I think the beauty of the blogosphere is that there are no rules and everyone can blog how they like and even find others who appreciate their blog for different reasons. What bothers one may be the very reason another reads a certain blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Point 1) You are quite limited in your reply spaces, and effectively limited in your posts by the usual interest level of the audience. While frequent usage WOULD be a sign of poor communication skills in a larger essay or a novel, exclamations are a perfectly reasonable way to express emotion in the condensed writing format of blogdom.

Point 2) It would be truer to say that most new bloggers go through a period of adjustment to the format, and often come to the same realizations in the early part of that journey. Its not sad, its just life. Eventually the better bloggers find enough people to be interested in their lives and get over that phase.

point 3) People like pretty pictures and are often curious about how other people’s kids, pets, houses, and gardens look. Many blogs are at least partly for the benefit of relations who enjoy regular updates about how silly the baby looked with peanut butter in her hair, and how well those rosebushes are doing these days.

Then too - some bloggers are good enough to make the shots artistic, and use photos as part of their way of sharing what inspires them.

I am surprised you didn’t blast quizzes & memes as well- though I (and many other people) enjoy reading people’s answers/results.

IMHO what makes or breaks the use of such elements is variety and a willingness to share some actual thoughts about life.