Five Things That Take Guts to Blog About
When I talk to people about creating great content for their blogs I almost always run them through the Old McDonald method. The biggest question always seems to come from the “O” or Outrage part. This is probably the most misunderstood and underused of the five ideas. The idea behind considering outrage as a valuable option for your content simply means you’re not afraid to step into controversy. It’s not about making people mad, it’s about having the guts to say the thing someone else won’t say.
Now, let’s be honest. You probably don’t like controversy. It’s risky and can be a little lonely feeling. It’s also one of the boldest things you can do if you want to show who you (or your organization) are. One of the most refreshing things about blogs is a new level of candid and honest discussion they create. It’s one of the big cultural changes we can credit to bloggers and blogging. It’s also one of the scariest things about blogs for businesses.
If you want to know whether you have the guts to be an outrageous blogger, think about addressing some (or all) of these five things in your future posts:
- Customer Dissatisfiers: If you work for a company and want to really make an impression on your customers, why not address the things you know they don’t like? Use your blog to answer, respond, or explain anything you know they have a problem with. They may not like your answer, but at least you have given them some rationale or perspective for why you do what you do.
- Respond to Criticism: Most organizations know what their critics think. That criticism may come from competitors, vendors, interest groups, customers, or former employees. Why wouldn’t you want to address the issues directly? Your silence gives them credit and authority over the issue whether they’re correct or not.
- Apologize: If your organization made a mistake in the past but never really dealt with it publicly, consider bringing it back up to say you’re sorry. Some people within your company will say there’s no need to dredge up the past, but on the other hand you can use the apology to show you’re not the same old organization anymore. Besides, you may be surprised to find how many people remember that incident from years ago and will be delighted to know you finally decided to address it. Nothing says you’re ready for a fresh start like a genuine apology.
- Accept Responsibility: Some organizations mess up and are quick to apologize but never really accept responsibility. If this applies to you then you should know that your apology wasn’t worth too much to begin with. Why not accept responsibility and apologize again (for real this time) to show that you’ve changed? If you haven’t changed, nevermind.
- Talk about IT: Whether it’s skeletons in the closet or elephants on the table, virtually every organization has something they would rather forget about. It is the big IT. It’s like it has it’s own personality. IT is the thing you don’t talk about publicly. IT is what people only talk about in whispered tones. IT may be the first thing you need to talk about openly on your blog. Just because you don’t want to talk about IT, doesn’t mean IT’s not there. More people know about IT than you think. Perhaps it’s time to get over IT.
Tags: blog controversy, blog strategy, blogging, outrageous blogging
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:24 am
It’s an interesting article…but I have a question for you…
what if you are “attacked”? What if you are stating your opinions or beliefs and someone, just out of being mean, attacks you?
Your item #2 above is respond to criticism is that always the case? Do you ever think that criticism should not be responded to? I’m not talking about normal “run of the mill” types of criticism, I’m talking about people that use bad language, etc.
I’ve seen it over and over and it’s terrible, rather than just clicking way or even leaving a critical yet respectful comment they totally go off being hateful and belligerent.
do you remove non-constructive/hateful comments?
who owns the comments, you or the people that left them?
I think that if you read a blog and disagree with them about something it’s ok for you to RESPECTFULLY disagree. But what do you do when people don’t do that?
I think you are a nice guy and I like this blog…and the people on this blog seem to be nice and respectful, I’ve not seen any outrageous comments, etc. However, I’ve seen more and more lately people just getting rude, obnoxious and just mean.
I think that blogging is a very “community” oriented thing and that just like in real life communities there are people that are like the drunk and obnoxious guy that shows up at your party. So how do you handle it? What is the proper response?
What exactly is the proper blogging etiquette in such situations? I’ve seen people respond different ways and it seems there’s no good way to go.
I’m sorry for leaving this massive comment, I didn’t mean to hijack your blog. You know I love you, you have have a good solid foundational type of blog with a fair dose of common sense and I would be interested in your opinions.
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:46 pm
girlie - Thanks for the comment and question. I haven’t personally observed an increase in mean spirited attacks from bloggers (can we call it blogger on blogger crime? Probably not…I digress…) but it’s something that’s been around as long as I’ve been blogging and won’t likely be going anywhere soon…so…what to do?
In every situation like this you have two choices: respond or ignore. My post here was more about businesses and organizations but you’re referring to some things that are much more personal. In business I generally advise people to address an issue directly. When it’s personal though it comes down to how much the offended person is willing to endure. If I imagine some various scenarios where I was the target personally I can think of some situations when I would respond and others where I might ignore it. I would take each one as it came. Some people have merit in what they’re saying even if their approach/tone/attitude is wrong. Others may have no point at all and just want to tear you down for reasons you’ll never know. I’d personally be more prone to ignore those kind situations, but again, depending on the situation I might also respond there too. This may not be especially helpful, but I think it has as much to do with what the person being attacked can handle as it does what the attacker is even doing.
Regarding comments on a blog I tend to allow virtually all non-spam comments. Even if the criticism seems especially harsh, vulgar, or mean spirited you can take the high road and say something like, “I’m not sure what you’re so angry about. If you have a legitimate complaint let me know. Until then I won’t allow your comments. You don’t have to agree with me but you do have to show some manners.”
I think it’s completely understandable for a blogger to remove hateful and vulgar comments. I look at it like this, the blog is my house and I invite complete strangers into my house. Maybe I’ll learn something from them. Maybe they’ll learn something from me, but at the end of the day I get to say who I really want in my house. Discussions are encouraged in my house. Debate is fully permissible in my house. Jerks with nothing to contribute simply are not. Everyone is welcome in my house as long as they remember that ultimately I make the rules.
I hope this helps. If not, please let me know. I’ll be happy to clarify, elaborate, expand upon, or whatever else you might find helpful.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:16 am
thank you for your response…
I actually think you make a good point about business people blogging vs “personal” blogging…business people usually (not always) have a little bit of class and maturity and don’t have to use vulgarity to make their points.
And maybe it is the other blogs I read, but I have seen good, honest people attacked over their religious beliefs or posts. Maybe I’m a little gun shy as I have seen some things that are so…I don’t even know the words for it. And even with what I would call “business” people where people make a living online, off their blog.
Your response above is not at all what I expected, but I have to say that I like it…I especially like your last paragraph where you compare your blog to your home…you are hospitable and welcome visitors, even strangers with open arms, but it is still your house.
Ok, I’ll try to leave you be.
Sorry for bothering you with all my massive comments.
September 24th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Thanks. It was a great question.