We don’t need yours.
Constructive criticism, on the other hand, is something we need more of. The tough part about constructive criticism is that in order to offer it you need real knowledge about the topic at hand.
- You can’t tell me how to improve my site if you don’t know much about websites. You can only tell me it sucks.
- You can’t help me improve my writing if you’re a weak writer. You can only tell me you hate what I wrote.
- You can’t help me build a business if you’ve never built one yourself. You can only tell me how stupid you think my concept is.
But it’s fun to pontificate, to reference imaginary conversations with clients, and hurl judgmental comments at writers we find online. There’s a delicious taste of power in seeing people who try very hard to do well suddenly freak out because they don’t know how to deal with abject hatred.
In the real world, we call such behavior bullying.
Online? We just call you stupid.
The next time you find yourself writing a hateful remark on a topic you don’t really know much about, do everyone a favor and send it to me instead. I’ll pretend to flip out, you’ll have your joy, and the writer who was brave enough to hit “publish” on an incomplete thought will keep writing and improve over time. You may either drop your vitriol on any of my posts or send it to me in an email to sethsimonds at gmail.com.
It’s that easy.
I dare you.
If you’re not brave enough, I suggest you keep your negativity to yourself. I’m sick of watching people tear into new bloggers for sport.
That’s it.
=)
I agree that we need less negativity and more constructive criticism. I recently talked about this in one of my startup videos (Ingore Haters But Listen To Critics – http://rosskimbarovsky.com/2009/10/startup-tip-ignore-haters-but-listen-to-critics/).
But I wonder, Seth, whether you’re drawing lines that are too narrow around “real knowledge”. Nearly everything that defines our response to something (your site, your writing, your business) is driven by our perceptions of that thing. Perceptions can certainly be rooted in real knowledge, but often are not. Nevertheless, perceptions define what we like, when we like it, whom we talk with, etc.
So, if I don’t know much about websites, why couldn’t I tell you which portions of your site I don’t like? The risk of course, is that you could waste time listening to someone who doesn’t have real experience. But presumably, your site, your writing, your business isn’t targeted to a niche audience. As such, the perceptions of those without real knowledge are no less important (or maybe not unimportant).
Having said all that, I suspect we’re both concerned most with the CONTENT of the criticism rather than whether the critic is an expert. If so, I agree that there’s big difference between hateful comments and constructive comments. Far too many comments – especially in social media, are of the hateful kind, particularly towards newcomers.
I love it when people preface constructive criticism with some qualifier as to where they are coming from and what experience they have. Not because I like to write critics off but because I like to get a sense of where they’re coming from and be able to follow up with pertinent questions.
The thing about non-expert advice is that we often shy away from taking it unless it aligns with what we’re already doing.
Does that make the non-expert advice more valuable?
Here I go posting incomplete thoughts and opening myself up to the judgmental codgers! =)
I’m absolutely with you on this. I couldn’t believe it when on my first blog post, someone left a comment that said something along the lines of, ‘this is harmful to writers and should not have been written’.
Unbelievable. And without leaving a URL or any way of checking them out to see if they were coming from a position of authority. Of course, when I did track them down, it was your typical ‘vanity writer’ – the sort who writes everyday (something I was arguing against) but has absolutely nothing to show for it.
Best part of it was, her comment generated interest and gave my fledgling blog a huge leg up! So I should be grateful really.
I can definitely related to being fed up with negativity; it is exhausting. I can’t remember the last time I switched on the news to find that the world was not actually going to implode. Even with online activities, I always marginally feel like a prey animal. Everyone wants a piece of your sentiment, your wallet, or your network.
I don’t mean to sound negative myself but I just wish our tendency was to focus on the positive and the good. I’m a not slap happy or delusional, but would just love to see a little more content focused on creative thinking, genuine interest, and real knowledge.
Imagine.
(I’m trying to conjure up my inner John Lennon)
I was reminded yesterday (while, randomly, watching the Amy Poehler episode of “Inside the Actors Studio”) of the improv actors’ core tenet of “Yes, and…”. It’s the idea of seeing what someone offers you as a gift (the yes part) and offering them a gift in return (the and part). As Poehler described it, it not only represents a fair exchange, it moves the conversation forward.
Most folks follow a “Yes, but…” m.o. They take what’s offered, and tell you why it’s crap. Crap for value is not a fair exchange, and the conversation ends.
Some people give, as a rule. Others take. But you get a hell of a lot more when you give things of value. Why don’t more people see that?
This comment isn’t too profound, but it’s positive!
I like your site and your writing.
Thank you for standing up for writers! If only I had more time to spend crafting writing that I think is really worth posting to share.
~ Tory
While I agree with the post overall, I am more in tune with Ross Kimbarovsky’s comment.
We had a teacher at school, lo, these many years ago, who emphasised that while you need knowledge of a process to be able to criticise the method of production, everybody and his dog can make a valid criticism of the finished product, which is subjective, and dependant upon the general experience of the individual.
Whether or not the author or producer of a work would feel such criticism to be constructive, or merely negative, would also be a subjective judgement.
I am not a professional writer, so you will know how much credence to give my comment.
Reality is that it’s a lot easier to complain than it is to compliment or productively criticize. Oh, and of course, it’s a lot easier to complain or put down behind the security of a computer screen, but we won’t get into that.
I actually think that what you’re calling for requires a tremendous amount of discipline. We’re lazy and the lazy way to be involved is by putting down or complaining. If I have no back-knowledge on your blog topic but want to see my name in the comments column, I’m wired up to give my lazy response. Positive thinking, productive criticism are much more difficult, even for positive people–but they’re MUCH more productive. I’d love to call for positive thinking and productive criticism as a matter of principle and to idealistically make the world a better place, but I’m not that naive anymore. So I’ll join you in calling for it for the sake of productivity.
Fuss about a problem at lunch for an hour. Okay, for your next lunch with your buddies, identify the problem, then spend the next hour brainstorming ways to make it better or fix it. May not be what comes natural but we’ll all be much smarter, happy and successful people if we can discipline ourselves to go against our natural, lazy urge.
I would bet money that those leaving negative comments really believe that they do know a lot about the topic.
One of the problems here, Seth, is that the people who are leaving the irresponsible comments — the ones hiding behind their paste-eating inner bully — don’t often use reason. They’re not going to read this post (or any other) with the intent of learning or saying, “AH! I probably shouldn’t have said what I said earlier.” They’re going to wipe the snot from their noses, giggle maliciously, and do exactly what you’ve dared them to do, because that’s what bullies (online or “IRL”) do.
You’ll get positive, well-thought-out responses from people who actually think, but the people at whom your post is directed will likely just continue to do what they do.
For what it’s worth, I share your sentiments. While I don’t know if people should be experts in the things on which they’re commenting (I’m a pretty voracious commenter, but I’d never offer ADVICE on anything in which I wasn’t practiced), they should at least be able to leave comments that aren’t injurious or thoughtless.
It’s early. I’m rambling. I hope you’re well.
The critique for critique’s sake is something that has always been a pet peeve of mine. I know that I cannot control what other people say, but I can improve how I approach a criticism. Here’s my formula for constructive criticism –
1) Compliment – find something that you sincerely like. Goes back to the whole ‘if you can’t say something nice…’ adage
2) Criticism – There’s nothing wrong with finding something incorrect or that you don’t agree with. Like the fact that I ended that last sentence with a preposition. It’s OK to tell me that’s not correct, as long as you
3) Offer another way – I may not agree with you. You may not agree with me. But at least you took the time to consider the issue and come up with an alternative.
If I cannot do all three steps, then I walk away and think/research/talk about the issue until I can. Oftentimes in that process, I realize that I agree with the original source more than I realized =)
Thanks, Seth, for posting something that I was worried I was the only one who found frustrating!
Hi Seth,
Thanks for your support of new writers. The proliferation of content on the web has been good and bad for our profession. It’s much easier to get published – just start your own blog. But there’s no longer an editor to guide, instruct and protect us from ourselves.
It used to be if you didn’t do a good job, you wouldn’t get published. That’s no longer the case. I think it’s a good thing, generally, as long as the bloggers mentor each other.
The other difficult part in this equation is the advent of civilian journalism. Yes, everyone is in a position to critique but that doesn’t mean they understand the parameters of a fair criticism. I’d love to see the 3 step method for constructive criticism as Amy describes it become a standard for all comments left on blog posts.
Writers have historically needed a thick skin to survive the editorial process. The blogosphere is giving more opportunity but also exacting a more severe thrashing. Thanks for getting behind the new guys. They need all the help we can give them.