I read blogs everyday because I love gathering information, entertaining myself and as a matter of fact, I appreciate every blogger out there writing high quality content for the world to read. From scanning all sorts of blogs as a blogger and as a regular user, there are certain things that piss me off about some blogs. This is the internet and we are all free to express our point of view so you don’t have to crucify me over this, I’m just saying my mind. I’m no saint and I have my faults too. I do not claim to have the best blog in the world neither does this post imply that I observe the best blogging practice. In fact, I took a critical look at myself before writing this and some of the points highlighted are things I’m guilty of.
1. I hate popups
When I visit your blog and the first thing that greets me is a popup asking me to like your Facebook fan page, follow you on twitter or subscribe to your newsletter, I may decide to close the tab I opened for you or just close the annoying popup. You should, at least, let me make that decision after reading your blog post.
2. Plagiarism is all I see
You know it’s a bad thing to copy other people’s work without giving them credit but you still do it anyway. People who do this are the worst category of bloggers and I tell you, if all you do is copy other people’s work and paste it on your blog, I’m not gonna read your stuffs ever again. You should give credit to whom it’s due when you use their content.
3. You’re anonymous
I believe everyone has a name but why do you choose to be the “ghost blogger” with no face? I can’t find an author’s bio on your blog and I can’t relate to you on a personal level. I may soon lose interest in your blog even if you have great contents. Your readers like to know you and you should consider being a little bit more open. I respect your privacy though.
4. You’re too serious and rather boring
I understand you take blogging as a serious business and you’ve got good writing skills but hey, you should lighten up once in a while. You don’t have to be so serious; develop a sense of humor to make your blog post interesting. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking you to turn every blog post to a joke but you should make your readers eager to read your post even if the topic isn’t so catchy.
5. Your blog takes an eternity to fully load
Not everyone has a broadband speed internet connection and some of those loyal readers user dial up but did you consider this when you were adding all those images, flash and useless javascripts? If your host is the problem, perhaps you should find a better one.
6. Excessive ads
Every blogger wants to make money and that’s understandable but wait a minute, am I reading ads or a blog post? You run Google Adsense, Adbrite, Chitika, Infolinks and Addynamo all on a single blog and every now and then ads keep popping up, background windows open without me knowing it. It’s rather annoying and you may drive your readers away with this.
7. Poor design and navigation
You know your way around your blog but an average user doesn’t You should make this easier by designing your blog in such a way that it’s going to look good and make users spend more time checking other pages. Make it look like a friendly place that can be easily navigated.
8. You content adds no value
Even if you’re going to post just once a week, it should be something that can be of benefit to a quarter, if not all your readers. You don’t have to post everyday and when you have nothing sensible to post, you should shut up. I love blogs with high quality content and when I see one, I fall in love with it and respect the person behind the blog.
9. You make way too much typos
The truth is when I read some of my blog posts, I can’t help but wonder if I was drunk before my fingers started hitting the keyboard. I do make typographic errors and I’m trying to keep it to the barest minimum these days. I’ve come to realize that it’s always due to laziness. You should learn to proof read your writing before hitting the publish button.
10. You ignore readers comment always
I receive lots of comments on this blog and its almost impossible to reply them all but I always try to reply the important ones. My schedule is rather tight these days but when I want to reply comments, I may spend a whole hour sorting out spam comments, replying real comments and message. Do you even bother to read user comments at all?
11. You’re a spammer
Every blogger wants to get traffic by all means but that doesn’t mean you should do it the dirty way. Just because I subscribe to your newsletter doesn’t give you the right to bombard my inbox my useless offers. Spamming on my Facebook wall or tagging me in every post you make won’t make me visit your blog. Posting in every Facebook group we both belong also increases my notifications and that doesn’t mean I’m gonna check your stuff, it’s rather going to annoy me.
12. Uff…I hate dark templates
This is a personal thing and I don’t blame you if you use a black theme. I just don’t like it. Period!
Alright, I’ve said what I have on my mind and I’m pretty sure I’ve offended you because you must have been hit by one of the dozens reasons I stated above. Like I mentioned, I took a critical look at me, my blog, you and your blog. I really want to hear what you have to say on this and what you dislike about my blog as well. 
Twitter: briggz5d
says:
No dark theme, No Typos, Useful Content, No Spamming, Don’t ignore comments, fast load time, Recommended Number of ads, Easy Navigation:
With all the above checked off my list, i’d say I pass the test – But this is just self appraisal.
Mr. Caprio you pass too na.. what could u possibly be guilty of? except for the typos which we all do once in a while.
Ah! Yes, we all make silly typos and I sort of passed the “test” but there may be other things I didn’t add to the list, you know?
Twitter: edi4all
says:
Aaah!!! Criticism filled post, always one of my favourites when reading across weblogs, anyway, great posts here bro, you pointed out the primary parts of the whole thing, at least if we can accept & work on these, then, finding the others would be something we would be discovering ourselves.
Edi – The A.J Geek recently posted..Surest Way to Stop or Opt-out from Etisalat Blackberry voiceplan
That’s for sure. I’m still taking a deeper look at myself to find those things people will dislike about my blog. Thanks for dropping by, Edi.
Twitter: divyanshojha
says:
Half-a-dozen things I did for this blog:
)
1. I have my adbock off for doncaprio.com
2. I love this site
3. I love your typo errors, (lol’ actually i never found any, its rightly said- A man knows himself more than others do)
4. Your blog loads faster than mine
5. I implement everything you tell, ( Thats also a reasom why my blog takes more time to load than yours
6. I comment even when your ‘comment luv’ is not working for me. ( thats the major commented, lol’ )
Divyansh, thanks for removing the adblock, loving the site and keeping a track on my bad writing
The Commentluv still works but I’ve noticed it may not be able to pull your RSS feed before you finish typing the comment if your connection isn’t that fast. I’m only assuming though.
Grammar Nazi on the alert! Caught you, Don Caprio!
Your No 8: “You content adds no value” should be “Your content adds no value”
My amebor too much.
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Just what I was saying!
Made a typo at number 8 and talked about it at number 9. Crazy, huh? Lol. Read it a couple of times but never saw it. 
And i absolutely hate blogs without images. Nice image up there.
Obinna recently posted..Facebook’s App Center is Live on iOS, Android and Web
The title got me! I agree that pop-ups are irritating and I think it’s a terrible practice of tricking readers into subscribing to something they don’t necessarily want. And I agree that having a bio is important, although I’m not sold that having your photo posted is a definite must.
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You’re right about the picture thing but a bio with your name and a peep into your interests is just enough. Thanks for visiting, Corinna.
Twitter: divyanshojha
says:
hola! Comment luv is working for me
Divyansh recently posted..List of Top 5 Android Phones Below Rs.5000 For India
Awesome list, however I don’t agree with the point 3 i.e “You’re anonymous”.
Actually I believe many people are not comfortable displaying their real self in public. The reasons can be many; may be they are shy or may be they don’t want to become popular. So, to handle this they try to create an alter ego and blog with a different name.
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I still agree with you but what if I told you that “Don Caprio” is a pseudonym I use online, not my real name? I can still use the same name with an avatar if I so wish and make my readers feel they’re relating with a real human being, not just another unknown writer. The point is creating a personality readers can relate to.
Twitter: ikev61
says:
You hit the points…I most mention; that this make me start rearranging my blog. I hope some members of ur community (Bloggers Lab) Will be able to get the massage
That’s a very nice list and you presented it in a nice way. I also hate spamming without providing value.
Don,
Am actually running my blog http://www.openbook.co.ke on a black theme. Kindly check it out and rate it because I actually tried not to overkill it with black colors
I checked it, Dennis, and the theme isn’t dark. I think it’s cool.
Thanks! By the way, your new ad positioning at the bottom of the articles is VERY cool, it gives a neat look to your blog at the same time encouraging user interaction with the ads
Dennis recently posted..Revealed: Alexa Top Sites in Kenya Today
“User interaction with ads” of course. I love how that sounds
Just trying to see if I could get a better CTR and I think I’m seeing a positive result 
I like ur write up,its an intelligent one. Its shows ur great experience in blogging . It also proofs dat u must ve done one of the highlighted things in d past for u to have been ds good.
The nascent bloger definitely will commit most of d highlighted but with time,they will stop . Its natural
Definitely, IK. I’ve committed some of the mistakes myself. Thanks for dropping by.
Don Caprio recently posted..3 Alternatives to Skype for Cheap Mobile Phone Calls
Hello,
I hate wrong spelling and grammar. But I can give allowances if the substance of the blog is significant or useful. I love it when the owner responds to my comment and shows how serious s/he is in reading and appreciating the comment I left.
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Thanks for dropping by, Amy.
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Generating unique content on your blog is the safer way to save your blog from Gogole Penguin update. I’ve written about top 10 reasons why Google hates your blog. Hopefully, it would be beneficial for fellow bloggers.
I just read the post on your blog, Santosh. The points are all valid and I got to learn a thing or two. Kudos, bro!
Twitter: techinfomania
says:
Nice post brov… “Guilty as charged!” *clean ups coming up*… Thanks
Twitter: paschalt
says:
bro i love your post and am now a fully visitor and reader plz check u contact form i sent u email reply
you know what… you just made my day worse by saying dark templates. i feel that too man
but i have worked a lot on this theme already… any suggestions now????
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You mean the one you have on tipnest.com? I sure looks good, not dark at all. Nice blog, bro.
Twitter: anurag_arena
says:
I really think these factors affect me and other readers
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You have animated pop-ups on your blog. I will ALWAYS block those. I am highly prone to migraines and flashing and/or moving popups are often a free ticket to a head-ache. So right off the bad you’d get ad blocked and if ad block isn’t work, I wouldn’t return.
Scrolling ads… ads that follow me around like lost puppies are annoying as heck.
As it is, your follow me, animated, “ad” is a recommendation for related content that sounds interesting. Instead, this could have been put in bold script right below your entry. Or perhaps on the sidebar.
In a nutshell…. to everyone…. Never do this with your ads:
Animation
Flashing (brightness going up and down to gain attention)
Overlay ads on transparent backgrounds that make interaction with the page content impossible
Follow me ads that travel around the page.
Any ad that can’t be removed by ad block.
Do not “pre-check” things for people, such as with the commentluv option below.
Understand that most people are tolerant of non-obtrusive ads and respect a blogger’s right to make money from their work, but if an ad detracts from the experience, give them an out.
Also.. a good rule of thumb is that if you have to trick or force your reader to see an add or offer, that is your first sign that it is sub-par.
Oh… I just got hit.
That’s a slap on the forehead, I should make some changes around here as well. Thanks, Catherine.
Twitter: dailyschoolnews
says:
this is pretty serious, i did not have the slightest idea that my blog would be hated for this.
thanks DC
Somehow, someway, we’re all doing one thing or the other wrong way. Thanks for dropping by.
Twitter: worldloaded
says:
thank u Don for this piece of writeup, it makes alot of sense, also ur image up there is fantastic, u got a good blog and i believe we too can do more than this, this is great to read
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Twitter: browse10
says:
wow! We both have the same thoughts. As I read the whole article I managed to remember my pet peeves. Hehehe
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You got it man!
Well written
Something is making me read this article again and again.
Well put man. Cheers.
You really know how to win the hearts of your readers. The way you make your headlines catchy is what makes you stand out
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