Has it been a week already? Maybe a week isn't all that effective for a break...but it was nice on Wednesday and Friday not having to be like, "OMG I have to write a blog post!" And I did come up with a couple ideas for new posts, which was really what motivated me to take a break--having zero ideas. Hopefully that won't happen again anytime soon.
So recently I unfollowed two blogs. I'm sure this happens all of the time, and everyone has their different reasons for doing so. For me it was a few reasons. I actually don't do it all that often. I know it can be frustrating to lose blog followers since it takes a good amount of time for them to add up. The main reason to unfollow would be that the person doesn't blog anymore. Blogger has a follow limit and you can only follow 200 blogs (there are some ways around this but it's not foolproof). So if you want to follow new blogs that are actually active, you may have to clean out the ones that aren't first.
Unfortunately another reason for unfollowing a blog is that the blogger irritates or offends you in some way. We'd like to think this never happens, but it does. It's usually not an everyday occurrence, either. This also factored into my unfollowing decision. I don't want to give too many details because I wouldn't want other people to figure out who I'm talking about. With one, I was offended by a lack of response on a particular post. It sort of made me feel singled out like I had said something wrong when I knew that I hadn't. With the second, it was just a weird situation that honestly left me feeling a little used and creeped out.
But what actually happened isn't the important part. The thing I noticed was after these incidents, I stopped looking at these people's blogs. I would see their posts on my feed but I never clicked on them. So at a certain point I thought, why am I still following them if I never actually look at their blogs? But what also played a role in the decision was that neither of these people had ever followed me back, which was sort of the final deal breaker. So I had this follow limit, these people irked me for one reason or another, and they never followed my blog back. It was kind of an obvious decision at that point. I had no reason to follow these blogs anymore.
I don't know what other people's processes are for choosing to unfollow a blog. I think I needed all of the above reasons to finally make the decision. If it had only been one reason, I probably wouldn't have bothered. But when the reasons start to pile up, the decision to make becomes more obvious.
Have you ever unfollwed a blog? What reasons did you have for doing so?
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I will occasionally unfollow a blog, usually when I'm trying to clean up blog stuff in general and if the person hasn't posted in a very long while without any explanation (taking a break, going on vacation, etc.)
ReplyDeleteI've never been in a situation like you describe. I've only ever unfollowed blogs that don't post anymore. Although there are a couple that I never seem to visit - I've gathered blogs during blog hops etc, but struggled to keep up with commenting.
ReplyDeleteLike Madeline, I will occasionally unfollow a blog, and for the same reason. If they've been inactive. And like Annalisa, there are some I just never seem to visit. Either I run out of time, or they don't consistently show up in my blog feed.
ReplyDeleteThe Blogger dashboard will only let you follow 200, but if you're using a different reader, like Bloglovin' or Feedly, you can use GFC to follow as many as you want.
ReplyDeleteI have unfollowed a few that turned offensive. Unfollowed one movie blog when I found out he'd been a jerk to a friend.
Last month I went through my list and unfollowed several blogs because they were no longer active and hadn't been for years. I also unfollowed some that never interacted with me no matter how often I commented on their blog. A few I unfollowed for the same reason as Annalisa and MJ said. That was my first time doing a cleanup like that since I started my blog. I may have to do that every year...like a spring cleaning.
ReplyDeleteIt does suck though to get an unfollow on your blog or anywhere on social media. It often makes me say, "What did I do?" But I remind myself that they just aren't my target audience. And then I hope I won't get another unfollow for a very long time. haha
Recently I unfollowed several blogs because they were inactive too. Or they kept on putting up really weird spam posts, which meant I couldn't see past them to see posts from other blogs. I like Chrys' advice - I always have to remember that it's not personal if someone unfollows me (I hope), it's just the way social media works. I unfollow people on Twitter all the time. But I've never been in a situation like yours before, but I would've done the same!
ReplyDeleteI will go through my blogs every so often and unfollow blogs I noticed have posts that don't interest me. It usually happens after the A to Z Challenge. I find a lot of interesting themes for it, but afterwards, what they normally talk about doesn't catch my interest. Not their fault, if my blog does the same, I expect the person to unfollow me. Blogs are to be read, so if you're not reading it, then there's little point to follow it.
ReplyDeleteI unfollow dead ones sometimes. Twice I've unfollowed someone because it was all book promotion - theirs. That gets old after a while.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have ever unfollowed a blog, although I probably need to go through and check for those that are inactive. Like most people I find it hard to visit everyone as regularly as I'd like to.
ReplyDeleteI have unfollowed a couple of apparently dead blogs. I should clean my list up too. There are others I do look at now and again, but not regularly.
ReplyDeleteI never notice if someone unfriends me on Facebook or unfollows on Twitter but when it happens on my blog, ouch! Like you say, it takes SO LONG for the followers to add up and we all have our goal we're trying to reach, that next milestone. A few years ago it was much easier to get followers than it is now. If I get a new follower once a month, I'm thrilled and when I lose a couple I feel sad! Silly how such a little thing impacts me. As for unfollowing blogs, I'll do it when they're no longer active, never follow me back or even comment on my blog. I figure if it mattered to them to keep a follower, they'd pay a little more attention.
ReplyDeleteah, the following and unfollowing... it's a numbers game isn't it? i follow a lot more than 200 blogs, and i follow more all the time (especially in april) for some reason i can add as many as i want when i use my ipad. i remember worrying more about my blog followers, but i have resigned myself to the fact I will never reach the numbers of alex the great, especially when we had to go through the change (limitations and G+) not to mention all the wordpress blogs it's too hard to follow. i also need to update my sidebar, i have blogs on there who have been defunct for months... oh, well. i'm comfortable, but i remember how concerned i was when i started out, so i know your dilemma =)
ReplyDeletethe funny place i care more about followers is twitter, which i hardly ever use. i recently broke 1000 followers and my followers number is higher than my following number - i feel so cool - but those numbers flux all the time. so i check who i'm following to see if they unfollowed me and i unfollow them back... now, doesnt all that sound ridiculous! like i said, a numbers GAME! play ball!
I recently went thru and got unfollowed some blogs. I was just following too many, and my blog feed was seriously giving me anxiety. Not worth it! And I didn't know you could only follow 200. Good to know!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd be able to handle following that many blogs!
ReplyDeleteI'll occasionally unfollow blogs, but only if I haven't visited them in a while and they don't follow me. I guess I'm a selfish person in some regards. I have limited time to spend with blogs, and I'd rather visit those people who I find entertaining... like you!
I can't think of a time that I unfollowed because someone's blog turned offensive, but I have when the blogger seemed really self absorbed and wasn't interested in interacting at all--like not even with those who took the time to comment on the self-absorbed's blog. I can take only so much "look at me, look at me!" from someone who isn't four, you know?
ReplyDeleteI have been meaning to unfollow some seemingly dead blogs for a while and also just cleaning up my list in general. One time I unfollowed a blog because the person came to my blog and left a nasty comment and I didn't see what on earth I had done to them to deserve some kind of public scolding, but that's the only time I can remember unfollowing because of something unpleasant. I thought that blogger was crazy and I didn't want to deal with some kind of drama.
ReplyDeleteLately I have been wanting to find new blogs to follow since many that I did follow are dead but it can be so hard to keep up. I hope to meet some new people to follow during the next IWSG though.
I didn't know we could only follow 200 blogs! Aw, man! That's not fair.
ReplyDeleteI have unfollowed blogs before, usually if the bloggers stop writing or if it looks like hackers accessed their page and posted a bunch of weird stuff. Like you, I'll stop following if I stop reading; I'd rather focus on the blogs I enjoy reading. I do follow some people who don't follow back. There have been some people who urged me to follow their blog with the promise that they would follow back; I'd rather they follow my blog because they like reading it, and vice versa.
I purge quarterly blogs that no longer do it for me (i.e. owner doesn't reciprocate visits or the blog is just d.o.a.). Very rarely do I unfollow a blog because someone has annoyed me (only did it to less than five in 8 years, mostly because they either rejected my comment or refused to release my comment/acknowledge my existence as a commenter).
ReplyDeleteI definitely do not reciprocate blog follows anymore. For me to follow a blog, like yours, it has to pique my curiosity (like yours) and permanently hold my interest (like yours). Last month I had someone follow my blog and leave a comment asking me to reciprocate. I checked it out and it was a fashionista blog. So I didn't reciprocate.
Father Nature's Corner
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI'm not one to unfollow a blog. I can only think of one I unfollowed because the blogger seemed to be on a massive ego trip and seemed to find it too much to ever comment on my site, even though I'd commented on theirs several times.
I could get paranoid because I keep losing followers on my site. Whatever, eh! Then again, blog follower totals are very misleading. I would say that :)
Gary :)