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Getting friend requests from non-interesting blogs...

Alright, so I'm sure we've all had this. I just joined and I seem to be experiencing this already.

Do a lot of you accept friend requests from people clearly wanting to just add you to get more friends/views/whateverthepurposeis? Sure it's a cool way to network, but doesn't it just kill the fun of it?

I added a couple of people who have added me, and it's just kind of annoying to see that they have close to 2,000 friends. At that point, it really shouldn't even be called "friends" -- it should be called "blog whoring" or something to that effect.

So that's the end of my rant really. Discuss. :)

Tags: annoyance, blog, bloggers, friends, whoring

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Permalink Reply by Gamer Grrlz on March 5, 2009 at 8:54pm

I am surprised when I get a friend request at all. I'd love to have more friends here on 20sb but I never initiate it out of fear of being viewed as page hits whoring. That, and, many bloggers dont respond well or reciprocate solely because they are just hear to promote themselves. Frustrating.

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Permalink Reply by Andrea on March 5, 2009 at 8:58pm

Same, I just joined though and it seemed I was flooded with friend requests from people merely to just get bigger numbers. I really thought they were interested in my blog. *sigh*

I've initiated a few. Not too many though. I'm sort of picky when it comes to blogs and things I'd like to read. I don't feel like fishing through clutter in order to find something interesting to read, you know?

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Permalink Reply by Gamer Grrlz on March 6, 2009 at 11:02am

Whats even more interesting is who people choose to be friends with. My profile for my other blog Winners Use Drugs has hardly anyone interested in it. Probably because of the name and the erroneous assumption that my blog is in any way pro-drugs or illicit. Whereas my Gamer Grrlz blog seems to be getting more attention.

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Permalink Reply by the fashion dungjen on March 6, 2009 at 11:22pm

I agree! I am so excited when I get a friend request but I'm too 'eh' when it comes to actually adding people. (Although I think I've added two since I've joined because I found their blogs to be pretty interesting.)

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Permalink Reply by Mika...Dancing Through Life! on March 5, 2009 at 10:34pm

So glad you brought this up, wanted to myself but didnt want to be labeled the "angry, mean blogger girl". I hate "blog and friend whoring" because then it becomes so fake like other sites as in M_ S_A_E (fill in the blank). I like to think we're more mature than that and as for myself I will probably stop at 50 friends.

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Permalink Reply by Chris on March 5, 2009 at 11:00pm

I haven't turned down any friend requests on here. I don't think I've sent any, either... Honestly, I don't pay friends lists any attention, on any social network. I just never click on them. So it doesn't really bother me if my list is full of people I don't know. The way I see it, we're friends if we talk. If we don't talk, they don't exist to me, regardless of whether their on my list. But, hey, I don't mind getting linked on their profile...

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Permalink Reply by Lance Anderson on March 8, 2009 at 6:39pm

umm... You lied, just then, right there! You added me you silly silly man. Of course I told you to, but still you sent it! ...BURN... I love you

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Permalink Reply by Your Ill-fitting Overcoat on March 5, 2009 at 11:38pm

Ditto to what Chris said-- on 20SB, being someone's friend doesn't really affect your relationship, so I don't see any harm in accepting requests. Your 20SB friends aren't able to see anything extra on your profile or anything like that.

The only potential downside is that your friends can mass message you by sending to all of their friends at once, but-- in my experience-- people rarely do that. And if someone seems to be abusing that feature, it's easy to block their future messages.

So yeah-- I don't see any harm in accepting friend requests from people. The networking flows both ways and getting a reputation for being unfriendly could hurt your ability to make the more meaningful connections you seek. (Not saying that rejecting a few spammy friend requests would give you that reputation-- this is more general advice, not specifically directed at you.)

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Permalink Reply by cooper on March 5, 2009 at 11:55pm

humm, I don't know if I've ever sent but one or two friend requests but I don't mid getting them. If the blog is not offensive to me I usually accept. I don't think of it as any big deal. These are not friends for life requests by any means. I usually try to look through the blog in more detail eventually, and some eventually I put on my reader and a few on my blogroll. it is a way, with all the thousands of blogs out there, to eventually find a blog or two you like to read. I think that is partially the intent of this place.

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Permalink Reply by Muppet on March 6, 2009 at 12:29am

That annoys the bejesus out of me.

If it were me, I would look at the '2,000' and think "awesome, 2,000 people who don't read my blog, but do give into peer pressure".

I also seem to be getting people who want to add me as a friend because they're... selling something? On their site - and they don't seem to have too much of an actual interest in my blog. Boo.

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Permalink Reply by cooper on March 6, 2009 at 12:46am

Well they are probably never gonna read your blog if your not on their list, at least that is the way I look at it. Obviously your real readers will be the ones who eventually put you on their reader or blogroll but I'm not to so sure it pays to look a gift horse in the mouth, unless your already sporting thousands of readers that is. it's a tool.

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Permalink Reply by Writing to Reach You on March 6, 2009 at 12:40am

I don't think of friend requests on 20sb as a big deal. I certainly would never deny anyone. Some of my blog friendships started with friend requests here, so there is a networking part of it that I'm grateful for.