Is it just me or there's really a new storm brewing and about to come right at us? Can't load websites properly at the moment because my Internet's been really wonky today!
Anyway, I remembered seeing a question on one of my posts on Instagram (@thebeautyjunkee) from a random follower asking what were my five regrets with this blog and beauty blogging in general. I thought it was a really nice question so I'm answering it today.
Thanks for that really nice question. I feel ashamed that I don't remember your name right now, but I do hope you get across this one day. As much as possible, I try to move on from a mistake or failure right away so I can be productive right away, but that doesn't mean I don't have my regrets. Regarding Blogging, here are five things I regret:
1. I did not start with a dot com or a self- hosted website
- Because I never thought that this thing could get really big; this blog just started out for fun, plus I wasn't that knowledgeable in the tech side of Blogging. A couple of months back, I've been consulting tech people on how I can transfer my blog from .blogspot.com to a fully hosted website, but with the kind of traffic that this blog gets, all of them suggested that I get my own server or VPN, which is pretty costly, plus there are a lot of risks involved so maybe I'll plan for this on some other time. The thing is, Google has a disclosure saying that all blogs and its articles hosted on .blogspot.com are owned by them and that means they can do whatever they want with them or even shut down the blog or delete the posts (but don't worry, I'm prepared for this; I export the blog and save a remote copy every week); had I known earlier and better, I would've gotten my own domain and self- hosted the website before it got big. Oh well!
2. I still proceeded using products that broke me out right in the beginning
- There were some skin care products that broke me out after the first use, but still gave them a try anyway. Maybe I should have listened to my skin better and saved myself from grief and $$$.
3. I engaged in online cat fights
- When I was starting out, there were meanies from this popular female forum who bullied me and naturally, I fought back. I could still remember the usernames of the meanies (but never saw their faces because they never revealed it) who bullied me and one even apologized via SMS years ago, and admitted that she was the one behind the anonymous accounts that bashed me almost every day for more than two weeks on this blog; there was also another meanie who felt really bad for what they did to me and revealed that they circulated my mobile number in a sex chat room (according to this whistle blower meanie, the one who did this was the person who apologized to me via SMS) and I even got a call from someone in a chat room telling me that I was requesting for a one night stand from him. I fought back with a couple of blog posts; thinking about it now, I wish I didn't waste my time on these bullies, but then again, I thought maybe it was the right thing to do because I had to show them that I'm not tolerating bullying.
4. I used CAPS LOCK heavily in my first blog posts.
- I cringe whenever I think of this! They said typing in all upper case letters in writing is like shouting, but really, my reason behind it was I was trying to help the readers read better by using bigger letters; turns out it's not the purpose caps lock serves. Oops!
But hey, come to think of it, I needed to experience these things to grow into the Blogger that I am today so really, I don't regret these too much. :)
That's all! Have a safe Friday!
**Got a burning question on beauty, cosmetics, fragrance, diet, exercise, love, life, Blogging, career, or whatever? Message me via POWR form, email me at martha.stabarbara@yahoo.com, or send me a message via THE BEAUTY JUNKEE Facebook Fan Page.
16 Comments
Im not good in Blogging tho! Hahahaa i wish I have the brain. You're one of the best blogger I've ever known.
ReplyDeleteI did not read the disclosure from google. . .
ReplyDeleteI started my blog The Kitchen Mom December last year so I can share my recipes ,parenting talks and other things though I already did back up in my phone.
You are doing a great job Ms.Martha.You empowered us more because of your post.
Have a great weekend!!
That's all okay we learn from mistakes naman most of the time, atleast we know better na the next time that we make decisions kasi nga we've experienced a lot. Thanks for sharing this to us Ms. Martha :) And hoping you to win at MakeUp Plus been bogging my friends and followers to like your entry. We can do this!!! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI can never understand why some people spend so much of their time bullying someone. It's senseless and pointless. I also think like that. You don't want to indulge them by replying to their negative remarks but you also do not want them to think that you are tolerating their inexcusable behaviour. It's good that they apologised to you. And too bad for not having your own domain name sooner. When I attended Project Vanity's workshop about blogging, she also tackled this. She recommends that we invest in a domain name when we start blogging because it will be our own website, and then she went on saying that blogspot is owned by Google and they can take it down whenever they please and I immediately thought of you! I do hope you'll be able to have your own domain name so as to not have this type of problem. Thank you for this post! Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteIt's okay! Not everyone is good at first but from these mistakes you can be better and achieve more! Keep doing on what you love! 💛
ReplyDeleteLove the honesty of this post. Everybody makes mistakes, that's part of being human. The trick is to learn from your mistakes, and take that learning with you into the future. When you do that, you're always growing.
ReplyDeleteYou've been blogging for so long, Ms. Martha, and I bet that when you started this, you didn't think it would get this big. I started reading your blog posts 3 years ago and I was already surprised by the number of posts you had that time! I can't imagine how much larger it is now! It's a good thing that you keep back ups of your weekly blogs, because we'll never know when Google suddenly feels the need to mess with your blog. :(
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I do want to express my admiration for your dedication in giving honest reviews. You really use a product for an ample amount of time to test a product thoroughly, and that's one of the key characteristics why your blog is so helpful. I feel sorry for all the times you had to deal with breakouts, but at least we know better know. Thankfully, I have oily skin that isn't very sensitive so I rarely encounter these problems, but I understand the frustration of using something that supposedly was made to help you but does the opposite! :(
Capitalization is also one of my regrets! During my early years using social networking sites, I used toggle case (lIkE tHiS) and it was so jeje, I want to hit myself! I also used a lot of caps lock! :( But thank you Lord for making me realize the importance of proper capitalization and correct punctuation. =))))
Regarding the online meanie issue, I don't understand why some people waste so much of their time trying to tear others down. What kind of satisfaction do they get from that? I seriously hate it when it's supposed to be us empowering each other, but it ends up creating a rift. There's so much hate in this social platform right now, but I want to live to see the day social media is successfully used as a medium of empowerment, inspiration, and connection. :)
I agree with Donna here too, hope you can have your own hosted site. It will all be worth it, Ms Martha. I never imagined you went through such harrowing experiences, getting bullied in a forum. I think you're just trying to make a point when you answered those bullies.People have to just respect each other. But then again, they're not worth the hassle. Keep on blogging Ms. Martha. Don't let them bring you down. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThank you for shaing your experience. What i learn din is if someone's bullying you online just don't respond nalang let them say what they want. Don't let their negativity ruin your day. Love reading blogposts on experiences and learnings in life. Continue inspiring us :)
ReplyDeleteWhy did they bully you? Well, people can be so mean online. Just look at all these bashers leaving nasty comments on celebrities' Instagram posts. It's pathetic!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your honesty Ms. Martha. I hope soon you can have your own domain. And I will continue to read your blog posts. Keep on blogging Ms. Martha.
ReplyDeleteNakakaloka naman, people can be super mean online because of the anonymity. Still, I can't wrap my head around the fact that people bullied you. WTF were they trying to accomplish? Ikinasaya ba nila o ikina-asenso ba ng buhay nila 'yung pambubully na ginawa nila? I'm glad to know that they've learned their lesson and their conscience got the best of them... Sana 'wag na gawin ng mga tao yun. It makes me really sad when women try to tear other women down...
ReplyDeleteI hope you can have your self-hosted site one day! I'll be difficult but it's gonna be worth it.
ReplyDeletethis post made me think of how I write in my blog, I also made these mistakes and glad that you share this para ma-informed naman yung iba!
ReplyDeleteUp until now my biggest mistake is not reviewing my comments before hitting "publish"on your comment section (I always end up cringing whenever I missed a preposition, conjunction, misspelled a word, make fragments, etc.)
ReplyDeleteWishing that you have your self hosted site in the future :D
Ang dami talagang bullies and ang dami din may crab mentality. ang hilig mang hila ng tao pababa, buti nalang hindi nawala ang self confidence mo. anyway, you are a strong gem Ms. M. it happened for a reason, sana meron din napulot na lesson yung mga mean na tao sayo before.
ReplyDeleteLet me know what you think of this post! :)