Hippy, Balanced Or Spammy Bastard, Where Do You Fit In?

Posted by Paul B | September 15, 2008 .

As far as I’m concerned when you filter it down, reduce people to the base components there are in fact only 3 types of blogger. Each absolutely belivies that they are doing things the right way and both the other categories are either stupid or scum.

The Hippy
The hippy blogger writes only from the heart. Each blog is composed in the most beautiful heart felt way including more research than can possibly be healthy. The hippy blogger is 99% politically correct, does their best not to offend anybody and will NEVER EVER give in to accepting payment for anything related to their blog. This means no adverts, no sponsored posts, nothing that makes any money. In fact they wouldn’t even accept a guest post because their blog is their baby and there is no way they are going to let ANYBODY pollute it. The hippy blogger comes from 1 of 2 backgrounds. They are either independently wealthy, the blog is something to fill their day as they are sat at home. Either that or they are in fact just a plain old hippy. Writing their blog is something to do in between hugging trees and saving the world. They don’t need to worry about making any income from “their time” because they are 100% subsidised by the rest of the tax paying population. Hypocritically all other types of blogger are scum in the eyes of the hippy.

The Balanced Blogger
The balanced blogger writes on a subject they enjoy but one that they can also see some value in. Whilst they aren’t blogging only for the money they aren’t happy putting so much time and effort into something that doesn’t give them any return. They really do put time and effort into each post. They certainly aren’t opposed to writing a paid review (as long as they think it’s something their audience would be interested in). In terms of their blog layout it is 70% about making their content accessible and 30% about trying to make a buck. Expect to see “a few” 125×125 ads and maybe one or two other types of advertising (be it in text or ad blocks). You will find affiliate links in the posts. The balanced blogger is just as interested in quality as they are in making money although deep down they’ll probably admit that the quality issue is just as much about building their income. In terms of background most balanced bloggers have a full time job or have just left university. Chances are they don’t like their job/the thought of getting a job and they see blogging as a way of expressing themselves about something they enjoy (as opposed to their crap job) as well as making a bit of extra money. The balanced blogger dreams of becoming an authority on their subject and making it BIG. Hippies are seen as stupid, spammers as scum.

The Spammy Bastard Blogger
The spammers blog is born out a keyword research tool as a way of exploiting a niche that will make money. As they have no interest in the subject expect lots of scraped content and “guest” posts. Expect the content to mostly dry up after the first month. The template will be 90% adverts and 10% content. If you look into the background behind a spammy bastards blog you’ll see almost all the back links are social bookmark based (who is going to link to it naturally?) or link directories. You’ll see product reviews from the most obscure products that have jack all to have the blog. They’ll accept guest reviews from products and websites that they know are crap all in order to make a quick buck. They will boost their own stats in order to generate advertising income by using dodgy bot ridden traffic exchange systems. The chances are that the spammy blogger already has a number of successful other websites. He’s building a portfolio of websites. If you look deep enough you might find that most balanced bloggers also can fall into the spammy bastard category. If you’re looking for a spammy bastard the first place to look is at students, the quick buck low risk spam blog is the perfect “opportunity”. As far as the spammy bastard is concerned everybody blogging for any other reason than making money is being stupid.

So that’s how I see things, I have a fair idea where I fit in, what about you?

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5 Comments so far

Tom - StandOutBlogger.com September 16, 2008 5:44 am

I’d like to consider myself a balanced blogger, because I write about what interests me, I think I can provide value to my readers and I hate blogs that are pretty much made to try and sell you stuff.

I think if you can create a blog that provides value to your readers you will easily be able to monetize it without having to try and spam your visitors.

Tom - StandOutBlogger.com’s last blog post..Time Out: Benefits Of Getting Away From Your Blog
Chris September 16, 2008 12:52 pm

I think I’m balanced, but I could understand why other “balanced” bloggers would also setting up “spammy bastard” sites (not connected to their main blog(s)) for niches they want to make money in.

Chris’s last blog post..Pepperjam Proof of Payment
Internet Age September 16, 2008 4:18 pm

I think I’m a balnced blogger. Lol
mj September 16, 2008 6:25 pm

I have had at least two hippy blogs, two balanced blogs and two spammy bastard blog. Having tried all three I can say they all have their use.

mj’s last blog post..Microsoft Buying Yahoo!
Paul B September 16, 2008 9:10 pm

mj, you’ve pretty much hit the nail on the head! In the majority of cases I think there’s a little bit of all 3 in all of us. At the moment I have 30 websites spread over all 3 categories BUT I’d class this blog as well balanced. It’s a subject I enjoy and contribute to in as genuine a way as I can. But I do expect some return out of it.