If You Can’t Say Anything Nice, Come Blog By Me
June 22, 2007 | By Lorelle VanFossen | Filed Under Bloggers, Blogging
The following is an excerpt from Lorelle’s popular book, Blogging Tips, Tips Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging.
There are a number of bloggers who thrive on the attention of negative energy. They get their thrill by being nasty, whining, and complaining. And people love them.
There is an art to being a nasty blogger. You can’t just rant about an issue. You have to take a side and be clear around the intent of your complaint. The blog post must have a focus and a purpose.
- Choose one subject and have at it.
- Choose a side and stay with it.
- Explore the other side of the issue, but only as justification for your position.
- Don’t lower your standards into name calling or blame games. Rant with higher standards.
- Be totally righteous in your opinion.
- Convince others you are “in the right”.
Lorelle VanFossen blogs about blogging and WordPress on Lorelle on WordPress and the Blog Herald, and is the author of Blogging Tips, Tips Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging.
About the author: The author of Lorelle on WordPress, as well as several other blogs, Lorelle VanFossen has been blogging in one fashion or another for over 14 years, covering travel, nature and travel photography, web design, web theory and development, blogging, and WordPress extensively as web technologies developed. Lorelle is also the author of the fast-selling book, Blogging Tips: What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging, available in the new Blog Herald Bookstore.
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I think you’re right Lorelle, there is an art to being a negative blogger but the point’s you listed are really the characteristics of an opinionated blogger.
I write (negative posts) about bad adverts on UK TV. I’m occasionally nasty, whiny, and complaining but I try to do it from a “I’d like things to be better” point of view.
I don’t want to be “the most hated man on the Web” so I try to be witty and self-depricating where I can.
I believe being truly nasty won’t get you anywhere people will soon get bored of what you have to say.
Maddox comes to mind when I read this. People like him just straight up complain about stuff, and he’s one of the most popular people there are on the net (Can’t call him a blogger, he hates that, though he is one.)
[...] are very few bloggers who survive on negativity and abusive blogging styles. It’s an art form and specialized skill that few of us can do let alone keep up for long [...]
[...] is a skill, as I explained in If You Can’t Say Anything Nice, Come Blog By Me on the Blog Herald. I’m not very good at it, and it’s risky for me, but still, [...]
[...] Without a doubt, Towler is right. Your blog must be persuasive if you want to get your point across, but take care not to poke out the eye of your reader. Don’t be offensive. Don’t be nasty. It’s your opinion, so have at it, but why be insulting. Unless your readers come because you specialize in entertaining insults. [...]
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