A Distant Friend & Dirty Socks

Learning about blogs and reading through almost 100 might have fried my brain but while it’s not entirely smush I’d thought I could talk about two that most stood out to me. One in a slightly negative way and one in a way that made me feel…at peace? There’s just something about clean and aesthetically pleasing things that brings me peace and the blog, cupcakesandcashmere definitely did just that. TMZ was the complete opposite, visually it was LOUD. It scrambled my brain and made me go right back to cupcakesandcashmere.

The personal blog, cupcakesandcashmere was written for those seeking an aesthetically beautiful look into fashion, food, beauty, travel, décor and motherhood. I noticed while reading through some of the posts that they are all written by different women alongside the founder and CEO, Emily Schuman.
                                                  
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The organization of the blog was done to keep you focused under what you were seeking to read while also having the main topics of the blog at the very top. I really enjoyed reading through their ABOUT page and seeing their social media platforms on there, you’re able to stay in touch with the blog while browsing your Instagram and seeing one of their posts pop up. Emily goes on to answer commonly asked questions about her and her blog and you’re able to hear her professionalism in them as well as her voice, it brings comfort knowing she isn’t robotic in her writing. The format of her writing was meant to draw you in and cultivate the feeling of getting advice from a distant friend. Her purpose isn’t to impose any ideals or influence you but rather to provide an opinion towards something, to share a story, to provide advice that can either be taken or ignored. There’s a sense of freedom you feel on her page, the way it’s organized keeps you focused and engaged in the topic you were searching for. It’s organized by topic and before clicking into any post you’re able to see who the writer was, if you find yourself agreeing more with a specific author it makes it so easy to continue with them and their work. The font and color selection ties their ideas and principles together. It’s a lovely blog worth taking a look at.

TMZ


The buzzing demon currently living in my head. I looked at other professional (tabloid) blogs but
TMZ was the loudest and most disorganized one I found. While others held a sense of organization, TMZ’s was riddled with flashy titles and posts not pertaining to anything you were reading. I notice that with other blogs, you clicked on a post written about “breastfeeding your child” and were recommended to read more posts having to do with the same topic, you find other posts titled “benefits of breastfeeding” or even, “lactation cookie recipes” but with TMZ there is no sense of a cultivated algorithm. TMZ has a side bar with topics including news, sports, hiphop but once you click on a sports article your next recommended read pertains to a random player in the team’s wife getting in a car accident. You clicked on a post about game scores and highlights and now I’m looking at horrifying pictures of smashed vehicles. 

HOW DID I GET HERE?!

I detested the fact that this blog has zero trigger warnings as well. In cupcakesandcashmere one of the posts I was drawn to was about living after miscarriage, but the forward contained a much-needed trigger warning. Although TMZ is considered a professional blog I feel like the purpose behind it is to entertain, it draws you in with bright BOLD clickbait titles and then you’re left reading a disorganized paragraph with no information or concept. 
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The use of slang terms, bold/big fonts, read boxes reading “EXCLUSIVE”, and links to social media outlets containing information that the blog repeats itself remind me of a cluttered mess of unmatched clean and dirty socks. At this point, throw all the socks away and buy a new pair… if you know what I’m saying.

Much needed research is needed when trying to find a blog to follow and become attached to. You should feel like you are getting what you are looking for whether you choose to go with a simple and quiet approach, or you’re drawn to BIG AND BOLD, the choice is yours. I will forever recommend the more aesthetically pleasing and quiet one because it makes me feel like I’m organized myself. My husband on the other hand will most likely find himself down a rabbit hole of posts as happy as can be and that’s okay too. We all deserve to find what we are looking for. 

Final thoughts? Throw the dirty socks away and get yourself a couple pairs of aesthetically pleasing socks with added ankle support

Comments

  1. Good job of starting to develop your voice and personality in this post - especially in the sign off at the end. You have a clear understanding of the necessary parts of a post: setup, point, and sign off. You've also done a great job with your links, images, and sources.

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  2. Your title immediately captured my attention, it is so creative. Bringing up an article that you read about living after miscarriage and how it should have a trigger warning was great. Yes, miscarriage is a thing we all know about. That doesn't mean it doesn't need a trigger warning. Seeing your opinion on TMZ and how disorganized it is, it is a different point of view from the other blogs I have read! Showing you are doing lots of research and know what you do and do not like in a blog. Keep up the good work.

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