I think I have to draw a line in the sand. I get tons of private messages, and is happening more. Just like people who want to raise their profile by commenting on my blog’s Facebook page and really not really commenting to participate but instead to self-promote.

I write what I want to write about. Sure there are things that people have alerted me to that I take an interest in, and life is about learning, and I’m grateful for those people sending me things to check out. And they’re not necessarily sending me things that are bad that are happening, a lot of times it’s someplace they went to had I been there yet and that kind of thing. Now because of some of these readers, I’ve discovered businesses I didn’t know existed and historic sites I didn’t know existed and so on.

Sometimes the private messages are looking for direction. How to find something. Do I know of any resources for whatever they are checking out? And when I can help, I am happy to pay it forward.

But then there is the growing amount of private messages that are starting to get on my last nerve.

What are some of these messages?

OK, how about product pitches? As in they’re making something and they want me to promote it for free. When you hear me talk about a product it’s because I tried it and that means no company sent it to me telling me to try it for free and write about it, it means I searched it out and bought it.

I think that’s the best way to write about things you buy etc. This is why I don’t like the whole thing in life about social media influencers and it’s not that all of these influencers are bad people doing bad things, but companies are giving them stuff and asking them to put them on their socials but if you think about it, don’t you always wonder at the end of the day are they products these “influencers” would actually purchase on their own if they had to spend their own money?

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250107-why-the-pushback-against-influencers-is-growing

A friend of mine was talking about stuff their teenage daughter had to have. And why did they have to have some of these products? Oh because her daughter saw teenage and older influencers on social media were promoting them. She remarked about a couple of the articles of clothing that basically fell apart after being worn a couple of times that were purchased because her teenager had seen them on Instagram and TikTok.

https://msselo297.medium.com/5-toxic-and-entitled-influencers-on-the-internet-and-my-piece-of-advice-to-them-part-1-3f8360778aa3

And then we have the more local and regional version of “influencers” in this area. They’re being paid or being given free access to things like new restaurants. And you see them when people are talking about restaurant openings and I’ve seen it with my own eyes. You never see them there a second time you just see them for the opening. I like learning about new restaurants and products from legitimate food writers and that includes folks like Marilyn from Philly Grub.

To me picking a new eatery to check out doesn’t include looking at pictures on Instagram of people who are influencers with like bits of food falling out of their mouth and them posing in the restaurant in a dress or outfit they should’ve thought twice about wearing. And then there are the influencers that you suspect may have not even eaten in a place at all. I mean, how hard is it to say I haven’t been there yet to try XYZ place out but my friends have loved it?

And then there are the people that just send me random YouTube videos because they think if they send it to me, I will share it. Recently that random list has included self published authors whom I have never heard of.

People pitch me a lot, and I am not enamored. Please don’t pitch me. And that’s not to say I don’t enjoy getting messages from people who give me information on things that I find interesting. I’m talking about the hard sell/passive aggressive sell people. I’m not your woman for this. I’m not an influencer and I have no desire to be.

And some of the people that pitch me more than they should are politicians. There’s one in particular for the upcoming election season who’s really starting to get on my last nerve. And the sad thing is some of what he’s speaking of I don’t necessarily disagree with. But he’s so freaking pushy, it’s a turn off. I understand drive is something very much needed in a political campaign, but you have to balance it out or nobody wants to talk to you.

No, I don’t endorse politicians. I never have. It’s like I don’t contribute to political campaigns. I don’t even do lawn signs anymore.

I will tell people about politicians I like and why, and that includes people I am friends with who are running for public office. I know it’s hard to run for public office so I like to be supportive of my friends, especially when I think they are doing something for the right reasons or the greater good. But telling people who I like and who I would vote for and who I wouldn’t vote for, is not an endorsement per se and at the end of the day I mean come on I’m a blogger, not some head of some big local company or power broker.

Now, while we’re talking politics, there are people who have turned me off to nonprofits they have started that I think are a wonderful idea because of their personal politics getting in the way. It’s hard to like and support their nonprofits when they are not nice to people who don’t want to be part of their personal political nonsense.

I guess I’m just getting tired lately of the pushy private messages or the pushy comments to push their platforms and products on my blog’s Facebook page. It’s like the people who friend you personally only to try to sell you something.

I am not now, and never will be someone who responds to a hard sell or a push. I like to check out things on my own and that’s the long and short of it. One of the things I have discovered is if something seems too good to be true it very well might be.

I mean, we all know I don’t like door-to-door salesman right? So why does anyone think I like the Internet variety?

People I’m not a 1950s housewife. And just because I am not a compensated blogger doesn’t mean I’m your Freebie Phoebie every day either. So kindly stop knocking on my virtual door as well as my real door. Keep the sales pitch for those who have that jam in mind.