Bloggers: Ready for hate?

I came across an article in the online San Francisco Chronicle titled 20 habits of highly effective job seekers.  This was written based on Ford Myers stuff… I have met Ford a few times at conferences and we’ve communicated outside of that.  Nice guy.

I didn’t read his article (too long for my attention span), but I skimmed it to see if he mentioned JibberJobber again (that would have been cool!).  He didn’t 🙁

I was interested in the 60+ comments the article got, though… they were… scathing!  Hardly anything good from those comments!  From accusations of being self-serving to “utter twaddle,” from BS to “worst article I ever read in my life…”

I’ve felt for a long time that getting comments from a newpaper article compared to comments on a blog is night and day… I don’t know who is reading and commenting on the regular articles but if you read it too long you’ll lose all faith in humanity.  These people are mean, and cruel, and unforgiving.

And, they can provide an opportunity for growth as a blogger.

From the feedback I see in Ford’s article I see a grand opportunity to tighten the writing and message.  Instead of 20 points, how about go with Covey’s example and do 7 habits?

Instead of calling these “strategies,” maybe they should be called mindsets (many have to do with attitude), or tactics?

How about drilling down on some of them and going into more depth, instead of just presenting them at a high level?

As blogs become more commonplace, and bloggers get their material in more traditional media, you better:

  1. Be ready for scathing, hateful, unintelligent comments and feedback (and a few nasty stalkers),
  2. Figure out how to improve the quality of your writing (grammar, spelling, word choice, etc.),
  3. Ensure the message is high quality,
  4. Figure out how to not be self-promotional… or not overdo it.

What do you think?  Do bloggers need to step up (especially when not writing on their own blog)?

4 thoughts on “Bloggers: Ready for hate?

  1. Darlene

    Since the rise of the Internet, bringing with it the ability to express one’s opinion (and everyone’s got one), it’s always bothered me how many people use that privilege to spew evil, nastiness, and downright meanness on someone they don’t even know. My grandmother had a great saying, “Fools’ names and fools’ faces shouldn’t appear in public places.” And that was bolstered by my mother’s wise words, which probably came from the same grandmother, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
    In other words, just because you have an opinion doesn’t mean you should go out of your way to be as nasty as possible in expressing it. Certainly, the article, though general bears repeating because there’s so many out there who still don’t get what it takes to conduct a successful job search. I particularly liked, “Employers want to know, “What can you do for me now?” Identify the employer’s most pressing needs and challenges — and explain how your relevant accomplishments will allow you to successfully address those issues. Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about what you can do for the potential employer. Has it occurred to anyone who got laid off that maybe if they brought that attitude to work, they would not have been laid off in the first place?
    Have we become so cynical that we can never find one good thing in all the claptrap and noise out there?
    Okay, I’m done making noise in this forum. If you have anything to respond, I welcome positive and thoughtful critiques. Mean people suck!

  2. Jason Post author

    yes they do… !

    I agree that (a) much of this advice is general, but (b) it is still applicable and many people don’t get it!

    The troll issue, though, is a big issue… I see it on craigslist (the jobs forum is a JOKE) and pretty much on any newspaper comment section.

    I see it much, much less on any of my blogs.

    It’s too bad that people can’t move on, walk away, leave as is… they feel like they need to tear down. Sad.

  3. Melissa Cooley

    The phrase “Haters gonna hate” really applies here. People who feel compelled to spew venom like that would be doing it no matter what, I suppose. They just are latching on to whatever small shred they can to try to drag a person down.

    What they’ve seemed to have forgotten is that rational people are not going to view the author in a bad light. Rather, the ones jumping up and down and frothing at the mouth will look like the fools.

  4. Kent Blumberg

    I think your numbers 2, 3 and 4 make great sense for any blogger hoping to build on-line credibility. And they make sense even if your blog isn’t finding its way to more traditional media. And they make sense even if you are just writing for your own blog. Why?

    *Your words are your ambassadors. Write badly and you will lose credibility.
    *Presumably you are writing for an audience. If you want that audience, your message had better be top quality (as Jason’s always are).
    *People don’t read blogs to be “sold.” Overdue the self promotion, and readers will skeedaddle.

    kent

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