Phase 2 of The House Behind The Trees ~ The downstairs #TeelsBuildaHouse

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So we are starting the downstairs ... I HATE to say basement because we had a basement in our old home, where you opened a door and went down stairs separated from anything else. It was a finished basement complete with a bedroom, craft room, family/game room and we spent a lot of time there ~ our oldest son moved down there in jr high and stayed through high school ... until we finished the master suite in the attic then he moved back up to the bedroom floor with his brother and sister.  So here our downstairs is open to the rest of the house, you can see through to the outside from the top of the stairs going down because we have a wall of windows down there as well.  We really didn't plan to have a kiddo down there but since we are having to do a switch-a-roo with rooms (I'll explain later) he is moving home soon and will be downstairs. Anyhoo, our downstairs will house our main family room, our middle sons room, a full bath and kitchenette.  I thought it would be fun ...
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I love a good collab and I love finding good products BUT tell me, what's your take on IG collabs + features?

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So I didn't realize how truly passionate people felt about this topic until recently, even on my own IG feed where I have received several dms from a recent post I made. So let me tell you how this topic even came up.

I was recently involved in a convo with some IG pals about sponsored, featured, gifted and AD related posts.  I have truly never thought much about them until it was brought to my attention, don't you hate when that happens like some one points out something that you never noticed before and now that you know it's all you see or think about.  Anyway I hope this doesn't come across rude or disrespectful to those who collab or share features frequently  because this is just my opinion as well as a just a recap of the convo I had.

So a friend of mine posed the question "Do you get tired of seeing so many AD's from all the people you follow on IG?" Well that started a pretty good amount of engagement. It doesn't really bother me but she said when she sees #ad or (a d) or #sponsored or #featured she was finding herself skipping over the post ... I was shocked by that comment. Now yes we can choose who we follow so if we don't like seeing an account with so many collabs/features, we can just unfollow, but that wasn't her point.  To make a long story short, she was genuinely asking in a nut shell 1) how do you know the item is really a good item when they share similar items equally and 2) do you feel like these posts create a the lack of real authentic life since some accounts share so many collabs or features (whoa that one didn't even cross my mind) and it makes it hard to really engage about a product you might not be that familiar with or an pic from an account that they don't really know much about other than it's pretty and fits the hashtag. 

To be honest I turn down quite a bit of collab opportunities because I either don't believe in the product or company OR I don't need the product or it doesn't pertain to me.  I actually agreed to 2 collabs back in my early IG days but HATED the product on one and the other did absolutely nothing for me like it said.  I told the companies that I couldn't share unless they sent me a script of what they wanted me to say (to which I would disclaim it was a script) because I had nothing! That's when I decided to be very picky about my collabs ... and the companies didn't want me to script it, thank goodness!  

Anyhoo, I guess I wasn't too surprised to discover that many people get tired of seeing collabs that include products or features. I get that some people do IG as a job, I mean obviously I do a little side hustle with IG through collabs as well, but even so I have to admit that I want to see real authentic squares of family, home and life not square after square of products or features of other peoples squares on someone else's account ... afterall I would assume the majority of people started IG to share themselves/homes/families/life BEFORE the collab offers rolled in? 

I also know that some people have 2 accounts, business and personal, which is great too BUT heck some weeks I can hardly find time to IG 1 account let alone 2!  I commend those who run more than 1 account and on several different platforms ... again I'm kinda lame and only use IG.  With that said, I do follow both accounts of a few of my faves but I still want to see authenticity + have real engagement on both accounts. I just don't have time for 2 accounts so you will see the occasional collab on my account.

I know some people are very open about their earnings, especially the really large accounts and I too am open about mine, I make on average $200 -500 cash + products quarterly, not monthly. I am so happy + in awe of those who do this for a living and make a decent income!  However now after giving this much thought, I realize that I too want to see your life, I want to see your family, I want to see your home, I want to learn your Tips.Tricks.DIYs ~ I don't mind a few features and/or collabs but I think I agree there can be too many of those and not enough real, is this making sense =)

So my point to this, is now that it's been pointed out to me, I too have noticed how some accounts only post collabs and/or features with only a few real posts scattered around.  I truly want to engage with those I follow and those who follow me about their lives and thoughts, I don't want my engagement to be "fake". Please don't take this the wrong way thinking that I am against those who collab and/or feature, I am not because that would be hypocritical BUT I will be even more selective in what I share as far as collabs go as I don't want to offend anyone. This was just some food for thought and now I'm going to eat a cupcake!

I hope I didn't step on any toes but I really wanted to share this topic because it wasn't one I've ever given much thought too  =) 

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