Dilemma of a blogger
Recently I read a post on FB's popular food group where the moderator had put a food blogger on a tricky spot. He mentioned a blog post of her mentioning how bloggers these days do anything for free food and stuff. In addition, he commented on her style of writing and error in English. Being a moderator of such a popular group, the person gained support from many people who lambasted the blogger with comments ranging from her knowledge of English to her even considering herself worthy of becoming a blogger. Only a few spoke in support of the blogger. (Those people were in return indirectly asked to leave the group for going against the moderator.) Wonder if the girl in the context is even aware of this post. Firstly I wanted to share this with all my fellow bloggers as I felt bad for that girl. Secondly wanted to know your opinion on was it right on the moderator's part to do this kind of thing? How would you feel if you would have a similar experience?
Reason: Category
Getting free food or free stuff for review, IMO, is not an issue. But writing a dishonest or incorrect opinion about that free thing, just because it is offered free, is.
As far as freebies are concerned I feel more tempted towards a contest if it has more freebies to offer and we all love that simple example is happy hours, where in just 5 minutes you get more than 100 entries.
Talking about the group owners and moderators one of my close friend (blogger) has experienced a kind of situation. He posted an honest feedback in comments section of a contest page on a blogging site, and till date that comment is not moderated. The language was not derogatory or criticising but I dont know why the comment was not approved.Probably because it will point out the organisers mistakes which they dont want to highlight.
nothing is free....even in contest/hh you are writing post ( it requires time n energy ), giving brand publicity -- many ppl esp non-bloggers searches google and come to these links --- so dont regard those as free stuff - on the other hand bloggers create buzz/social media awareness, so you are giving something of value to the brand.
free would be...you do nothing ( no writing/tweeting etc ) yet a goodie bag lands in your hands
free would be...you do nothing ( no writing/tweeting etc ) yet a goodie bag lands in your hands
IndiStuff!
which one...i think we write for indistuff too na?
The problem is most of us also feel that what we do is more of a hobby so take winning prizes, samples or vouchers as a freebie. Talking about HH many of us have to stretch our daily schedule exclusively for writing the post. It's not that participating is not at our discretion but then we do put in efforts, right? Adding further as Nandini rightly said brands through us get online promotion. So what we are getting isn't exactly a freebie. Respect thy work should be the mantra for all!
Like your friend's experience, sad things do happen but then in the long run only sincere and consistent efforts pay off both for the blogger and the blogging site.
In general, Sponsor or moderator or whoever on the other side - they too getting free post / publicity / benefit freely from us na? 
so, we offer our post as freebie to them .
I want to be shameless too, can anybody tell me, how to get free food in exchange of writing? ;'(
Yes, Pari, studying too! :(
Tanishq, you get free food at home. Enjoy that and study for your boards. You will get many free foods opportunities in college(at least I got a lot of them). So go and study.
Attend an IndiMeet. Of course, you get things other than free food also. 
I too want free food..So can we all ask for a new IndiMeet..and this time Delhi, please!
Ah, so it's the ever wonderful foodie group Chef at Large? Don't know how it got so big, but the less spoken about it, the better. Bangalore Foodies Club has better moderators. They're also humble and treat everyone with respect (except the spammers of course).
Also, writing a blog post isn't really "free food." It takes time and effort to write something, no matter how stupid and irrelevant you think it is. Even I'm investing some time and effort to write this reply, ain't I?
Actually that girl's blogpost had quite a few grammatical mistakes. But even then, no one has the right to ridicule her on a public platform (that too without her knowledge). Who are we to judge her blog or her writing skills? To say that she is writing merely for "free food" was absolutely derisive. Sadly, it seems like too many people have turned into sadists these days; in the name of free speech, they are actually abusing others, just for fun. I wonder who gave this moderator and his other elite members the right to mock a blogger for her writing skills, that too when she is not even a member of that group! Too much of snobbery around.
*collective gasps!*
Who be good? and who be bad? Who be judge? I had written a post on a reverse view of the issue, actually, where a reader complained that the bloggers English was too good for the common people. The anonymous commenter went on to say that the blogger was showing off his English skills.
I pride myself on my English skills, but I be making mistakes, some deliberate, some typos and some ( yes, gasp! even I!) real mistakes.
Thanks for sharing the incident here, Judy. I read that particular post a while ago, and it was saddening to see a fellow blogger being so brutally targeted.
There are so many tangents to what happened on that group's post -
- There's a difference between criticism, constructive criticism and outright mockery. Ideally a group/page moderator is supposed to guide the group (besides executing his admin duties), but here it seems that the moderator in question was angry about something else and intentionally targeted a hapless/clueless blogger, questioning her blogging skills, and thus on the sly targeted the event organisers (for not inviting him, maybe?) . This is very unbecoming of a moderator and very irresponsible too, to say the least.
- Now comes freedom of speech - what a blogger writes in their blog is their prerogative. Who are others to judge them, mock them and humiliate them in public. If you are not interested in substandard content, then stay away from that blog - why is this so difficult to understand to some self appointed blog police or the self proclaimed karta-dhartas of the blogging world?
- Third is the quality of content - target audience/readers decide the quality of content. Say for example, to a family of non-bloggers, non writers - a simple blog written by a young member too will seem nothing less than a great intellectual pursuit. I am sure every one of us thinks we are doing great service to mankind and blogosphere by adding our take on this and that. Good, the bubbles are good, but please don't go about poking needles in others' bubbles.
Then again, one cannot just call others' work inferior in the name of freedom of speech. You call somebody's work poor, their English not at par with the standard you have set for yourself, but may be the other person is a hindi medium graduate trying to up their English quotient through blogging. Then again, who is perfect?
'Public shaming' - I am seeing so many fellow bloggers advocating this of late. And I thought bloggers were a refined, evolved, emotional lot. But looks like we are all bigger victims of fragile egos. One can only hope that we all undestand and become more aware of this trend and its repurcussions. Public shaming over some silly matter - it can scar someone for life, scar their heart and soul. Scar their present and future.
And now wrapping with another observation from the post - many of those who got together to stone their target for poor grammar, were themselves using incorrect English.
P.S. 1 - Good blogger, bad blogger, rich blogger, poor blogger - everyone loves freebies. 
P.S. 2 - A self proclaimed/public proclaimed 'good' blogger cannot really assert any moral rights over freebies. 
+10...
another observation from the post - many of those who got together to stone their target for poor grammar, were themselves using incorrect English.
+10
And the most shocking part was that the blogger is not even a member of that food group! 
Amit, this is just like Sholay film dialouge (as you said earlier few) between Mousi and Amitabh.
Shaadi hone ke baad zimmedari aayegi tho chaar paise kama lega...roz tho jeeth nahi sakten (haar jeeth tho ho thi hai)
Juva aisi kambaqth cheez hai - vo bhi chod dega
Sharaab bhi aisi buri cheez hai vo bhi chod dega
Naachna gaana bhi chod dega...
and so...most probably...Chef Moderator will do the same
So.. basically the moderator is pissed off for not being invited and rather than taunting the organizer, the mod is taunting a blogger? If you really think about it, it doesn't make sense. What can she do? She came, she saw, she ate and she blogged. If the mod talked about the way she writes and the error she makes- and only about that- it could have been brushed away up to a point and also considered as a harsh reality check. But that "free food" point looks as If the mod didn't get the invite and he didn't like it.
What happened to the good old days when people know whom they should be angry on????
I don't know what bothered him so much but certainly his actions did bother me.
I would ignore that bunch of people if I was that girl. First, I don't see the point in being groups, even if it's for sharing content. Second you cannot make a horse out of a donkey. Let them cry and moan around, and let them do more. That's all such people can do.
I would, however, be more concerned about sentence construction and grammar part. If she fixes that issue herself, it's just beneficial for the readers instead.
Facebook is about Mah LyF Mah Rulz so no one should really give a shit to what FB pages say
It is better to give 'shit' to such Moderator (for thoughts) and such FB pages (for post)
Agreed but when something like this comes up it is really disheartening.
Moderator mentioned a blog post of her mentioning how bloggers these days do anything for free food and stuff.
What about Moderator then? Don't they do for such things? (don't give them food and gifts from now onward)! Why then Moderator runs behind the bloggers to get the advantages what they want . However she is trying her best to write something na!
See, I would feel no shame in saying that If someone gave me food for writing about it, I would always do it. Food is life.
But can you forgo somebody who would tag you on social media with 30K+ audience and rip you apart with criticism? I can also write for food but not at the cost of respect for my passion.
Well, if that happens, I ll shamelessly put another pic of mine eating in a restaurant :D
Its not about respect Judy, one shouldn't expect respect from strangers atleast. I have learnt one thing - Those who matter do not mind, and those who mind, do not matter. So just, be free, no one has to care about what the damn they say. Perhaps they are just jealous of privileges that girl is getting. And If I were that girl, I would fluant those priviledged more now! :D
Yes, you are right. Why restaurant...here you go, almost four to five times so far had free Biryanis, deserts, sweets and soft drinks etc. beside freebies from IndiMeet - you want those pictures . Also, similar benefits received from other event/meets too .
Judy. I am a food blogger myself and I know how critical people can get. And quite a few of the food bloggers are stay at simple folks ( stay at home moms or teachers or even retired people )who are not even aware of the 'free stuff' part. They just want a few encouraging words for the effort they put in. But then, the world is full of ***holes and we just can't go listening to anyone....but thanks for the update..I just 'Unjoined' Chef at Large :)
Hi Sweta agree with you. Adding to it even if the blogger we are talking about does know about the freebies then also there are two things to ponder about. Firstly she has a good performing blog (otherwise wouldn't get an invite for such event) and secondly in such a group discussing anybody's work like this would it be acceptable to the moderator himself if it was done by any other person?
So far as freebies are concerned, we all love them... I attend meets and like it when they are in find-dining restaurants or starred hotels. We do love Indi meets because of the food and gifts showered there. So there is nothing wrong in liking gifts or even accepting them as they are a part of a promo... we all get free books too from publishers and authors... right? But does this mean that I am to necessarily write a positive review? No. However, I will point out the good things in a product or a book and lambast the features that deserve a beating... same is the case for this FB group wanting to lambast some blogger for being shoddy in her expression. Even I do not want the blogosphere to be inundated by freebie hunters who are incompetent.
Sir that group is not for finding bloggers with less command over English and then sudharofi them.. We all make errors in one post or other but for that talking about myself I wouldn't want to be criticized in such manner.
A critical appraisal, if done sans a malafide intent, is fine... but the one whose blog is being appraised needs to be in the loop.
Maybe no one invites that moderator for a free lunch! 
It is her blog and it is her right to do whatever she wants with it.
Though, this is not the right way, as we have different levels and qualities of education delivered to us in different schools, cities and states as well. Being a moderator, or anyone, who has got a certain level of authority, one should consider things like these. Lambasting or public shaming (though pretty effective) should be used wisely, and in my opinion in scenarios where the "offenders" resist accepting the offence.
As what Amit has rightly said, one should take it positively, and resolve to rectify the problem majority of people see in one's work, which necessaarily mean they're looking at it in the right way. If there is something to your work that meets the eye, you should come forward and try explaining people about your viewpoint behind your work. But, this, many a times becomes discouraging for the person in question.
I feel a person can go overboard in expressing his/herself which is unacceptable but discussing it on a platform with thousands of followers is definitely not right. More so the particular platform hasn't been tagged in the post or mentioned in the post. He also added comments that were quite disturbing like 'Food for free' and 'Sold out blog'.
BTW, Judy, is it Eatlo or Eat Treat?
BTW, Judy, is it Eatlo or Eat Treat?
Judy, when you wrote 'FB's popular food group', I thought you were referring to either of these two groups - 'Eatlo' or 'Eat Treat' because I too have found their moderators a bit too arrogant at times
Oh, got the hint . CAL, Sid Cooler?
Though I shouldn't be painting all groups with one broad brush but like I said earlier, I have often found that snobbery reigns at most places (FB groups); they are humble to begin with but as the number of members increases and they start getting popular, sometimes that goes to their head. Even if when someone is wrong, the moderator can still politely correct him/her instead of humiliating or making fun of him publicly. But often they don't do that.
But you will find many helpful and humble members too in such groups, who would patiently listen to you and will help you out, will guide you and will answer your queries, so much that anyone will instantly feel like a part of that family.
Talking from personal experiences, when I was new to orkut, I too would often come across disagreeing fellow members and arguments would then ensue Sometimes I was wrong and sometimes they were. But more often than not, they would humiliate me. Bullying happens everywhere. The same thing happened in FB groups too. Being an emotional person, I would often would leave those groups, taking their comments personally. But then I realised that I was reacting too much. It's all about being tactful and ignoring such people. If I get to learn something new and interesting from such groups, why should I unjoin myself from a particular group just because of a few people? But if I am wrong, I am wrong, there is no harm in accepting that . Correcting them will only improve me and nobody else. So 'getting humiliated' becomes insignificant when I look at the bigger picture - 'I will be an improved person'. (not that I get humiliated as a daily routine 
)
Agreed.. But I still feel disgusted with people who take advantage of their position
Yes, Judy, I finally managed to find that particular post last evening and read all those comments. They were really harsh and nasty. But I wasn't actually surprised by Sid's comments or his attitude, earlier too I had seen his high-handedness.. his attitude has always been like that - "it's my way, or that's the way (to the door)".
Had it not been for Reem Khan and Shruti Khan and a few others over there, I would have unjoined myself from the group long back. What can we do? We have got to live with all sorts of people on this planet 
I just hope the girl didn't take all these people seriously or their harsh comments to heart, rather took it in her stride. Sometimes bad experiences and hard knocks go onto teach us some invaluable lessons for life. But yes, it isn't always that easy not to be affected by such unwarranted personal attacks by strangers.
Didn't contact the girl but saw that she has changed her blog's title.
Amit, Judy could you please give some hint so that I can check the specific post?
@Sumit, I was about to post the link here (though at the risk of being warned by the Indi police ) but then thought to first check whether it's still there in that group or not, and I found that you have already got the link (you liked the second last comment there).
Yes Amit found it finally. Thanks.
Sadly, you find snobbery everywhere 
and it does hurt sometimes. But I feel, the thing to do should be, to take all of that positively instead of trying to fit in with the multitude. If I were in that girl's place, i wouldn't care much about what others think of my blog or my writing skills, i will still keep on doing what I love doing. After all, one can only improve along the way.
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