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call me a hater if you want... but "freshly pressed"

  1. d1esel6
    Member

    i mean, when you guys look at "freshly pressed"
    don't you also sometimes think... "this stuff isn't even interesting"
    for months and months, i've been baffled by what exactly it takes to be on "freshly pressed"
    but i give up now...

    it's like, do the people in charge just randomly pick blog posts
    or do they actually read the stuff and say "this needs attention, i'm gonna put it on 'freshly pressed'"

    anyway it's just frustrating.
    and i had to vent.

    The blog I need help with is d1esel6.wordpress.com.

  2. yourpaljason
    Member

    I do agree to an extent. I remember one time recently, there was a picture of a tiny foot bridge from someone's photo blog that made it. The picture was great and all and I would have no problem with it being freshly pressed in the photography section. However, the blogger tagged the post with every subject imaginable. The post ended up as freshly pressed under probably six different tags, including humor, and it clearly wasn't a humorous picture. I often wonder about Freshly Pressed.

  3. invisiblemikey
    Member

    LOL - Hope you feel better after venting. I've enjoyed looking at some of the photo and travel blogs, but not many of the topics chosen for FP are of interest to me either.

    Still, I'm enjoying my experience of self-publishing very much, and I've found a number of blogs I like reading.

  4. timethief
    Member

    i've been baffled by what exactly it takes to be on "freshly pressed"

    Staff do the selections for Freshly Pressed, and because I rarely ever saw even a single post that interested me I no longer even look at the Freshly Pressed page.

  5. zuzushafi
    Member

    LOL- I agree with everyones comments, as much as I want to be on it, (I know I wont be), I do have to say the posts are not my cup of tea. Meh o well.

  6. ardpete
    Member

    I often leave comments on Freshly Pressed blog posts to try and drive traffic to my own blog. They're nothing but prostitutes for me :)

  7. maidiebike
    Member

    They should establish 3-4 criteria that they follow loosely to make Freshly Pressed..inspiring reading content/examples of good blog posts for readers.

    Really, it's not that hard. But for someone who does it as part of their job, to them it appears tedious. Unless they rethink their role, see this task...as a SERVICE to the worldwide audience of WordPress users and anyone else. This is their contribution to the world and to help inspire/interest us as readers.

    Which means not dumbing down too low to us as readers, bloggers.

    I've had jobs where part of my daily work for less than half hr., was to screen incoming research publications and industry news and highlight the stuff that aligns to what users needed/interested them --in general. Yes I learned all sort of stuff by skimming and knowing how to "sense" /hit upon good quality content.

  8. timethief
    Member

    @ardpete

    I often leave comments on Freshly Pressed blog posts to try and drive traffic to my own blog. They're nothing but prostitutes for me :)

    You made me lol and not in a nice way.

  9. ardpete
    Member

    Any lol is a good lol.

  10. raincoaster
    Member

    Agreed: good strategy!

    But if you think Freshly Pressed is boring, you should go to Google+ and see Sparks. It's like the inside of Carol Brady's head in there.

  11. teamoyeniyi
    Member

    I look at it this way. I'll never be on FP precisely because I am NOT boring! :)

    I suggest all those who aren't going to make it take a similar approach.

    Maybe a rose-coloured-glasses perspective, but it stops me thinking about it!

  12. lettershometoyou
    Member

    Freshly pressed is pretty hit and miss. I know I put a lot more time and effort into many posts that never made it to that page than the one that actually did.

    That said, it's a judgement call by a real person - or people - who face the nearly impossible task of sifting through the thousands of posts that hit this site every hour to find just the right ones to put up on the page, and hope that they interest a majority of people. They also have to keep finding new ones, because obviously, if they've found a blogger who is consistently good, they can't put their stuff up there all the time.

    Freshly pressed is also a good alternative to the way it used to be, with the big-money /high-traffic corporate blogs hogging most of the attention and the rest stuck up as an afterthought.

  13. invisiblemikey
    Member

    @lettershometoyou ---

    I don't think they are making impossible or even difficult choices most of the time. They make safe choices, broad strokes, vanilla ice cream picks. Pretty pictures, food, reviews of current movies etc. FP is a sort of blog zine. They pick stuff the greatest number of people have interest in, with only a passing examination into the quality of the writing or the depth of idea content. Your point about sponsored mega-blogs is good, though the "Eco-Pressed" box at the bottom of my Dashboard now crowds out the Top lists I would rather be able to see.

  14. lettershometoyou
    Member

    I suppose you're right about the plain-vanilla picks, though I've never clicked on an FP post and thought, my God, they can't even spell, which is usually the first click-away for me after lousy photography. I did find one once that had major stretches of the text lifted from another blog, which just shouldn't happen.

  15. sami116
    Member

    All you hater are NEVER getting Freshly Pressed.

    I'll stay on the safe side and reserve my judgement for later :P

  16. greylocks
    Member

    I have read the Freshly Pressed criteria that you are supposed to follow to maximize the possibility of being chosen. But when some bloggers get picked 3 or 4 times a year, I have to think there is something else involved. It isn't just about criteria, it isn't even like a lottery. There is a selection process that most of us don't understand and we likely never will.
    There are people who leave comments on just about every blog that is Freshly Pressed. I expect it helps them gain views, and perhaps even a few regular readers, but I doubt that they actually continue to follow the majority of these blogs.
    I used to follow Freshly Pressed, but I don't now...

  17. gigisanchez
    Member

    d1ese16,
    I checked out the first few posts on your blog. I'm a film buff, too, so I'm with you. :-) IMO, I see your points but if you're wondering why you're not getting FP --just looking at the first two posts-- the tone there is negative. FP posts are positive (generally). You don't see people bashing on FP posts. IMO, your headlines are way too wordy and not punchy enough. Make them smart and short. Also, you are writing your opinion on the film industry, the music industry, etc. That's great if that's what you want to write but that's not the best angle to get published b/c you aren't an expert, you aren't an authority, so no -you aren't going to get published. If, however, you find a way to put your own life into your posts and angle your film views in a personal way... THAT would be unique and THAT would be interesting. Right now, there isn't anything you're saying that I can't find in People Magazine or another magazine, etc. Why should you be FP? Give WP something they can't get anywhere else. Give it a uniqueness. And my apologies if your other posts are different; I'm only going by the first 5 or 6.

    ;-)

  18. silvershadowfly
    Member

    I often find that there is ALWAYS a post about food or cooking on FP, and to be frank they don't interest me at all. I want to read controversial articles and articles of film reviews with a personal slant. But those type of blog posts are never featured on the FP page, simply because FP isn't about controversial posts, it's about safety nets, or as someone said up above 'vanilla picks'.

    My blog posts headlines are punchy, sometimes funny, and usually controversial - I doubt they will ever be on freshly pressed. I don't mind though, I prefer wandering around the forums, speaking about things that truly matter rather than the trivial and safe things found on freshly pressed.

  19. gigisanchez
    Member

    There is a controversial post on FP right now: “Banned Books Week: What subversives are you reading?” The following controversial words are on that post: slut, smut, cannibalism, racism, occult. So are "stupid," "equal rights," and "vagina."

    Reason it was published: Timeliness

  20. strawberryindigo
    Member

    I think I would read the freshly pressed if it was more eclectic, the headlines seem old and stale. Nothing has caught my eye yet. I have seen much better from others who probably would never be freshly pressed.
    Too corporate, no edge. Not that I would qualify there. I am all fluff, but I am looking at this with a readers point of view not of a writer who wants to be freshly pressed.

  21. websoongi
    Member

    I've had a few looks at FP and feel the same way; The "Banned Books..." highlight was the only one that caught my attention.

    So, if you don't use FP, then how do you find blogs that interest you?

  22. gigisanchez
    Member

    Strawberry,
    You don't like the one about the stingrays that's up now? I like that one. I did the same thing in Belize but in deeper water.

  23. strawberryindigo
    Member

    I find interesting blogs by the tags, and if I am lucky, I get rewarded with some original and excellent writing. It's fun for me to find a good blog that way. Also, when I see smart and interesting people writing skillfully in the forums, I go see what they are writing about in their blogs.. If I like it, I return.
    @Gigi-I have yet to see the stingrays, but we have a date later tonight.... the stingrays and I.

  24. timethief
    Member

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  25. eviebelin
    Member

    I don't find everything on Freshly Pressed interesting, nor would I expect to. Theres no way they could all appeal to everyone. I don't find something there everyday, but I have found several that I find interesting. And in general, even on the ones I've clicked on that don't wind up speaking to me personaly, I still think the quality (photos in focus, proper grammer, words not misused.. ect.) is there.

    Some of the ones that stick out in my mind that I've liked.. there have been a couple travel blogs with photos of scenery, ect. With historical and geographical info on the places featured - like how that landform was created, ect... the one where the girl discussed her eperiences, remorse, and the fallout from participating in the riots.. one about going to concerts in Japan.

    Im curious as to what you all would like to see instead.. because most of the critiques I see, here and in other threads ive seen it discussed, (with a few exceptions) amount to "its not interesting" or "I don't like it" or "there's better stuff out there." So what specifically do you wish was there, and how would they find it?

  26. timethief
    Member

    Aside:
    Are all you folks aware of the Blogs of the Day site? Note the language filters.
    Top Blogs - The most popular WordPress.com blogs are ranked here according to a special formula.
    Top Posts -The most popular WordPress.com posts are ranked here according to a special formula.
    Growing Blogs - These WordPress.com blogs gained the most popularity recently.

  27. timethief
    Member

    @eviebelin
    I could be wrong but I get the impression from the few visits I have made to the Freshly Pressed page that the selections there are from new blogs and the focus may be on encouraging new WordPress.com bloggers. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

  28. eviebelin
    Member

    @timethief it may be. I haven't really thought about it on the ones I read.. if I really like it, i'll check out some of their other posts but I haven't really noticed if they are 10 posts in or 500.

    Slightly off topic.. it would be cool if there were reader-added tags. So that you could look for blogs based on what readers thought they were most relevant to instead of what the writer wanted you to find them under.

  29. momfog
    Member

    @timethief Blogs of the Day is so much better than FP! I found a few blogs I like but, oh my, I don't have time to read any more blogs. I'm already thinking about dropping some from my subscriptions, but how do you do that without hurting feelings?

    Sorry, didn't mean to go off topic there. :-)

  30. websoongi
    Member

    @timethief,
    No, I was unaware of BotD; I still don't get how one finds it from the index page, but I've saved a link to it. Thank you.

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