloggers were wronged, but readers and bloggers alike need to take responsibility for their own actions and do what’s right for them. No blogger or other media can make you do anything, so there’s no point in playing the blame game.