You're Gonna Get Challenged!
There are those who seemingly don't like to be challenged --
-- when they make a blog here at WA.
Apparently that extends to not pressing the 'like' button on a reply if there is a question or challenging comment about what they have had to say.
However, the same authors will 'like' the mundane and basically uninformative: 'hey, great post, thanks for sharing' type of comment. Do people really think that person has taken the time to review your post and attempt to understand it? It's possible, of course, but such a comment doesn't add a lick to the conversation.
I think it's a mistake to only 'like' posts that agree with your points.
Aside from it being unwise...
there is nothing wrong with being challenged. It helps the original author clarify their thinking or explain their thinking more cogently. It also helps extend the dialog and perhaps help the questioner understand better.
More importantly, from what I have seen, the more extensive a conversation you have with someone in your posts, the more mutual likes, the higher your creativity ranking.
Now, I don't claim to be certain about this matter because i have no clue about the algorithm for being creative on WA. But it only makes sense because I've got a creative rank and it seems to go up in relation to exchanges in Blog conversations.
If I'm wrong, it's still a bit ungracious to not 'like' a reply to your post, just because they challenge you or disagree with you.
Acknowledge that they have at least tried to read and understand your points :)
Or your raving fans that blindly agree will not be so diverse as could be of benefit to you in the long run!
cheers all. Marc
Recent Comments
38
I personally read every blog completely, even if it doesn't interest me. I often learn something and that alone is worth the couple of minutes I just spent reading the post.
Have a great holiday season.
Mark
hi Mark, thanks for commenting. Kudos to you. I can't claim to read every blog completely, I don't have time.
If I did that I probably wouldn't have time to ask questions or challenge ones that I am interested in.
Marc
It has been fun meeting so many nice people, but the socializing got to come to end in Jan. My busiest month of the year.
Agreed. To state the politically incorrect truth, there are some (okay, many) irrelevant, banal, overly personal, generic, and even incoherent blog posts here.
...And yet, it never fails: folks will pat the writer on the back with encouraging pablum, just to gain popularity and send out a virtue signal.
Hi Laurie!
As ever, you are to the point and spot on, I really enjoy reading your posts, here and elsewhere!
I responded to a somewhat incoherent blog yesterday with a question about supporting data, and got a rant back about how (in sum) clearly unintelligent and even 'passive aggressive' I was. lol.
Now, I am many things and have my share of flaws, but passive aggressive doesn't fit in my personal awareness of my image. I could be missing something.
In fact it was that response from the blogger that prompted this post.
I think you've said it before, the platform does not (and perhaps cannot) easily distinguish a banal reply from something more useful. It's up to us to take care of that ourselves.
If people don't respond to my questions and challenges in a facile and intelligent way, perhaps it's time to stop following. On the other hand, I better check in with myself, and make sure I'm not engaging in debate for the sheer fun of it :)
Marc
Hi Marc,
I agree ... I'm not looking to dig and debate for fun, either!
To clarify my thoughts further -
I feel that even if one is new to the platform, or speaks English as a second language, they can observe quite easily that a blog post consists of more than one phrase.
If they were able to find and sign up for WA training (and certainly if they expect to have any understanding of the training) then surely they have skills to post a simple, coherent message to the community (if they so choose).
I am unconcerned with grammar and sophistication, but rather, I look for intent, and often, there appears to be none (even from those who are fluent in English).
While some new (or not so new) member may genuinely attempt to communicate with us via their blog post, some are simply too lazy to compose a thought. Those are the ones that post "junk" blog posts, which disrespect the community and waste the reader's time.
I can tell the difference.
And I believe the vast majority of WA members are able to tell the difference, as well, but many just don't bother to evaluate what they're reading.
I think we have to spend our time with those who are worth spending time on, and trust that our own perception and judgement is going to be accurate about that. That is, knowing which ones to help, which ones will not benefit from it, and which ones don't need it and are gonna float on their own.
I totally agree there is misguided intentions afoot from people who should not even be here at WA. I also think there are well-meaning intentions afoot, but that are unnecessarily protective of people who don't deserve their protection.
It's up to us to find those people who are sincere about what WA is REALLY about and help guide them. That's the direction I am starting to lean.
Yes, I think it's so, helping both parties to the conversation teach and learn. Thanks for making the point concisely! Marc
Challenging, questioning, and disagreement can be an excellent dialog.
There's a line though, for me, and that is, arguing for the sake of making a point, that someone doesn't want to hear. I crossed it once, and I may cross it again (I make no promises), in the end it really was just arguing....
And you are right in acknowledging that someone has read a post.. even if they disagree.
Shaunna
Shaunna, thanks for this comment.
It's true there is such a line and my persona, in fact my archetype, as it were, enjoys a good debate and can carry it too far myself ;)
Thanks for your 'confession' and the possibility of recrossing the line -- I can totally relate :)
glad we are following each other now! cheers Marc.
I think that's a good idea, Chuck! -- I did the same as soon as I read it. Just now getting back to replies to all the insightful comments here.
I agree with you. When I look at some answers, I realize
that some persons still say this "thanks for sharing".
It may sound nice, but I wonder if it's just because the
person didn't read the article.
"vicki3" posted an article about this "like and thanks for sahring".
I'm not saying that thanked somebody for sharing their
thought is not good, but to say it for every post
is doubtful.
Thanks for sharing Marc!! I like your sincerity.
Ingrid
hi Ingrid, always good to hear from you! Thanks for commenting.
I think it's too easy to say something like 'thanks for sharing' just to get a notice in to the blogger that you stopped by, and that's fine as far as it goes.
But it doesn't add enough to the richness of the conversation, in my opinion.
Hmm if vicki3 had something to say about this, I bet it is interesting. Feel free to post a link here to that article, if you can find it again :)
my appreciation is mutual :) cheers Marc.
Continue to be son sincere, even if it
disturbs some, we need sincerity to move forward.
This is the article of Vickic3: Commenting on Blogs - Good Cop- Bad Cop
ah yes, I do remember this article and commented on it, it's a very good one! thanks for sharing! Marc
Marc
I see you a lot on WA making comments. I haven't seen a negative one from you yet. I think it only courteous to give someone a like if only to let them know that their comment is appreciated.
Personally, if someone likes my comment I feel that I should reciprocate just to let them know that I appreciate their taking time to read my comment.
If I don't like someone's comment, I move on. I am not going to get into an argument with a person over a negative comment.
It would be a waste of time.
Chuck
I'm going to like this, and maybe add a more inspired response later. It's 7:30 am here, and I need more coffee as I have used up the Java Jive I had earlier! LOL
Hello Chuck, I'm glad you saw this and took the time to stop by!
I try not to be negative but sometimes people are attached to their ideas, so anyone who even dares make a challenge is perceived as a threat.
This sort of instinctual response is completely normal but we need to engage with our neocortex first, if we can.
Yes, it's an important reminder for me and others not to get stuck in a useless debate about some trivial point. If the original poster doesn't wish to engage in a reasonable fashion, it is time to move on, isn't it? :)
Again thanks for chiming in on the conversation, much appreciated! Also, I'm giving you a follow! Marc
Thank you for following me, Marc
And thanks for your comment. I do have to admit that I gave someone a like even though I considered his one word comment to me to be negative.
Chuck
Human being by nature don't like to be challenged I have discovered that, in my young age, they either interpret it as arrogance, I have also come across a people who don't like others to think.
Thank you for information and it is a great post.
Hi Cinderella, thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog!
I think there are two instinctual responses to challenge -- fight, or flight. Neither of these operate at the higher levels of the brain!
So it can be difficult to establish a reasonable dialogue to a challenge, especially if one is thoughtless about it -- and it can happen easily, and to all of us!
Best regards -- and I am following you now :) Marc
Agreed Marc. We should all enjoy being challenged, more so when it is uncomfortable, then we can take the opportunity to be introspective about why it's uncomfortable. #growth
My concern is when challenged some folk go on the offense, even more reason for introspection rather than response. If this is the situation, it's probably best to be quiet.
Hello Louise, thanks for being part of the conversation and understanding what I was trying to get across.
Yes, it's true that there is a fine line between going on the attack or responding evenhandedly to a challenge. On the other side, one must not challenge for the sake of challenging! Of that I must remain vigilant :)
Pleasure Marc.
Yeah, I too have to test my motives for response often. Part of being a human :-)
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