A blog is an open platform that is used by bloggers to inform/rant/teach to readers who are interested in the niche. A blogger who wants to express his mind knows that using a blog is one of the most powerful tools, which is available for him to articulate and shout out his thoughts. At the same time, a blog is also open to criticism. All articles are open to comments and most of us now have a “contact” form which ensures that a visitor who wants to let you have a piece of his mind will be able to do it with ease.
A blogger is open to all sorts of criticism. The most criticisms that I have seen around in the blogosphere are that of wrong information, copied content, strong reaction against your opinion etc. Copying content is definitely wrong for a blogger to do, but I have seen that readers who feel that even if the content is loosely similarly to another article he has read some where- they call it copied. This is a poor judgment by the reader since, the Internet being what it is today there are a few articles that relay the same information but in different words.
Bloggers are humans and there is a high chance that there may be some error in the information that you provide in your articles, mostly there are big problems for bloggers where there is data concerned. Data is something that can really be varied and may be your own source may be incorrect. So I have seen readers who will quickly shoot you an email or comment telling you to stop misinforming information-seekers.
As far as your writing or blog design etc. is concerned there may be also some criticism regarding that. So as you can see criticism can be tough to handle for a blogger and he must be ready for it. The first thing to tackle criticism on your blog is to never take it personally – so that you can focus on the problem and give an appropriate reply.
Secondly, when you are wrongly accused of stealing content I would suggest making a post out of it by using the commentators name and comment or copy-paste his email. In the post you can explain that your content is 100% yours. It will also stop others from wrongly accusing you in future.
My final advice is those take criticism constructively, use what you can and throw out what you don’t require.
What are your ways of handling critics? Let me know below.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Anil,
My sentiments exactly.
Criticism is bound to happen, but I agree with you that the reader should have better judgement with regards to copied content, since many topics are similar in a particular niche, and there could be a coincidence of two posts having similar content.
Kindest,
Nabeel
I’ve got to say that most of the time when I see someone blamed for scraping content, they’re actually guilty, but it would definitely suck for it to be the other way around.
I would suggest making a post out of it by using the commentators name and comment or copy-paste his email. In the post you can explain that your content is 100% yours.
Most of the time the internet itself being that it’s so anonymous to an extent leads everyone to just leave their criticism and messages on blogs. I would say that you should build up a thick skin so to speak, because criticism is a natural part of life and blogging. Use that criticism to make your blog/self better.
Till then,
Jean
Criticism is bound to happen, but I think that when a person does it they should do it in a way that they would like it done to them. You should never accuse anyone of doing something if you have no proof of it. Also, many of these people who offer so called criticism always post anonymously. If you feel that you are offering sincere constructive criticism you shouldn’t feel the need to be anonymous.
Like problogger said, to handle those negative commentors, one must revert all those accusations and make it as a positive helping hand for you.
This is a very well executed, well written article. The truth is: Professional must always be separated from personal, and catering to the client is key.
It is hard to handle negative comments but I take it with a grain of salt. Every body has an opinion you just need to know for yourself. Who care about everyone else!