Friday, July 30, 2010

Friend Friday: Blogger Jealousy

Happy Almost-To-The-Weekend Day, everyone!

 Katy received a suggestion last week that we look at the topic of blogger envy/jealousy for this edition of Friend Friday. These are things that I've struggled with my entire life; I've always had self-esteem issues.  It has more to do with kids in school than anything else; my parents are fantastic and always make me feel like I'm wonderful in their eyes. I have great parents!

 Anyway - on to this week's questions!

 1. How do you define jealousy?
From Dictionary.com:
a. jealous resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another's success or advantage itself.
b. mental uneasiness from suspicion or fear of rivalry, unfaithfulness, etc., as in love or aims.
c. vigilance in maintaining or guarding something.
d. a jealous feeling, disposition, state, or mood.

2. When do you find you experience a bit of blogger jealousy?
Almost daily, when I see everyone's cute outfits!

3. What types of blogs or which bloggers are you a little jealous of?
I tend to envy those people who have the know-how to make a living out of blogging so that they can work for themselves.  It's no secret that I would absolutely love to homeschool my daughter and be a stay-at-home mom.  However, we can't afford to live on one income and I have yet to find a way to work from home. I can't stand being on the phone (I have an iPhone and use it for everything EXCEPT making phone calls, unless it's an emergency), so I can't do anything that involves phone calls for hours. Blogging would be perfect for me but so far, it's not something that I can do to earn an income. Right now I'm blogging because I enjoy it and I'm really having a great time meeting so many wonderful people!

4. From the time we're little we are taught that jealousy is a bad thing, but it can also inspire us to be better. Have you changed the way you do things, the content of your blog, etc...as a result of what someone else is doing?
I'm constantly changing the way I do things (on my blog and in real life) because of something I see someone else do.  That's not necessarily a jealousy issue, it's more inspirational and an aspiration to improve. I do make changes based upon my own ideas too, though!

5. What is the best way to overcome jealousy in the blogosphere and in life?
If you have an answer to this, let me know!
 
That's it for this week!  Be sure to check out Katy's blog and see what all of the other Friend Friday contributors are saying!

15 comments:

  1. I have to admit that I, too, wish I could make the kind of money I make in my real job as a full-time blogger. Then again, I haven't chased sponsorships or advertising. I kinda really detest blog ads.

    Loved your honesty about this.

    ♥ V
    http://www.gritandglamour.com

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  2. What an interesting Q&A this week. I think jealousy is never really talked about in the blogosphere, yet I think we all experience it. I definitely struggle with wanting to do advertising and making it a more fulltime thing, and finding myself envious of the bloggers who seemed to do it effortlessly. I have to remind myself that for right now, this is just my hobby.

    Thanks for sharing this.

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  3. I loved your honesty in this too! I too am envious of those who can blog on a full time basis. The thought of just getting up and writing all day is pure heaven to me! LOL

    But you're on the right track about constantly learning from those blogs and just remember that at the end of the day, the blog is your vision and no one elses!

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  4. I think all of us would love to figure out how to make a real living from this. But I agree with your thoughts... we've got to love that it is a hobby for now and make the most of it.

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  5. wonderful answers!
    i mirror the feelings of seeing those who make living out of what they love to do versus what they have to do to get by on a daily basis. for mothers out there, more power to you on so many levels. i can't even imagine.
    off topic...i hate talking on the phone too! :o)

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  6. I would LOVE to work from home too. And blogging would be just my style!

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  7. I think we're all in vast agreement here that if we could blog for a living, that'd be awesome - but 99% of us don't and probably won't make a dime out of blogging, and that's fine too, because we all started doing it because we enjoy it and finding like-minded people.

    I think blogging has helped me become a LESS jealous person (though I don't consider myself a jealous person to begin with - or hope not!) because we've all "met" some great people and have a venue to be very supportive, complimentary and constructive with each other without having real life's relationships or muddled histories, etc. get in the way.

    Great topics!

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  8. Agreeing with Lisa, I think blogging has lessened my "jealousy" of other people's things. I have learned a respect and love for myself I didn't have a year ago for myself.

    Sure other people are cool and awesome and have pretty gorgeous things.... But they're also great people to 'meet' and chat with and they often feel the same way! I've made some great friends through blogging.

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  9. Hi, there!

    I'm so happy to be apart of Friend Friday and I enjoyed your comments.

    I've wished that I could blog full time, too, but honestly I'm just so busy teaching 2nd grade, going to church, maintaining a long distance relationship, etc. that I haven't MADE the time to pursue blogging full time.

    I do have to reevaluate why I blog on a monthly basis. The blogosphere is so saturated with content that I can definitely get overwhelmed. But with the support from readers I've learned to revamp my content to meet my blog's mission: More Modern Modesty!

    Chandra

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  10. I love and hate style/fashion blogs :)

    I love the inspiration and seeing normal people wearing normal clothes. I hate them because then I end up wanting more and more things! I think the key is to use the inspiration for things we already have in our closet, no?

    Great food for thought!

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  11. Love your honesty. Don't we all wish we could make a living doing this? And yet I'm still amazed that we do it anyway. There's a lot to be said for the community that makes it all worthwhile.

    PS I tagged you over on my blog

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  12. Ladies - thank you ALL for encouraging me for my honesty! I was wondering if anyone would get on my case for not blogging simply for the enjoyment of it and for having any desire at all to make money doing it.

    I just want to be with my daughter, that's all! :)

    V: I don't mind the posts where the blogger features a sponsored item because that's a great way to find out about new things, but blog ads can be kind of frustrating.

    JoAnn: You're right, jealous isn't really ever discussed but it's surely prevalent. I, for one, am glad that you've picked this for a hobby because I love your blog!

    MJ: Thank you! You're right, my blog is my vision...I just hope I don't get so much inspiration from other bloggers that it turns into their vision! :)

    Katy: Yep, I'm doing my best to make the most of it! But boy, I'd have so much more time to do more fun posts if I could blog full-time...just sayin'... :)

    daisybabie: Thanks! Working and having a family is hard, but so worth it. And I'm glad to meet another person who hates the phone! :)

    Lisa: You're absolutely right, this community is full of so many encouraging people that it can be hard to be jealous of such great women! I am so glad to be a part of this with all of you!

    Megan: I've also met some great friends through blogging and that makes the jealousy much less important. I'm glad that you've developed more self-respect and love through your blogging; I think you're pretty awesome!

    Chandra: I think it's FANTASTIC that you're able to revamp your blog's content as necessary to maintain your vision! That's a hard thing to do when you see so many other ideas out there. That's why I hope I can hold onto my own vision and not start veering into someone else's just beacuse I like their blog.

    eek: I agree completely! Love and hate them - perfectly said!

    Frances Joy: You're right, there is a lot to be said for such a fantastic community of people that makes it all worthwhile!

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  13. Kiki: Sorry, I didn't see your comment! I'm glad you agree! :) Wish we could find a way to make that work for us!

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  14. Totally appreciate your honesty. I totally know what you mean about wanting to take your blogging full time. I think we're all right there with you.

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  15. Ife': I'm glad I'm not alone. That's what I love about this blogging community! So many of us working toward the same goal and always being so helpful to each other!

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