If you reach the level others are reacting to your content in a critical light, consider yourself successful.\u00a0 The fact you are being mentioned organically at all is a positive signal even if it does not seem that way initially.\u00a0 Media outlets have known this for years and by embracing it have formed pretty thick skin.\u00a0 They don\u2019t take criticism personally, rather, they quietly (and sometimes loudly) leverage it to increase their own exposure.<\/p>\n
Yet businesses and individuals new to the web still aren\u2019t used to getting\u00a0truly honest<\/em>\u00a0feedback or participating in the raw nature of online conversations.<\/p>\n If you are publishing digital content, grow thicker skin<\/strong><\/p>\n Those of us who have been around since the early days of boards and forums are the true social web natives.\u00a0 And we remember the days the web was\u00a0far more\u00a0<\/em>real and raw.\u00a0 To be honest, it feels like digital conversations have tamed a bit over the last decade.\u00a0 Some still carry that unrestricted spirit with us and continue to drive the web\u2019s rawest conversations, however many who are new still don\u2019t understand this is the original nature of the social web.<\/p>\n The point is, digital conversations are honest, real and critical as the default, and you need to grow thicker skin and not take things personally.\u00a0 What exactly do you gain by taking a conversation started by someone else or criticism by someone else personally?\u00a0 The answer is nothing:\u00a0 you\u2019re expending emotion without purpose and you have nothing to gain here by getting upset.\u00a0 In fact, in no area of life is getting upset a productive reaction to something.<\/p>\n Everyone\u2019s worldview and personality are different<\/strong><\/p>\n What this means is if you are actually unique and publishing content that\u2019s interesting and has personality, it is going to be interpreted in different ways by others.\u00a0 Along with that \u2013 some people will love it, some will hate it \u2013 but that\u2019s the nature of doing something personal.<\/p>\n This is why most corporate blogs suck, they don\u2019t publish anything with personality that actually speaks to anyone.\u00a0 Content needs personality if you hope to influence anyone.\u00a0 This lack of personality is also the reason no one reads most corporate blogs:\u00a0 they try to appeal to everyone, and upset no one.\u00a0 To do this means you also won\u2019t speak or connect with anyone.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re doing things right, you\u2019re going to spark criticism and debates.\u00a0 That\u2019s sort of the point, and those who get upset they are\u00a0actually generating reactions<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 whether positive or negative \u2013 show a lack of understanding and strategy.<\/p>\n Taking criticism the wrong way makes you seem guilty and unsure<\/strong><\/p>\n If you react to criticism personally, in many cases this can make you seem guilty and unsure about yourself.\u00a0 If you react calmly and rationally your response can be a great thing:\u00a0 audiences will want to read what happened next and the party who responded initially will usually link the next piece of the conversation.\u00a0 But freaking out about the situation and simply giving an emotional response is almost always going to make you look worse than something measured and logical.<\/p>\n Not everything needs a response<\/strong><\/p>\n Sometimes, the best move is no move at all.\u00a0 Depending on the situation and your strategy, you might actually be wrong about something (i.e., what if you\u2019re just being controversial for the sake of getting links and attention).\u00a0 In that case, you might not want to respond to everyone whose buttons you just pushed, as that was the end objective.<\/p>\n Leverage criticism for results, or yield this to your competitors Analysis, commentary and controversy\u00a0are proven frameworks: ignore them at your own peril.\u00a0 If you ignore these and decide to play it safe, how can you possibly expect to be as interesting and receive as much attention as competitors?\u00a0 When nearly the whole world plays to the middle and refuses to\u00a0have opinions and take sides\u00a0for fear of upsetting others, it\u2019s a huge opportunity for you to do this and position against fearful and \u201cby the rules\u201d competitors.<\/p>\n If you publish industry-specific content not well sourced, don\u2019t be surprised if others pick apart your ideas The reason isn\u2019t personal, it\u2019s because you\u2019re spreading misinformation about something a group is highly passionate about.\u00a0 So they are going to challenge your sources.\u00a0 And remember, just because someone publishes a stat or data point doesn\u2019t make it accurate or accountable.\u00a0 Look into the sources and sample sizes of any data you\u2019re getting.\u00a0 If it\u2019s not legitimate or defensible and you publish it,\u00a0of course<\/em>\u00a0you\u2019re going to get flamed by industry insiders.<\/p>\n The more popular your content, the more critical the reactions will be Popularity and criticism are directly proportional in nearly all fields of content.\u00a0 Think about music as one example:\u00a0 those really passionate about music are going to be inevitably critical about popular music that follows predictable archetypes and takes no risks or has cheesy, shallow lyrics.\u00a0 Or even movies \u2013 movie buffs are going to rip most blockbusters apart.\u00a0 The inner circle are usually bored with what\u2019s popular because it\u2019s overdone in their eyes, ensuring the more popular something is, the more critical reactions will be.<\/p>\n Audiences (but not influence) tends to gravitate to the middle:\u00a0 if you want\u00a0more<\/em>\u00a0readers just be shallower.\u00a0 But if you want more influence and trust, go deeper.\u00a0 And, as you go deeper, the reactions will usually be less snarky and more discussion-oriented among the influential minority.\u00a0 It all depends what your goals are.<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n Develop an understanding of how others are likely to react to your ideas and then publish with that in mind.\u00a0 But at no point in your digital publishing should you take critical responses personally.\u00a0 Learn from them, sure, but investing emotion is in most cases futile.\u00a0 It\u2019s just not a productive use of time and is likely to drain your energy and motivation more than help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you reach the level others are reacting to your content in a critical light, consider yourself successful.\u00a0 The fact … <\/p>\n
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