Blog Clutter: Good, Bad or Doesn’t Matter?
I recently read a post over at Lorelle on Wordpress about blog clutter…you know, all that crap bling in our sidebars and any other stuff that isn’t inherently necessary to a blog’s existence.
Apparently, there’s a bit of a trend towards getting rid of all that stuff so that readers can focus on your content.
Content? Content? You mean people don’t care that I think free, unstructured outdoor play is good for kids? Or that I was the Parent Magazine podcast’s blog of the month? Or that Facebook Sucks? Or that Text link Ads can be rather lucrative? Or that we’re all invited to a fun blogger weekend getaway? Get outta here!
But seriously, folks, is the bloggy bling really deserving of the old heave ho? Personally, I have mixed feelings about it because yes, while it can be distracting and perhaps a little hard on the eyes, particularly when something is moving, twinkling or flashing, it can also serve the higher purpose of educating readers.
Yes, blog clutter can be educational in that 1) it helps us get a better sense of who the blogger is and what they’re all about and 2) it can help spread information about various causes, events and things you might actually WANT to know about.
On the other hand, however, having a ton of widgets and linky love things that send people off to other places probably isn’t so good for the blogger but if they don’t care, should we mind?
And then there is the never ending brouhaha over ads. Personally, I don’t mind them so much. Sometimes they’re even interesting but there remains a core of bloggers and readers who think content should be king and that ads have no business in the blogosphere. Bah! Tell that to the people who are known to earn a nice living from ads on their blog. I think it’s safe to say they aren’t going away anytime soon…
But alas, despite anything I’ve offered up in favor of ye olde blog clutter, I still find myself pondering the idea of having nice, soothingly tidy sidebars. In fact, I’m visualizing the sleek, milky white bars pared down to the barest of essentials and it makes me want to do it RIGHT NOW! But I’m awfully attached to my sidebar crap so meh. Maybe next month.
As a blog reader, is bloggy clutter perfectly acceptable, the worst thing since Carrot Top started wearing eyeliner or are you merely indifferent to it? What about on your own blog? Any plans to declutter?
In other news…I’m going on vacation for five days on Friday and I need a blogsitter or three. Anyone interested in writing a compelling, thought-provoking or humorous post (in other words something a tad more interesting than a post about blog clutter?) for me while I’m gone? Drop me an email — izzymom {at} g mail dawt calm.
I personally don’t think blog clutter is a bad thing. I wish I knew how to put a little on my own blog. I have been curious about something though. Of course I am writing this at work and I never have problems at work but at home, almost every time I try to visit your blog it freezes up my computer. I have wondered if it is all of the clutter or something completely unrelated.
For me, I try and keep the buttons, linkies and blogrolls off the main page… they all have their own pages. I’d rather not have buttons pointing readers to sites away from me, this way I can hope they may stay a little longer.
I like the main page having links to readers and what I’m reading and where else I blog. That’s about it - though sometimes I still find it a wee bit cluttered.
I put most of my clutter on another blog all together - specifically the blogroll and the prize. I just didn’t want to look at it any more. I’m too lazy to put ads on my own site, but I don’t care if you have them. What I hate hate hate is music.
Your link to Dooce has an extra o. I have no idea why I feel the need to leave that as a comment?! Who died and left me in charge of code? Blame it on the lack of sleep. I faxed blogher again yesterday. Looking to ADD clutter to my new blog.
I try to keep clutter at a minimum, especially since my theme (to which I’m totally attached) is kind of busy itself.
I like a few things on the sidebars, but for me personally it can get a bit too distracting. I don’t mind if they are buttons that take me great places or send readers to other places I love. I don’t know. You just gotta do what works best for you I guess. I just hope folks don’t take it personally when I don’t decorate my blog with all the buttons they send me.
I’m trying to de-clutter my side bar, but there are still lots of things there. The ads don’t bother me too much, but I detest when they take me to an advertisers site without my “permission.” Also, too many widgets can slow down load time. I loathe that.
Doesn’t bother me a bit.
Sometimes I put stuff in my sidebar so I remember where it is, I guess I use it like a junk drawer or something.
However, like you, I wish I had the time to study it all and pare it down, but, I like some of it, too.
I’d be pretty sad to see some of the “blog clutter” leave, like the flickr badges and Blogrolls since that’s how I’ve found new people to read, but the flashy things and the million badges might not be missed. Maybe there’s a timeline for these things? Like if you win an award, post the badge for 6 months and then take it down. OR, maybe create a page just for all the little awards and blinkies?
I’m not a hoarder in my real life, but everything internet related on my computer is cluttered. I have to rearrange my blog sidebars all the time because I keep adding. Oh well, she’s a little new yet, so maybe I’ll hit the limit soon. I’d say I could set a clean up schedule, but that would be like those files that my accountant puts nice little notes on - keep for 5 years; discard after 3 years. Is that ever really going to happen? Maybe when the kids are grown.
I would hardly categorize your sidebars as filled with ‘clutter’. You have a lot of relevant stuff and I have actually come to your blog just to look at things I have seen in your sidebar.
There’s a big difference between irrelevant clutter and things that add value, at least in my humble opinion. :)
I think it depends on how your blog is designed. If the sidebar stuff doesn’t detract from your content, I say, muck it up all you want. I do.
I love all the crap in my sidebar - but I do admit that that’s on my personal blog. My “professional” (if you can call it that) blog has a pretty minimal amount of bling on it (for me, anyway). In the end, it doesn’t matter - the majority of people read their content in an aggregator.
i’m increasingly about the de-clutter, but i think it’s totally a personal choice. i tend to try on different bling bits and then discard them, faddishly. i get bored really easily with stuff that isn’t sort of super important/necessary. but again, very subjective/personal, and what other people do doesn’t phase me a bit either way.
I don’t notice it on most blogs. Whatever floats your boat!
Funny you should bring this up. My blog bling has been bothering me for some time and I’d really like to tidy up the place. But then does that send a signal that I’m a blogger no one likes? Talk about insecurity!! I’m dreaming of something a little sleeker for the new year.
And I’d love to write for your place if you’ve still got a slot!
;)
I moved actual bling and so forth onto a subpage of my blog.
I don’t mind information, links and so forth.
Clutter of any sort anywhere bugs me though so eh take my opinion for what it’s worth.
I don’t care for a super cluttered and bragadocious sidebars, flashing things or other eye distractions.
Doesn’t mean I think it needs to go entirely though.
All the blogs I read seem fine.
But me? I have the ads, bio, archives and that’s it. Everything else is a subpage, in case anyone cares.
Julie
Using My Words
I’ve been doing some fall cleaning too, getting rid of old clutter and trying to keep the clutter down to a minimum. I also try to organize the clutter so it makes some sense. All the political stuff, for example, is under a political heading. Same for donating, financial, and friends. I don’t have a blogroll anymore, but I do have several blog widgets. In my next design redo, I plan to put all that stuff on separate pages that are accessed by tabs, so that my design looks more professional and cleaner.
With that said, so many people read through feedreaders and never even see the links and the clutter that I don’t see it as a problem, per se. It’s more of an aesthetic choice.
Periodically, I have noticed this “issue” come up. But much like my own rant about people who use PayPerPost, I have to allow that they have the right to their opinion, whether I agree with it or not.
I just think the whole “only pure content” people are a bit naive. I remember back in the days of the Internet, when I was using the Trumpet Browser, and any “dot com” was considered evil and should not be visited because “it would only ruin the Internet”
Your blog, your readers, your way. In the end, the only person who has to be happy about it is you. Sure it is helpful to get hints from other people (i.e. SEO suggestions, etc), but you really have to pick apart what is tips, and what is views and/or opinions.
It doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I manage to tune it out, mostly, if it bothers me, but if it wasn’t for sidebars, I wouldn’t have found you, or Mom to the Screaming Masses, or Motherhood Uncensored, or… you get the idea. So yeah, clutter is good, if it’s good clutter.
I think each blogger has to find their happy medium for their own blog, the amount of “blog clutter” they are happy with.
I would never want to do away with it entirely, personally - because like you mentioned - I think it brings a sense of depth that you might otherwise not get.
I have no problems with ads. Each blogger does what they want, what they must or what they’re comfortable with. And as fans of their writing, we, as readers, should respect those choices.
I’d never stop watching The Office because of the annoyance of the commericals. I’ll never stop reading my favorite bloggers because of their sidebar bling. Poor comparison, I know, but there you have it.
Personally, I don’t care if people put advertising on their blogs. It’s your blog, your space, and it doesn’t distract from your content at all, at least not the way you’ve done it.
However, for several sites, all the advertising etc. makes the page load time very slow sometimes. It doesn’t do it from my home computer, but when I’m goofing off at work, I never dare leave my bloglines feed to come to your blog. It has completely locked up computer on several occasions. At home it loads up just fine, so there might be something else going on there, but it’s definitely only sites with lots of advertising that do this.
Most of the time, I like all the stuff, gives me more to absorb. It does sometimes make loading up longer as Amie stated. However, most of the time it’s interesting things.
Dorothy from grammology
remember to call gram
Me, I hardly even add award buttons or things like that, only the ones I am proud of, or can get to work, because I’m a bit of a techtard that way. I like the cleaner look, and I like that my blog is MY space, and I like it to feel that way.
As to other people’s blogs? I do find the stuff distracting, and sometimes it seems the more loaded blogs are slower. So I don’t love it. BUT - if I like the blogger, then I look past it because hey, their blog is THEIR space, and they should be able to do what they like with it. If that includes making enough money to make it worthwhile, good for them. (Heck, maybe if I had enough traffic to make it worthwhile, I would reconsider, too!)
This is a tough call. I have too much clutter but they direct people to important stuff. I’d like to know how to make the clutter look better i.e. all the same size left or something. I’d like the clutter to look pretty like my scrapbook pages.
Maybe we should just have a page titled clutter and stick it all there.
Robin Sampson’s last blog post..Shoe Storage in the Mudroom
Hi Izzy,
Its been a long time since I have been here and I have enjoyed myself.
You picked great blog sitters, as I enjoyed them too.
I agree with you about your oprah rant.
also about the short shorts and high heels.
also liked reading your flash back with the music and ex-boyfriends.
oh…and i agree that Wham is a guilty pleasure.
cheers,
chesca