To Follow or Unfollow, That is The Question

OK Lovelies

As I reached my first year blogging, I started think about the bloggers I have unfollowed,or refused to follow in that time.
I'm not sure if I have been fair, but here's my reasoning. Tell me what you think?

i)You can't be bothered to acknowledge your commenters!
OK, this is the "biggie" for me. I used to follow a very popular blog (I won't mention the name as many of you still follow her). I used to comment religiously because her posts were really good. But "hostess" NEVER, EVER acknowledged anyone's comments. C'mooooooon!! In this day and age when everyone is so "time-starved" surely to just thank the people who have taken the time to respond is not asking too much. Isn't it like asking people to your party, and then ignoring everyone?

Her number of commenters aren't that big, so even if "hostess" doesn't want to respond to each one, just a general thank you at the end of each post isn't too much to ask. A couple of times I e:mailed "hostess" about a particular post, and again she never responded. However, when she wanted me to advertise on her site, I received incessant e:mails all beautifully and sweetly written!! Not the kind of person I would want contact with in the real world. Thankfully with cyber-acquaintances they can be deleted too easily with just a press of a button, which is why I think more effort is needed to nurture these friendships.If you can't be bothered, neither can I?

ii) Backlink Baddies:
You only leave bland responses on a post simply so you can leave a backlink back to your post. Isn't that like gate-crashing someone's party and handing out your calling/business card? (sorry, we are back at the party again!) Usually I spot the same bland comment on a number of posts, by the same person, and it's very clear you haven't even read the post!

iii)I'm scared of you:
Yes, on your blog posts, you ignite the grenade, and then stand back and watch your commenters pull each others hair out. Not the kind of tribe I wish to belong too

iv) Ouch!:
You leave nasty comments on people's blogs. I'm all for discussion and different opinions (and love when someone plays devils advocate), but how you present your opinion will impact on whether I follow or press delete! Thankfully, I never encountered this. As an ex-Criminal Psychologist I would like to think I am a "goodish" judge of character ;-)

v)Originality passed you by:
I'm talking about the bloggers who only post image after image from the glossy magazines. C'mon! If I wanted to see all the images from Vogue, I would have bought it. Of course if it fits in with your post, that's a different issue. But if it's just the images with a "wow" thrown in here and there, you will have lost me.

So there you have it. Am I being to harsh? I just think we are all so pushed for time, that if I am going to spend precious minutes reading your blog, there has to be a good reason.


This means that all the followers I do follow, I seriously LOVE! You have all earned your place on my blogroll, and I appreciate each and every one of you for:
*the smiles you bring into my day
*the recommendations you have given me whether it be for a book, a film, a recipe....whatever
*belly laughs first thing in the morning (you know who you are)
*nuggets you planted in my mind, that really made me think
*escapism with your gorgeous images, art, story-telling (nothing better than breaking up the monotony of the day), and most important of all
*friendships without borders
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH



Are there anymore "nasties" that should be added to the "hit-list"? Am I being too harsh? Would love to hear your thoughts.

p.s don't forget to enter our Giveaway in the previous blog post!