This guest post is by Margie Clayman of margieclayman.com.
One of my favorite Elvis Costello choruses goes like this:
"What's so funny 'bout peace, love, and understanding?"
I have always liked that song, but I never really thought I would live in a time where that question would resonate. I always thought, "Well, that was written when peace and love seemed hokey, perhaps, or maybe impossible. It was more than a rhetorical question when Elvis first sang it."
And yet, as I sit here in the year 2011, I have to ask the same question. What is so funny 'bout peace, love, and understanding? It sure seems like all three concepts are running into a PR crisis in the online world.
“You're nice. That's so boring.”
I have gotten picked on a bit over my year in the world of social media. Why? Because I'm nice. I'm lovey dovey. People have told me that it's really boring listening to someone like me because I never ruffle any feathers.
To put it kindly, I think that's a totally ridiculous sentiment.
Sure, you get a powerful response if you call someone out, bash someone, hurl insults, or say that someone is really stupid. There's no question that ruffling feathers tends to be great for attention-grabbing and traffic spikes. So what?
If you want to entice people to read your blog posts, what about the concept of writing really good content? Really thought-provoking content? What about writing about something people aren't writing a lot about? Like, I don't know … like being nice, maybe? Why does excitement in the online world, or interest, have to be synonymous with cruelty or malicious intent? I'd rather be boring and nice than enjoy a modicum of success at the expense of others.
"If you don't have haters, you're doing something wrong."
This is another phrase I've seen a lot in the online world over my year navigating the wild Internet waters, and I also think it's...
