There are SO MANY memes and blogs and things out there at the mo. As most of you know, I currently run Silent Sunday. You can read about it all here, or you can click on that tab which says Silent Sunday just up on the right hand side there.
*waits for you to go read*
Done? Ok.
Now, I’ve got to be honest, I think it’s really cool that loads of you want to be involved. It’s fab. Encouraging people to grab a photo of that moment in the week that meant something to them, then that’s BRILLIANT. But it’s a meme….and there are rules. And what really sucks is when people break those rules, when others are making a fantastic effort to stick to the rules, and enhance the meme theme.
…I really don’t like the word meme, but whatever.
RIGHT. Let’s just go over a few things. First and foremost, it is called SILENT SUNDAY. This means there are to be NO WORDS IN YOUR POST.
NO. WORDS.
NO.
WORDS.
As of Sunday 27th March, this will also include the title. There are to be NO WORDS.
PLEASE.
NO.
WORDS.
I know some of you like words. Some of you LOVE words. If that’s the case, then why do you not do a Silent Sunday, and then WRITE about your photo later in the week? Or if you don’t want to post the same photo twice but the photo means that much to you, why don’t you write your post, with words, and then schedule it for in the week? You still get to use your photo AND you can post something else to Silent Sunday with NO WORDS.
Did I mention NO WORDS, by the way?
NO. WORDS. No videos, songs, text, quotes, NOTHING. NO. WORDS.
I got very sad when I read this post from Nickle – er – Nickie at I Am Typecast. I couldn’t decide whether I agreed or disagreed, as I don’t see anything wrong with photo posts at all; I think they’re great. I do my own 365 Project, and am excited to look back on it at the end of the year – my year in photos. Photo blogs rock; I’m a photographer, I’m bound to love them. But part of me agrees with one of the things she asks: “Are we getting lazy with blogging?” And that’s where her post struck a chord. Some don’t seem to make as much effort with posts and even photos any more. She also asks “Does a picture really speak a thousand words?” I believe it can. In yesterday’s Silent Sunday post, some of you pointed out things in the photo I hadn’t even appreciated. And I’m seeing the same thing happening with others, usually those who have taken the time behind taking the photo, or where you can see it meant something to the poster.
These are the ones that stand out to me. Those are the one’s where I think, “yeah…that’s really cool. I totally get that.” Sometimes I don’t get the picture. But somehow you can still see that it means something to the poster. But lately I find myself not bothering to “read” some posts because I don’t want to look at words. I just want to see a photo that was a significant moment from your week. Nosy? Hell yeah.
Silent Sunday is a moment from your last week (yes, this is a rule to Silent Sunday also. Something which happened in the LAST 7 DAYS LEADING UP TO YOUR POST) and it should be a moment significant to you. Many talk about “bending the rules” – why do that? Why not just stick to the rules and do another post as well? Is it laziness? Can people not be bothered any more, and so try to find an easy work-around? Are people stuck for ideas and don’t know what to post? If that’s the case, why not just leave Silent Sunday for that week and find something worthwhile to post the following week instead?
Also, if you used someone else’s photo, do you know the law will come down on you like a ton of bricks if you choose photos that you’ve snatched from someone else? If I ever found my images being posted on someone else’s blog and them passing them off as their own, or without my permission, do you know how fast I will be on the phone to my lawyer? And yes. I have a lawyer. And no, I’m not shitting about when I stress this rule. It is important. For very good reason.
Of course, some people have several moments from their weeks that have been awesome or poignant or significant or whatever. So you have more than one photo to use. Perhaps you could choose the ONE PHOTO ONLY which speaks the most? The ONE PHOTO ONLY which obviously doesn’t need any words, including “This is a photo of the sun” or perhaps “I took this photo with a camera”? Because Silent Sunday is JUST ONE PHOTO ONLY. If you have other photos, then surely/possibly/maybe…you could blog about them, on your blog, in the week? Isn’t that part of what blogging is about? Isn’t it more respectable to give the other photos the justice and space they deserve by writing a full post for them?
Well wouldn’t you know it, this post has been anything but silent. And with good reason. The Die Hard Silent Sunday Purists have spoken, me being one of them. So from now on, if you wish to take part, OBSERVE the rules:
You use just one photo in your post.
You must have taken the picture – you cannot use something you found on the internet or a photo that belongs to someone else (*ahem* COPYRIGHT *ahem*).
Use a photo taken in the week leading up to your post.
You don’t have to do it every week.
It’s Silent, isn’t it? So please, please, please… no words in the post OR the title. The only title permitted is “Silent Sunday”.
I do go and look at every single Silent Sunday post. If you are found to be breaking the rules, your post will be removed from the Linky. If you’re having trouble with the linky, out of courtesy, please don’t be a stress head in the comments on my Silent Sunday posts. You can always drop me an email, find me on twitter, or leave a message on THIS POST.
Thank you for listening to me shout. I need to go lie down now, because Monday is kicking my ass.
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Hi
Joined the Silent Sunday brigade for the first time last week, hope I did it correctly – ie. no words, just 'Silent Sunday' as the title, the photo and the badge, and if course I took the photo myself in the week leading up to that Sunday. Hope you like it.
I love the idea (until this week I didn't know you were the originator). I hope I have kept to the rules (I've double checked and deleted the words other than Silent Sunday and take out the tags – third attempt so hopefully I'm there). I am less sure about the scheduling for Sunday and the linky (deleted t from my sidebar now, so hopefully will link to my scheduled Sunday post now).
Reading your post and comments has made me think about the power of the single image. Also wondering why it is so hard (for me) to post without words. Something I may explore (my natural inclination is to post without pictures, something I resist). I'll keep visiting the images to inspire me in the week ahead.
*Like*
I love this idea!! Will try it out this week!
Completely agree with you writing this post and hopefully I always stick to the rules. I like the rules
)
Now shhhhhh…..its Sunday
)
Oooh, quick Q – can you reply to people's comments if they ask you a question about it? Guess not…
I love the concept of this and have taken part a few times, but today have had my link removed several times. I think I have finally nailed it, no title, no tags, link to post not whole blog….. Done it all. Not sure how you remove them, but if you do would be much appreciated if you could perhaps leave a comment on the post saying why? Then we who are trying but failing could correct it immediately and join in the fun. Just a thought.
I have read the rules several times now, so hopefully future posts will be to your satisfaction, but I'm a bit of a blogging div!
Hello, I appreciate what you're saying, but after years of spending much of my Sunday's asking people to just read the rules, it gets a bit wearing constantly chasing people up. Since I'm not keen on losing loads of family time by sitting on my laptop, chasing up email addresses, I did actually try to track you down on twitter, which I thought might be more comfortable than leaving a "I deleted your blog because you didn't get the link right" comment on your post. There's a place for it, but I don't think it's in comments.
So, I don't leave "I removed your blog" comments in posts, because I know I don't feel comfortable when people leave awkward comments on my posts. It's a little but impersonal. Also, it's already time consuming as it is going through every single post in the first place; if everyone made the mistakes, it would be a bit of a dull day for those involved, no? So, I get the message out to everyone in one go by having the standard Silent Sunday post to refer to, with the rules, for all to see. I hope this would save me repeating myself week after week.
Ironically I think it was actually you tweeted me asking about your post, I replied and then got nothing more from yourself. There are numerous ways to contact me to find out what was happening, as people often do.
Please bear in mind that starting the Linky wasn't even my idea; those doing SS way back in the day requested it, and asked that I post the rules for others to see and refer back to. And for a LONG time, I was getting moaned at because OTHERS were breaking the rules. SS has more of a cult following than I could ever have even BEGUN to dream about. So in trying to keep the peace, I'm trying to make it as easy as possible for everyone, including me.
Just a thought.
Thank you for joining in, but please remember it's not just for my satisfaction why I badger on about the rules! Next time, maybe just ask me for help?
Thanks for your tweet! Got it!