Full disclosure: the following post is a rant. I get satisfaction, if you read it. You don’t have to read it, but your support is greatly appreciated.
The title of the post is the first line in my favorite song by David Gray ( who incidentally looks like Brian Kelly from “The points guy”), called “Please forgive me”. It has beautiful, haunting lyrics, check it out on Youtube.
I had a lot on mind lately. This blogging thing can really take a toll on your mental state. It is very hard to de-blog. It’s always there in the back of your mind. You either think about your current post, your next post or the fact, that you may not come up with anything to write another post (gasp!).
Also, this is not the most exciting stuff, right? Not to most people, at least. We are talking numbers , miles et cetera. I can only do so much to add the extra spice needed to make it interesting. And I really don’t want to make it so spicy, that people can’s stand it anymore.
I sure managed to do a lot in my first month and a half of blogging. More , than I ever imagined. Some good, some bad. The exposure I got was completely unexpected and overwhelming. In spite of the look of my site, the feedback has been mostly positive. Also somewhat unexpected.
Now onto the bad part. Somehow I already managed to get accused of plagiarism, a head scratcher for sure! Though I can see why the other blogger thought that. I posted the same picture 3 weeks after she posted hers. But I never saw her post. How about that? The worst part is that it was the blogger, who championed my little site from the start. See my previous post for more. I mean , come on! I am not a thief in my other life and am not here to start stealing from other bloggers. It’s just not who I am.
Also the affiliate links got at least half of the people in the industry upset. I guess I didn’t follow the protocol on how I went about this whole thing. And in a way I do understand, it looks unsavory.
My stance on this has always been this. The reader is very smart. If they don’t think I deserve it, they won’t use my links. Simple as that. So now I’m an outsider, but it has been like that my whole life. It feels normal. Plus, I am a SAHM, who rarely travels, trying to be a part of frequent flyer blogging community. An oxymoron indeed.
Honestly if I ever get a check from my affiliate company, it’s gonna be a major shocker. Strangely, you readers don’t seem to have a problem with the whole thing, like I thought you would! And if by some miracle anyone does apply through my site and is approved for a card, please email me, if you can. That way I will get a chance to thank you personally. This is not a manipulative ploy on my part to get you to use my links. Or is it? 🙂
I also managed to tell off the guy, who tells off everyone else in the industry. Big mouth, no filter, “take no prisoners” approach. Check , check and check! For both of us. So that made the other half of the bloggers upset with me as well. How would you like to have all of that in your first month on a job? What’s next ? Beat up Randy Petersen, the “godfather” of frequent flyer miles? Pfft, give me a time and a place.
By the way, why is he called “godfather”? Is this blogging industry just a front for something really sinister? An internet troll recently said I have lots of chutzpah. You bet I do, though I’m still not sure what it is. But I like the sound of it!
The song I mentioned has a line, that goes: ” Help me out here, all my words are falling short. And I have so much to say.” I really would like to hear from you, readers. Please make suggestions on topics you want me to cover. I will be happy to feature posts with your questions answered as well. And if someone wants to contribute a trip report, please do. As you can see, I could use some. Not everyone is comfortable commenting on the site. So please email, if that’s the case. I have corresponded with some readers in that manner. Plus, as you can see, I could use some encouragement.
Thank you again for reading. I really hope you are benefiting. I don’t want to blog into oblivion. This is a labor of love for me, truly. I don’t know how long I will keep going. And I haven’t been doing it right in so many ways. But there is a line in the same song, that goes: ” Feels like lightning, running through my veins.” Even though this is just a boring miles and points blog, that’s how it feels, when I’m writing. That’s exactly how it feels.
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
@Romantichotelsamsterdam Sorry, somehow you went into spam to begin with. Thank you so much for your kind words!
Everyone loves what you guys are up too. Such clever work and reporting!
Keep up the great works guys I’ve incorporated you
guys to my personal blogroll.
@ Bob Exactly! Thank you so much for saying this. I do understand, why this blogger felt this way, I really do. It looked suspicious, no doubt. Quite a coincidence indeed! But our posts are very different, other than the topic and the picture.
Don’t feeling bad. I have seen credit card churning with butter churning mentioned in many a blog. And you both took the first picture of butter churning in google images. In fact FM uses a different churning lady all the time for his gift card churning stories and slides. And google “boarding area reward carrot” to find lots of bloggers using the carrot and stick saying. Is everyone copying or is it just the easiest way to explain…
@ Jacob I agree completely, that this blog is for readers. But some bloggers do read this site, so I feel I needed to clarify some things. Like I mentioned, I do hope to hear more about the topics, you guys would like me to cover. And I would love to have more feedback. As far as plagiarism claim, I had to go on record about what happened. I am an honest person and simply can’t have that hanging over me. Plus this industry is very much about networking. I will become persona non grata, even more than I am now, if other bloggers think i’m stealing material from others. I honestly hope, someday this particular writer sees that I’m telling the truth, after thinking about it logically. I simply can’t admit to something, I haven’t done. I’m not perfect (an understatement), but I’m no thief. As far as all the controversy with the critic guy, it was a bit of an exaggeration. We are actually on good terms currently and exchange a lot of back and forth. I kind of like him, don’t know why! I was just showing all the controversy I managed to get into in just 1 month! Anyway, thatnks for reading, I will try to limit such posts. Its just been a rough week.
I say steal info but only if it is good info! Who cares!!! Information is free! This is a free country! I would love a blog that steals from everyone only the best info! Anyway I am not saying you stole info but seriously the only person who cares is u and the other blogger. Don’t write this blog for the other bloggers to read. Write it for the readers. I don’t know any of the bigshots you referred to in this post.
@ Jen Thanks so much for your support, as always!
@ travelthusiast I honestly don’t know how else to say that I never saw that post. I have been reading your posts over last 2 weeks or so, and they are very good. I think you are a good writer. Before that I was too busy with my blog to read much of anything, I promise you. As to the whole butter churn thing, I wanted to include a picture, so typed “churn” in MSN search, and a bunch of pictures came up. That one looked the funniest. Type it in, hopefully you will see the same thing, but I don’t know. I NEVER saw your post. I was completely shocked when you tweeted it. I know you read my posts. Why would I do something that crazy, since you can call me out on it immediately? Please think about it. I very much apologize that I upset you, but I stand by what I said. Plus even though the topic is the same, the posts are very different. Thanks again for promoting my site, I will always be grateful to you.
Just to clarify – it was not the picture I was upset about. It’s not my picture. It’s on the web free to anyone who wants to use it.
It’s that I felt you were trying to replicate the idea for a post I had about credit card churning using the “butter churn pun”. Again, not saying I have the rights on that, but I’ve never seen it before, so you can imagine my surprise when I see my little cohort using the exact same pun with the exact same picture covering the exact same topic just a few weeks later. You can see how that would look. Especially without any acknowledgement if it was where you got the idea from.
As a fellow blogger, I’m sure you can appreciate the time and energy that goes into creating fresh and original content. I can’t even write a post that was spawned off an idea I had while reading someone else’s post without giving a shout-out.
Only you know the true ethics behind your practices, and I do sincerely hope you are as genuine as you sound. Time will tell.
Thank you for your understanding as to my concern. No hard feelings on my end.
I love your blog. It always makes me smile. Sorry you are getting negative feedback. It does seem like anytime someone is a “newbie,” people just have to be mean.
Wow, Jacob! I so needed to hear this, you have no idea! Not about the card apps, the reading and benefiting part! 🙂 I remember Grant interview, he seems like a lovely guy. Yeah, I’m certainly quirky, you got me there!
I like your page and I will tell you I skip all the blog posts about trips to amazing places. That is not why I care about miles and points. I want to see my family and stay at hotels every now and then. When I apply in the future I will apply thru your page and travelwithgrant because I like normal querky people and the blogs about saving money and deals. Won’t apply for another month because I am working on 5 cards for my mom and Dad will be next. Thanks for the blog. Keep it down to earth for us people who can’t travel to Japan every month.