It seems that my recent post on “How much money do you need to get married for an average Singaporean Groom” has touched the nerves of many readers. And the comments outside my blog are less than friendly. In fact my first few comments are so bad that I started to laugh at myself.
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My first few hater comments |
After I told my wife about the comments, she told me: “See Xiaxue’s son is soooo cute, but there are haters out there saying nasty things about Dash. There's bound to be haters outside. Just ignore them” (I won’t link to her blog as I’m sure everyone knows her)
Initially my first thought is that as a new blogger, my writing skills suck. And I would raise my hand, nod my head and sincerely admit it. Almost all the sentences I write, MS Word will either underline it red, blue or green. With no suggestions other than the spelling errors.
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See what I mean |
When my blog post appeared on TRS, it had a header (now removed). "Please keep it to a healthy discussion and do not throw insults at the author." So I guessed the person that submitted the blog was so furious at my lousy blog post and wrote to TRS about it. And when I saw LIFT writing an article to TRS about Quality Checks on articles they approve, I was shocked. Was he talking about my article? Nope phew...
To the 1%
First of all to the 1% of people who actually read my blog, I thank you for your support. Having 1,000 readers who did actually read my post, commented and advise it is truely a pat on a back for a new blogger like me.
These majority are mainly made up of bloggers who actually understands that blogging takes time, effort and even research to share their views. So when bloggers read, they try to understand what the author is writing and also knows about the blogging community spirit.
The Curious Case of a New Blogger
So how new am I? I only started with blogger on 14 Feb’14 and posted a few posts with around 300+ views. Is that new enough? So writing a blog post that hit 100,000 views in 3 days is kind of a achievement for a new blogger right? I won't say that my post is viral as other blog posts hit 1 million easily.
For readers who feel that this post is going to be boring and analytical, please skip now and go to my more fun and relaxing post here which has hit 22,000 page views in less than 2 days (28 Feb'14)
And also for blog readers that have actually read my blog and understood it, this is not for you. I would like to thank you for taking time to read thru, commented and shared your experience about your wedding.
For readers who feel that this post is going to be boring and analytical, please skip now and go to my more fun and relaxing post here which has hit 22,000 page views in less than 2 days (28 Feb'14)
And also for blog readers that have actually read my blog and understood it, this is not for you. I would like to thank you for taking time to read thru, commented and shared your experience about your wedding.
The Blog Scanners aka 0.23secs Readers
So after going thru some self-learning and blogging skills from other blog posts, I stumbled across Google Analytics. And after playing around with it, guess what I found out?
Average visit duration at 0.23 secs? So I’m hitting 100,000 page views in 3 days and the average person takes only 0.23 secs reading on my post? So is my post bad or are the readers not reading my post? There is a word for that; Blog Scanning and I’m guilty of that too.
Blog Analysis
So I decided to analyzed my post and play the role of a 0.23sec reader.
“My first advise is to cross this thought off your mind. You are getting married to the girl of your dreams. Seriously, are you going to budget how much you are going to spend on the whole wedding?”
0.1 secs - Oh crap! Another wedding article to get me to spend money. I better not read it. Exit.
0.1 secs – What? $80,000 for a wedding banquet? This writer must be some Ah Sia Kia.
So most readers blog scan and saw a number and go nuts about it. They missed out this phrase, <<rather than putting a figure>>, which means that $80,000 is an example and not what I want young couples to budget.
"The Great Expectation - Going into Debt "
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| And that's why blog scanners misunderstood my blog post |
This is the part where the 99% of readers go haywire about this word “Debt” and says that this post encourages people to go into debt.
So DID I encourage young couples to go into debt?
"Secondly, you must expect yourself to go into debt after your wedding." The word is EXPECT not encourage.
And I also wrote,
“…make sure that you have cleared your previous debts and installments before going into this new one”
“With this expectation, your mind will be in a better state to handle all the stress and pressure going on from proposal till post wedding.”
I even propose a time frame and advise on managing their credit limit.
“Aim to give yourself two years to clear your wedding debts. Of course you should also work within your budget”
Did the 0.23secs readers actually read this?
I guessed the 0.23secs readers basically skip the next point on planning timeline and obviously they missed out
“So depending on your financial scenario, plan ahead.”
The blog scanners are now expecting the items that I listed for weddings are expensive.
“SALES are always going on at those jewellery shops so make sure you buy them at the appropriate time. Check out around 3 stores and do your research intensively.”
So did I advise the average Singapore groom to get an expensive rock?
“Budget around $1500 - $2,000 onwards and pay by installment plan.”
And here is a reader helping me to answer.
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So my reply to you: Yes I’m dirt poor but I still gave my wife a wedding she deserved.
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| A wedding celebration is definitely not? What?! |
Ok so my wedding bands are a bit expensive at $1,000 for 2 because a reader commented that he got it at $300 for 2. Nice.
Bridal Package - I did missed out a point where I am supposed to discourage couples from choosing more photos than their package. But I guess the blog scanners just look at the figure of $3,800 and moved on.
So what did the blog scanners pick up on my take on overseas shoot?
"This big ticket item will use up most of your budget at this moment. But luckily most bridal shops offer installment plans as well. So go on and swipe your card."
Seriously when did I EVER encourage couples to spend more?
Here's my other pointers for things that are required for a wedding. And these are really basic. I did not mention about cartoon/comic montage, wedding planners, photobooth, etc.
MUA - “Although the MUA normally comes with the bridal package, she must be comfortable with the MUA”
Bridal Car - “Finally an item where you can have it FOC!”
Buffet – “Another item which you can remove!”
New Wedding Bed – “just buy a simple queen size bed frame and an ok mattress for your current nest. This will help keep your budget low.”
Honeymoon – “Remember that you may be taking a huge hit after your wedding banquet so try to choose a location where you can keep your expenses low.”
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All my pointers are about saving money. I guess the blog scanners skip these and jump to Hotel Banquet Package because I indicated very important.
Well my calculations look tad boring but here’s someone who did read and decided to comment. And it’s my favorite so far.
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She is right! In fact there is no ROMANCE in my post since my title is and I repeat again, “How much money do you need to get married for an average Singaporean Groom” So don’t expect to find a Korean love story drama by watching ESPN.
As per all blog advice, I have to keep to my blog post title. So thank you for pointing that out which means that I did stayed on course and did not write out of point.
Just in case you are viewing this, No I did not stalk your blog with 47 views. OK maybe 10.
And so finally the blog scanners find their way to the bottom aka summary of this blog and they were SHOCKED to see this:
“It depends on how much you value your wife and your own wedding. No one will judge you on where you hold your wedding or what proposal ring you have bought.
"As the saying goes, your wedding is only for the both of you. So be a Man and give your wife everything within your means and she will treasure every moment of the wedding for the rest of her life.”
Wow it seems like this writer is encouraging an all-out lavish dream wedding. But the blog scanners missed out these sentences before my summary:
“Budget your loss. Aim for a 2 year recovery and not longer than that. If you are going to expect a huge loss from your banquet, you should change your hotel venue and look for a more pocket friendly hotel or even a restaurant.”
I advise them to change venue to even a restaurant. When did I ever said about holding a lavish wedding?
I do understand that as the internet comes out with more and more articles for reading, netizens do not have all the time in the world to read everything. This includes myself. But if you are ever going to comment on something, make sure you read the whole blog. Here's an example.
My final blog post will be the part 2 of my controversial post which will breakdown the wedding banquet budgeting. Thereafter I will no longer blog at this site and move on to an independent site.
Click here for Part Two
