You read that right. Bloggers need to stop promoting each other. But don’t worry, as with most statements, there are some caveats.

Let’s start with the why.

Way back when, in the early days of my blogging career (circa 2009), I stumbled onto the blogging scene. I was a newbie to the extreme not really even knowing that there was a whole community surrounding the world of bloggers.

I remember receiving the first comment on my blog from someone I didn’t know. I went through the same emotions many bloggers do early on in their career:

How did they find me?

What compelled them to leave me a comment?

Should I comment on their blog?

How do I keep them coming back?

Frankly, it was all about relationship building. I might read something I like and share it with my friends. I might visit someone else’s blog who visited mine and leave a comment for them. Or I might attend a Bloggy Boot Camp and find out that there are real people behind all of these online blogs. These real people became real friends and reading their blog was like checking in on them on a regular basis.

But that’s all changed. Or at least, it seems that it has.

Not to put the blame on Triberr but I think a lot of the relationship building ending around the time that Triberr really catalyzed the idea of link sharing. Triberr was meant to be a group of like-minded content creators interested in sharing each other’s content to audiences of similar interests. Instead, it evolved (very quickly) into hundreds of bloggers in many, many groups resulting in a Twitter feed of nothing but link sharing.

Triberr certainly wasn’t the first to come up with this idea. They simply automated it.

I participate in many Facebook groups of bloggers who believe in promoting each other’s content. Whatever it is. Share it on Facebook, pin it on Pinterest, tweet it on Twitter. And the members perform the obligatory tasks knowing the same will be done for them. And it goes beyond the basics as well. There are groups just for pinning or for stumbling or for Klout or for Alexa rankings. Everyone’s trying to game the system and I can’t say that I blame them.

I have to imagine that it works for many bloggers. By the sheer volume of distribution, I would imagine that there is a increase in traffic, which perhaps makes it all worthwhile for them.

But here’s why I recommended against it.

Bloggers have lost a lot of their authenticity and credibility. Now, I don’t mean as writers. That a whole separate topic when it comes to writing with/for/about brands. I’m talking about a blogger’s opinion.

When I tweet a link on Twitter, it’s because I’ve read it, I like it, and feel it’s worth sharing with my followers. The end.

When I share a link on Facebook, it’s because I’ve read it, I like it, and feel it’s worth sharing with my friends. The end.

When I pin something on Pinterest, it’s because I think it’s cool. The end.

Call me old-fashioned but that’s how I think things should still be done. Let me give you some examples of what I consider the right way and the wrong way.

Now, I have nothing against @richiekawamoto (I don’t actually even follow him) but if you look at his timeline of tweets, you’ll see something like this:

Based on Richie’s bio, he focuses on strategic marketing and PR for brands. It makes sense that he wants to share content that is relevant to his field and his audience. But what he’s lacking is his endorsement of the content. These days, a retweet DOES NOT equal an endorsement and people will even tell you so! I want to know why Richie thinks we need to read this content. What he found interesting or compelling.

Let me show you some examples that strike my fancy:

Modern Luxury | Houston | The Write Stuff modernluxury.com/houston/story/… <– Congrats to my friend @jaymelamm on the coverage (pretty pics too)!

— Stacey E. Burke (@StaceyEBurke) April 2, 2013

I don’t follow Stacey but I do follow @jaymelamm who retweeted this. She tweeted a link and then added a comment and a link to her friend, making this tweet personally relevant and appealing.

Here’s another one:

Scientists reportedly discover gate to hell news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow… via @yahoonews – Great place to film a #horrormovie

— Carolyn Gonzalez (@carogonza) April 3, 2013

Carolyn tweeted out a link from a Yahoo story and added her own commentary. And it certainly caught my eye (humor always does).

However you choose to format it, when you’re sharing content on Twitter or Facebook, add your thoughts and opinions and tell your audience why you read something, what you liked about it, and why they might like to read it too. If you are linking to support a fellow blogger, those few words will carry your share so much further.

Finally, I’m not here to say we should never share each other’s content. If you have a “tribe” of 5 to 10 bloggers and you all read each other’s blogs and really want to help each other out, by all means, do it! But take the time to share with purpose and give it a proper endorsement.

This post has been brewing in my head for quite some time but really came to light last night when a Twitter friend “shouted” out amidst all the Twitter parties and links being shared:

I remember when #twitter was all like talking to your neighbor over the backyard fence, from across the country.

— Sierra Rix (@SierraMRix) April 3, 2013

Now it’s all talking to the brands of “stuff” through the mouths of people I like/liked. Boo. Free market stole the grownup sandbox.

— Sierra Rix (@SierraMRix) April 3, 2013

What do you think? Have we lost true and authentic communications? Do endorsements mean anything to you anymore or is it all about the numbers? Weigh in!

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