My irritations with (would-be) influencers

This blog exists 17 years. I started the first posts in 2005.  In 2005, there were no iPhones, there was no Facebook for the public, there was no Twitter or Instagram or ... There was no mobile internet. 

I started to blog to stay in touch with friends in Canada. It was meant to tell them what I had been up to. To me it feels like answering in the office at the coffee machine the question if I had had a good weekend.  So I tell you that I went to visit family or went for a walk or that I had to laugh with the funny quotes my children make.  And maybe I show a couple of my iphone pictures to prove my point.

But it feels very unnatural to throw in my little conversation about the walk I've done or the zoo I've visited, the costs of entry, comments where there is a parking lot or not, whether there's discounts on the website and if they have a subscriptions' formula.   It's weird to announce that I'll give you a series of advice and announce a little program.  It's weird to shout out my enthusiasm on a product and that you can get a discount if you would like to try it too. 

I love to hear about your children, your vacation or your latest baking recipe that was such a success to your father or the books you loved to read, but I feel puzzled when in the same breath you tell me where you've bought that book or with which airline you've booked. Really, when we cross each other on the street and have a chat, that's not the kind of information you would start spreading spontaneously. So now it doesn't feel natural either.  If I'm interested in brands and services, I can always ask for it. 

However, I do understand that social media evolved. when you're an entrepreneur, you'll blog about yourself naturally and you'll want to position your brand and your expertise in the market.  I understand that people have passions that they really love to share, so they'll dedicate a blog to it.  That's perfectly fine, but it's not the type of blogs I tend to read. And for big companies, it's a win.  But it isn't to me. 

I can totally understand that's exciting if you've received some good level of readers   (and for the latter, I might also be jealous some days, I must be totally honest) and all of a sudden you are contacted for a deal that seems like fun. Who am I to judge that you want to participate.  But I'm desperately trying to avoid to click on your post if I spot publicity in my feed reader, as not to incite your statistics to a lot more of these posts. 

I'm just one of those boomers online that wants to have simple, unstructured conversations that are not overly prepared. And if your blogging / social media posting motivation shifts to "influence" me I tend to lose interest in your story and I'll walk away.