On Monday, I posted about having received the Liebster blog award and I mentioned being slightly overwhelmed at the list of rules for accepting this award. Eleven questions to answer and eleven new questions to create. Eleven random facts to come up with. And, not only eleven other blogs to pass the award along to, but eleven blogs with less than 200 followers.
My first thought was to politely decline. But since the purpose of this particular award was to attract readers to less followed blogs (like mine), I decided to take the plunge. It took the better part of a day, mostly spent checking through the blogs I follow, searching for ones with less than 200 followers. In keeping with the spirit of the award, I visited my fellow recipients and I discovered less than half had "accepted" the award. Of the eleven I gave the award to, fewer than half responded and most of those said it would be difficult for them to accept, i.e. abide by the rules for accepting.
When I first started blogging, as Linda Leszczuk, I was delighted to receive my first Blog Award. The requirements were easy to fulfill and I proudly posted the award on my blog and awarded it to one or more others bloggers. Time passed and I received several more. It still tickled me to get them and I dutifully did whatever was required, posted the awards on my blog, and passed them on. But some of the bloggers I passed awards onto said thanks but no thanks. Accepting an award, with its usual list of questions or facts to be given and selection of new recipients didn't fit the blogger's schedule or simply took too much time. And the time needed to accept an award was growing. From "answer five questions", they'd gone to "answer ten questions." From "give this award to three other blogs", it was now ten or more.
When, at the prompting of several professionals, I opted not to write under my own name but to use my maiden name, I started this blog. I was successful in carrying over some items from my old blog but I left the awards I'd received behind. When someone is gracious enough to give me award for this blog, I am pleased to accept it and do whatever is required but I've become uncomfortable giving the award to others because it feels as though I'm actually placing a burden on them they may not want. Several of my blog friends have asked me not to give them a blog award.
So, let me ask you, how do you feel about blog awards. Do you enjoy getting them or are they just one more thing to do? Have the rules for accepting an award gotten too time consuming or cumbersome? Does giving or receiving blog awards generate blog traffic? If you could change anything about blog awards, what would it be?
Thanks for your input and have a great weekend.
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