Why Blog Controversy Is A Good Thing

In light of the recent "I Hate Glee" controversy, I've received many personal messages on my Facebook account thanking me for inspiring them to stand up for what I believed in. Most of the people who sent me the messages believed that one of my readers has definitely made the wrong move by advertising my blog to his friends and making them come after me for all that nasty things I've posted regarding Glee. According to one person who's read my blog:

Anonymous Man December 15 at 1:34am Reply • Report

"I don't know what this guy's problem is- but he sure was affected. You're a good writer Chuck and what you wrote has given them something to think about that's why they reacted the way they did. I'm proud at the way you made a stand and I hope to see more writers like you get published someday"

Another person, a lady this time also sent me a message pretty much saying the same thing even though she has a different view of the subject from me:

Anonymous Lady December 15 at 03:00 am Reply • Report

"That guy who commented on your blog behind your back with his friends are total losers.  I like Glee but I respect your opinion about the show. That's your opinion and you are entitled to it. You must have hit raw nerve to make them react that way. They wouldn't have reacted if what you wrote has not affected them- this only means to say that you're one pretty good writer and you sure got their attention! People like that should just bury themselves six feet under the ground. If he's so good, then why didn't he personally messaged you about it instead of whining about it with his friends?"

Another man pretty much said the same thing

 

Anonymous Man II December 15 at 05:24 am Reply • Report

"What douche bags! Didn't they realize that what they did has only made them look stupid in front of all the people who can read their comments?  How much is Glee paying these losers to react so badly over someone's personal comment anyway?"

With such admiring readers like this, allow me to say my deepest thanks for all your support and comments. But like what I said in my previous entry, I'm glad things turned out the way they did. Why? Because what most people failed to realize is that just by simply reacting and viewing my blog, these people has made a huge contribution in raising my blogspot to another level. Thanks to RV and his so-called Gleetards! (Ooops, I did it again...)

But I'm not writing this to humiliate them or to give them another piece of my mind. I already did that with my previous entry and honestly, the whole argument is so dull it bored me to death. Sorry guys, but I lost interest already. The real reason why I brought this up is because of an article I read on the net today which I believe is very timely. It's a technique on how to boost the number of readers in your blog which I happen to have done so without even realizing. This technique is what many bloggers would call "Controversial Blogging" or "Blog Controversy".

I stumbled upon this article on the net today from a fellow blogger with a comment to one of the other blogger she frequently follows. This is what she has to say regarding blogging:

“Oh my goodness. Can you believe the nerve of that guy who dared to disagree with that thing that you said? I know what it is. They just wanted more traffic, so they’re leeching off your popularity. By criticizing what you said, they must be trying to rank in the search engines for your name, because you’re just so popular. They expect you’ll link back to them in an angry huff too, sending some of your own traffic their way. But you can outsmart them. Just give them more to react about! They’ll be visiting your blog regularly just to see if you made any entries regarding them.”

Pause. Hmmmm... sounds famillar- oh wait; that just happened to me!

In my blog, I have said some really nasty things about Glee and to some extent maybe even to this backstabber who couldn't stop ranting and whining about it. (would you believe that the last status post he made before going to bed is still with regards to my blog entry?) I can see where he's coming from- to him I'm despicable. A meanie in short. I may have been mean to make a point there, but after reading this article I realized that being mean isn't such a bad thing; and creating controversy is not as bad as creating a scandal. Blogs are places where people vent out their personal opinions. I wasn't mean enough to call these people names but if it were other bloggers, they'd probably have nicknames by now. I've actually seen some bloggers make this kinds of arguments before but the trouble here is, just like me, they've got nasty malcontent readers who tends to strongly disagree with them, never happy with anything, as if the only way to reach a common ground is to fall in line and agree with them- or become one of their little minions by painting the most blatant stupidity with a rosy glow (and let's all face it- people like these say stupid things occasionally just because they can't stand the fact that others can disagree with them or because they think they're so good that they're always right). Sadly, to these people I say "Sorry sweeties, but you've got it all wrong."

Okay, let's not keep the suspense from getting any farther. Let's take a deeper look at blog controversy, especially the kind directed to a blog or blogger and on my stake how to deal with it. 

Blog controversy is not a bad thing.

Ready? Attac

As a blogger, I have asked this question: Are there some readers who attack bloggers  like me solely to get attention? Absolutely. Now for the readers, you may want to ask yourself this: Does that mean that everyone who calls you out from time to time is just out to leech off of their blog’s success? No. You’d be hard-pressed to make a case that even most people writing controversial posts, about you or otherwise, are just using them as stunts to gain traffic. This is not the case at all.

Controversy is good. It doesn’t mean that people who writes blogs are out to get you. It doesn’t mean bloggers hate you either just because we disagree with you, even if we disagree passionately. Even if we really don’t like you, there’s probably another reason we’re writing controversial posts — we have something to say! How boring would the world be if everyone agreed all of the time, and we never had serious discussions or debates? Without new and different ideas, not only would we be incredibly dull, but we’d suffer from a lack of innovation. I wouldn’t want to live in a world like that. Would you?

Life is full of controversy. The blogosphere isn’t any different, and I’d argue that it shouldn’t be. Not everyone targets the same audiences with their blogs, and there are often many other ways of looking at an issue, depending on which audience the blog is targeting. It doesn't necessarily mean you all the time. Not only might the we genuinely have different ideas, but our ideas might be better. Yes, you might be wrong from time to time and we may actually even be right! By blowing off opposing views because you find it easier to feel victimized than look at yourself in a constructive way, you condemn yourself to more “attacks” in the future. When we are targeting a similar audience, their motives are probably much less about pissing you off and much more about doing what we feel is best for our readers. If that means calling out hypocrisy and what we feel is bad advice from others, then we should absolutely do it. If we don’t, we’re simply being complacent or unaware of what’s happening in our own niche or industry, and that’s hardly helpful to their readers.

We’ve established that sometimes blog controversy is a good thing, because it’s how ideas are spread and how opinions are swayed. We’ve also established that the motives behind controversial posts about you or our blog probably have less to do with you than the other blogger’s . But how should you deal with controversy and attacks on our blogs? While that varies depending on the situation, here are a few tips to point you in the right direction:

Are You Always The Victim? Poor Poor You...

• Evaluate the blogger’s motives. – Is there any merit at all in what we’re saying? Forget about your opinion and think about ours . Does it makes sense for us to share our opinions with our readers, or is it completely irrelevant and nothing more than an attack for the sake of attacking you? Controversy doesn’t always have to be “nice” or sugar-coated just to spare your feelings. Are you letting your emotions over the criticism cause you to overreact and jump to the blame game? (Hmmmm... I know someone who'd definitely learn from this. Hope you're reading this R)

• Do a self-check. – Did you comment something hypocritical? Did you comment something completely illogical? Might you really be wrong about something? Be honest. You might not like the fact that the criticism is at least sometimes well-deserved but like I said before, everyone says stupid things from time to time. I’m not an exception. You’re not an exception. No one is.

• Don’t play the victim. – Nobody likes a whiny person with a “woe is me” attitude all the time. Either there’s merit to your viewpoint and you can defend it when confronted, or there isn’t (and you should be able to acknowledge that). If you made an error, fix it. If you’re holding firm in your beliefs, that’s fine too, but state why (in your comment, or on your own blog if you have one.) if it’s appropriate to do so, and leave it at that. Acting like people are only out to get you just entices them to criticize your behavior even more. 

• Know when to respond and when to walk away. – Responding to every controversial or criticizing post about you will do little more than stress you out and waste your time. Then again, ignoring all criticism and controversy makes it look like you’re living under a rock Seek balance. If it’s just a flat out personal attack that’s completely irrelevant to the subject matter, personally I prefer to ignore it and blame it on a bad day the reader's having. I don’t let it get to me. If they criticize or question a piece of professional advice, I see if there’s merit to their argument (in the context of my own target audience). If so, I either comment on their posts, respond on my own in a new post (if it’s a longer response), or respond to their comment on my blog.

• Know when to make it personal (and when not to). — I don’t mean you should ever make a personal attack in response to a controversial issue related to you (as in a debate about business finance advice turning into a “yeah, well you’re despicable” kind of pissing match — completely irrelevant). I mean you have to know when it’s appropriate to name names, and when it’s better to tackle your side of an issue without the one-on-one element. Here’s my policy. If I know the other person can act like an adult and actually have a constructive cross-blog debate, I’ll mention their name and link to their controversial post. If I know the reader acts like a whiny brat crying about how everyone who criticizes them is so mean, trying to make them out to be some kind of martyr while they in turn take subtle shots at others, then it’s a different story. In that case, I’ll still share my views (probably even more aggressively), but I won’t bother mentioning names or sending traffic their way. Why? Because I don’t have the time to deal with the “oh, poor me — you’re just trying to ride my coattails” garbage that often results. Hope you're reading this R. The other scenario where I’ll not name names is when I’m writing a controversial post or response about an issue that’s hotly debated industry-wide. In that case, there might be so many people sharing the same opposing viewpoint, that my response simply isn’t in reference to one of them — it’s a more general commentary. Again, that’s just an example of how I choose to handle certain types of blog controversy. Your policies might be entirely different, and that’s okay. 

• Be willing to learn. – Whether you like it or not, that controversial blogger probably isn’t the only person who feels the way they do. They’re just the only one (or one of a few) willing to be vocal. Others avoid controversy at all cost, and never share their own views publicly. In other words, some of you probably agree with them! If what they’re saying makes sense, consider it. If they’re more experienced than you, learn from them. If you still don’t agree with their underlying points, that’s fine. You might be right in that case, or it might be an issue where two different views can both be “right.” Just know that in those situations there might still be some who need convincing of the merits of your own viewpoint. If you’re responding to an authority source in your niche or industry, it’s important to let your people know where you’re coming from, whether or not they ultimately agree with you. Leaving lingering doubts might make them question whether or not you’re really worth listening to when it comes to the issues that matter to them.

Remember, blog controversy isn’t always a bad thing, even when it comes to attacking and debating other people’s ideas. It’s a part of a larger conversation. How you choose to be involved in that conversation is up to you and your audience. Misjudging motives, throwing a perpetual pity party for yourself, and covering your eyes when controversy comes along mean you have no way of growing because you can't accept that some people may be right and you're wrong. In this blogger’s opinion, it’s better to have a voice. After all, if you have nothing to say then you have just deprived yourself from the freedom that truly belongs to you- your freedom of speech!