I have been on this site now for what, almost a year I think (I'd have to actually look at my profile to get the exact number of weeks, but I joined somewhere around June of last year)... But you can definitely see where I have grown as a blogger. This was my first blogging site when I joined.
You can see a difference in my writing styles from when I first started posting (http://www.progressiveu.org/190000-does-the-united-states-government-have-the-right-to-ban-smoking-or-other-things-proven-harmful-to-ones-health)
to somewhere in the middle during my second contest (http://www.progressiveu.org/190000-should-theocratic-evidence-in-non-religious-debates-be-allowed)
To more recent posts (http://www.progressiveu.org/014347-are-you-racist)
So what's my point?
I've grown... That's what we're all supposed to be doing, yes? But sadly, I don't think others agree. And why have I grown? Because I read through my emails / private messages, and take the criticism (even the rude ones) into consideration.
You see, many of my changes came about because of emailed complaints. When I first started, I got very few comments on my blogs, but a lot of emails saying "you're blogs are too long"... So I shortened them.
Then I got emails saying "you should blog more about news and keep your opinions on other things to yourself" - so I began blogging about the news and incorporating what I believed to be attention-worthy news stories into more of my blogs. No, I did not keep my other opinions to myself.
Then I received emails from people saying "you shouldn't copy and paste the news article directly into your blog, just provide a link" so now I have even begun cutting down the length of the articles that I directly copy into my post, and also provide a link.
Then I started getting complaints that I just post a blog and ask for others' opinions rather than post my own opinions (which was never true); so I started making sure my opinions were stated very clearly so they would not be missed.
I've received emails saying I blog too much, and others saying I blog too little. Some say that my blogs are thoughtless, while others say they don't get enough attention. I've been accused of taking on too many "causes" for my blogs. I see myself posting a blog, receiving very few comments, and then another blog about the exact same topic, with the exact same opinion gets posted and receives more comments and replies and/or becomes featured.
And now, I have even received emails complaining that my friends list is too long, and that's the only reason any of my blogs get any ratings at all... What are peoples' problems?
So far in this contest, I have been accused of being selfish, making up stories to blog about, not putting any thought into my blogs, and writing too much. Granted, the levels of these accusations runs anywhere from polite suggestions to blunt accusations...
But I am beginning to wonder, why? Why do people feel the need to take anyone who is making an earnest attempt at this site and turn it into a negative thing? Seriously? Who cares if I post a lot of blogs one day, and only two the next day? Does the number of blogs that I post make the meaning behind the blogs any less important, somehow?
I am willing to bet that I would probably get along with many of the members of this site if we were to meet in real life rather than simply over a few comments and a font. But, I can only deduce that most of the people that seem to so dislike me only do so because of our shared involvement in this contest. I think the amount of my private messages and emails wouldn't be nearly as high if A) this contest wasn't taking place and B) there were the same number of users as there are today.
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