Discussion post: the royal "we"
I don't understand when bloggers call themselves "we." I mean, it makes sense if your blog has more than one author and you share an account. For example, I have a blog reader who comments under the name "We Heart YA." And if you go to their blog you can see that "We Heart YA" is actually four people. So that makes sense.
But explain to me why some bloggers (who are the ONLY authors on their blogs) call themselves "we." Is it some kind of subliminal thing? If people read that a blogger is a "we" will they like them more? That doesn't make sense to me, but I don't know! It's like how "Five for Fighting" is actually just one dude. But calling himselves "Five for Fighting" makes people think he's a band.
Any insights? Did you even know this was happening? Am I making things up? Does it bother you? I promise that tomorrow I'll have some legitimate content on my blog (I'm so behind in reviews) but right now I'M SO CONFUSED!!
All review content © Enna Isilee, Squeaky Books 2007-2011
I've never understood it either, Enna. I figured it was just, maybe they're trying to sound more professional and experienced in giving the impression that their blog is a collective one. :/
ReplyDeleteHA! I've never seen anyone really do that that has only one author. I can only imagine that it's like what Cass is saying, they want to sound more professional!
ReplyDeletexo,
La Toya (La Toya, Literally)
I say "we" sometimes when I'm blogging. I do it because I'm referring to me and my husband and sometimes our baby.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I ever say we. Maybe when they're referring to themselves as well as readers?
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't seem very logical, but that's my best guess.
I'm guessing they're referring to a second person (or more) that they assume you know about but haven't explained in the post. We could mean their family, like Heather mentioned, or their roommates or other authors on the blog that seldom post. (For instance there are two other authors on my blog Everead, but I am writing the vast majority of posts right now, due to their moving and having babies right now.)
ReplyDeleteAlso, some people just like the royal "we"! Maybe it is their brand of humor. I seriously doubt someone would be sticking it in to try and sound more professional. That is just mystifying.
I wouldn't use "we" but don't mind reading it. I think it's a quirky voice-changer.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever noticed this "we" shenanigans going on. I don't think it would bother me though (because obviously I wasn't aware enough in the first place to notice).
ReplyDeleteI used to do it accidentally on WORD and then realize what I posted and then edit my posts, haha. Sometimes its just absentminded, especially if you're used to doing things in a group. If you're not a group, though, don't use the royal 'we'!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I say "we" I'm talking about my original characters and I
ReplyDeleteI think, like Nicole said, sometimes people use it because they're just not really thinking about it. I may have used it some posts, I can't remember, but if I did, I'm sure it was rare. I know in my policies I refer to my blog in the third person because policies have a bit more weight to them. But I don't notice this around too much.
ReplyDeleteAmber
The Musings of ALMYBNENR
LOL well we are glad you clarified that we don't bother you! :P
ReplyDeleteYes, because there's four of us, we try to make our comments representative of all of us. But if we can't, we will usually call out the person to whom it applies -- “Sarah loved this book, or Kristan feels this way, etc.” Sometimes it's weird to use “we” (because obviously all four of us do not sit here and read every blog together) but on the other hand, our blogging endeavor is a group effort and we want to give everyone credit.
I say "we" on my blog, too, but mine actually is a group of people! I'm not completely sure why someone would say "we" otherwise, though. To sound fancier? To sound more official? Just 'cause they like the sound? Maybe it's because of their blog title; for example, the Story Siren would say "I" because her blog sounds like it's made up of only one person, but then Vampire Book Club might say "we" because her blog sounds like it's made up of more than one person (though it isn't).
ReplyDeleteI've said "we" in writing contexts where it didn't apply and wondered why for myself. I suspect it's one of two things: Either I'm feeling a lack of authority and want to shore it up, or I feel I'm throwing my weight around and want to sound less autocratic. Of course, I do edit it out! But it's something I've thought about. (In some cases, perhaps it's meant to say, "We the readers.")
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