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Negative Posts (13 posts)

Topic tags: blog comments, blogging challenges

Matthew O’Neill said
1 year, 4 months ago:
Have you ever had a negative comment to a blog post you uploaded? And if so how have you dealt with that? Do you think you should comment after it or just ignore it as it’s someone elses oppinion. Comment and share your experiences
@matthewoneill | # | Top
Debbie Hemley said
1 year, 4 months ago:

@matthewoneill
Interesting question! I think it’s good to find a way to respond to the negative comments and sometimes you may have to sit and think on it a bit before responding. I had a post on SME on Monday and for the most part, the response was very favorable. But there were a couple of comments that weren’t and so I couldn’t just ignore them after responding to everyone else.
So here’s the exchange:
The commenter said:
How can this site give advice on writing a blog when their can’t even get it right? When creating a blog don’t get heavy on the graphics like this website. It becomes hard to read and you will lose a users interest. Be selective on what you present for it will make it hard for the user to direct their eye through the content. Minimalism is key. Also if you are making an article with a list of tips or reasons for whatever point that you are trying to prove, make sure that you keep it to roughly 3-6 points. You lose the users attention when you have a list of 26 points. Be clear and concise with the content that you post. Lastly make sure that you have something intelligent to talk about. No one wants to read about your dead cat or how or how you still live with your mom.
I replied:
Hi, Thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions here. This is a rather long post and there are others of much shorter length on Social Media Examiner. Hope you’ll continue to look for posts that are of more interest to you. –Debbie
What was important to me was to acknowledge the person’s right to have an opinion and also to be polite and respectful. Hope that helps.
@debbie-hemley | # | Top
Abigail Gorton said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@matthewoneill Matthew, you can have some clear guidelines (or say you do!) “I have removed a post due to profanity / personal attack / religious / political… on a blog that is not about these things” Then you are still need to deal with the differences in opinions. I do reply. Sometimes I can just say “Oh, we see this so differently…” Sometimes like @debbie-hemley says “Yes, that is a valid point of view but let’s look at the bigger picture” It is a great starting point for discussions and interaction. Ocasionally the negative comment is a real kick to the gut that just derails your day – someone catches you out and proves you wrong when you did not intend to be. Someone called me out for plagiarism. I had actually included a link to their blog, but they were upset I had not included a full quote of the area in question. That hurt but I could see their point. So I did an “Edited to Add” in the post, and a “So sorry, I did not mean to do that” in the comments.
Separately and very importantly… contorversial blogs get more user involvement than completely correct ones. Sigh! Give the visitor something to disagree with and they will. Give them the world’s most correct and perfect post, and what is there left for them to add in the comments? Nothing?
@abigailgorton | # | Top
Melissa Agnes said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@debbie-hemley Nailed it! I think that it is very important to respond – never delete unless it is spam or something, as @abigailgorton said derogatory.
The trick, I think, is to be polite and respond in a way that doesn’t make them want to come back and add to the thread. Some people will spend their entire day going back and forth for a satisfaction that I can’t understand. So try to be neutral, find a way to agree where possible, like Debbie did above, and then encourage them to move on,..
@melissaagnes | # | Top
Debbie Hemley said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@matthewoneill @melissaagnes
And as @abigailgorton says I have had that negative comment that’s a real kick to the gut “that just derails your day.”
I heard an interesting talk recently with Gabe Zichermann who writes about gamification (game-based marketing). And he referred to those folks as “comment killers” it’s as if they are playing a video game and are out for the kill!
@debbie-hemley | # | Top
Monique Sherrett said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@matthewoneill My favorite Bill Gates quote is, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
If you’re blogging, then you want the fast feedback loop that comments provide, which means embracing the negative comments as much as the positive and finding the lessons in both. A tactful response to a negative comment can often reinforce your credibility with readers to a greater extent than a ton of positive comments.
@boxcarmarketing | # | Top
Don Purdum said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@melissaagnes @matthewoneill
Matthew, I’ve never had that happen on any of my blogs. However, I have seen it happen plenty of times on other blogs and social media posts.
I agree with Melissa, you need to find a way to appropriately answer the question. Even if it is to thank them for expressing their opinion, or acknowledging a mistake and fixing it.
Whatever the case, don’t take it personal! It’s the Internet and it comes with the good, the bad, and the ugly…
@donpurdum | # | Top
Kristi Hines said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@debbie-hemley You handled that really well. I have a little too much snark in my system, and I would have probably said that…
A) Most of the list posts on SME are around this length and they are loved by the majority of readers, a fact proved by the number of comments and social shares.
B) “How can this site give advice on writing a blog when their can’t even get it right?” – when “their” can’t even get it right? Say what?
C) If you’re going to make points, at least bullet them or space them out for clarity.
D) People do, in fact, like when writers include a personal piece of themselves in a post.
E) It’s fine to disagree, but it’s another thing to start out your case with something that immediately puts the reader on the defense.
As I said, you are much more diplomatic on that one than I am. Kudos. :)
@kristi-hines | # | Top
Kristi Hines said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@matthewoneill I’ve had some negative comments on my site as well as on other sites I write for. I think there’s a difference (in my mind at least) between negative and just opposing viewpoints. People can disagree without being rude, and I’m all for a healthy debate. But if people start getting rude, then I have to take a step back and wait a few hours before I respond because writing is my art, and it does personally affect me when I see that someone really despises what I wrote.
My latest negative comment on a post included the line “I find this post not only insulting but in-experienced and it should be taken down.” Of course, when I first read it, my mind went into defense mode like “who does this guy think he is.” Then I was comforted by the fact that 7 other people told him he was wrong.
I waited a few hours, came back and carefully read his comment, then the part of my post that he was specifically against. What I noticed then that I didn’t notice the first time I read it was that he misread what I was writing about and took it as some kind of personal insult. So I re-stated my main point (hopefully clearer that time) and said that I stood by it.
@kristi-hines | # | Top
Debbie Hemley said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@kristi-hines
Yeah, I had to sit with it little before I responded ’cause let’s put it this way–I wasn’t feeling real diplomatic from the onset!
@debbie-hemley | # | Top
Fawn Morgan said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@melissaagnes I have to agree with you. I think that @debbie-hemley hit the nail right on the head. Acknowledgement is important. If people think that you are only will to listen to those who agree with you they often lose interest. People want to know how you will handle the negative comments, it is the differing opinions that create a good dialog. If they don’t like what they have read they are more than welcome to find something they like better. If someone becomes argumentative I would remind them that it is a discussion and if they can not be polite and considerate of others please leave the discussion.
@fawnmorgan | # | Top
Melissa Agnes said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@kristi-hines Great point about having to sometimes take a minute (or a few hours) to take a step back, digest and rethink before responding. That has saved me a few times too!
@melissaagnes | # | Top
Glen Gorham said
1 year, 4 months ago:
@melissaagnes @debbie-hemley @kristi-hines it is all in how you decide to spin it for yourself. Typically with perceived negative comments they are either:
a. confused, did not get your point, and they wind up restating it in their own words.
b. a troll
c. a griefer
d. just oppose your point of view (as Kristi mentioned).
So let the dust settle and take another look. Often counting to ten is not quite enough, count through a cup of coffee, then go back and address it. Use this as a spring board for another post or an opportunity to interact or watch your readers intercede on your behalf…
Good thread everyone.
@glengorham | # | Top