Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Blenvy

Ben has given us the terms blangst (blog angst) and blatisfaction (blog satisfaction). Now I give you blenvy.

Blenvy is Blog-Envy. The act or attitude of envying another blogger her readership, influence, layout or design, writing style, or the comments or praise her blog receives. Blenvy can be experienced in many ways from feelings of personal inadequacy to anger at another blogger. It can find expression in petty ways like withholding blog love (blove) from that blogger (not linking to him, commenting on his posts, blugging etc), to public, real world bad mouthing of him. Blenvy is an experience common to bloggers. It often takes the blogger by surprise and leads to much blangst ('Oh no! I can't believe I'm feeling this way. Blogging is really bad for me!') but should be considered normal. The best treatment for blenvy is usually to laugh it off and try not to take yourself and your blogging so seriously.

5 comments:

  1. Too true. I think a lot of angst and envy comes with blogging, and I certainly feel both quite a bit.

    I think we forget that there are really not that many arenas in the rest of our lives where we are continually sticking our necks out, putting ourselves out there in the way that we do when we blog. It's quite a feat to write something personal and then just put it up for anyone to see.

    So it's no surprise then that all this angsty stuff comes along with it, if it's not turning out how we'd hoped.

    Sure, the angst is bad, but it at least shows us we are doing something a bit courageous and unusual putting our stuff out there in the first place.

    That's what I reckon, anyway.

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  2. I like that explanation. It makes me feel better. Until now, my blangst has been based on the reasoning that what I blog about really is rubbish that no one is interested in...although my kids enjoy the YouTube funnies.

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  3. I have blenvy for your blarvellous blog, Blimone.

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  4. So is "blimitation" when you take somebody's idea and use it on your blog?

    What are the ethics of blimitation? Should I, in my blenvy, desire the number of comments Ben gets on his quiz (which are a marketers dream by the way - I could harvest the info he's gleaned in a year and build pretty comprehensive profiles of the people - maybe I've just stumbled on his evil plan), and just create my own quiz? Or should I think deeply about what I can create to rival or duplicate the quiz in my own neck of the woods?

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