It’s been a while since I’ve had a #BloggingDesk post but the topic of this one has been on my mind a lot lately.  I have recently been seeing, mostly on Instagram, a wave of bloggers I have followed for a long time putting down other bloggers, whether by name or in vague Instagram stories saying “this type of blogger shouldn’t share this type of information.”  And honestly, I’m just kind of sick of that attitude in the blogging community.  Here’s the thing, when blogging started, we all supported each other.  We put buttons on each others pages, we commented for each other and messaged each other with questions.  Over time that feeling has gone away, and it’s turned into a business, it’s turned into a competition and unfortunately, it’s turned into a negative space sometimes.

My attitude in life is always one of inclusivity.  I whole heartedly believe that there is room for everyone and that a rising tide raises all boats.  I’ve often had people tell me, especially as an entrepreneur and owning my own businesses that I need to do things different to beat out the competition.  But, respectfully, I disagree.  If I don’t get a project but someone I know does, I support them, I encourage them, I celebrate with them, particularly among other women.  If a friend of mine does something amazing or gets something amazing, I try to lift the women in my life up, not tear them down.  Same thing goes for blogging.  I fully believe that when one of us bloggers succeeds, we all succeed.  Just because someone is doing something different, just because a fashion blogger shares travel advice or someone shares something different than you expect, doesn’t mean we need to tear them down in front of thousands of followers.

The problem in my mind is this: once bloggers with large followings start doing this, everyone will start doing it.  And once large groups of followers hear something from a blogger they like and follow, it starts to resonate and after a while, maybe they start sharing negative feedback to other bloggers too.  I get sometimes calling someone out on something you don’t agree with, but publicly denouncing them to your thousands of followers on Instagram seems to go over the line for me personally.  Let’s have a conversation without throwing people under the bus and telling them that what they’re doing is wrong.

I hope blogging can get back to the way it once was, when the support was measured in a community atmosphere and not one where large bloggers take it upon themselves to say how other people are doing it wrong.  Because at the end of the day, it should be up to the readers to decide that privately and not have someone tearing them down on Instagram so publicly.  We’re all just people – let’s support each other and lift each other up and the world will be a better place all around.

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