Worry About What You Say More Than What Others Say About You
Ross | October 20th
The blogosphere and print media are full of articles about corporations leveraging the Internet, including social networks such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter (among others), to provide customer service and to manage their online reputations. I recently wrote about “personal brands” and whether people are brands.
We spend far too much time worrying about what others say and write about us and not nearly enough time thinking about what we ourselves say and write. For some, a blog article or post on Twitter is solely a sound-bite to generate controversy and “followers”, with little regard for the impact our words might have on others.
We all become frustrated and angry at one time or another. And there are times when we want nothing more than to demonstrate our mastery of the written word by leaving insulting and negative comments online.
You don’t improve your reputation by lowering the reputation of others. When you direct negative comments or insults to someone, your words impact both their reputation and yours.
Don’t fall prey to the temptation. Follow the examples set by those who understand that “a reputation for a thousand years may depend upon the conduct of a single moment.” [Ernest Bramah - an English author]. Think twice - think three times - before you put your own reputation at risk by attacking someone else.
Very well said Ross, (as always!
Sums up exactly what some people have been doing. I just feel sad when someone posts a negative comment. It makes the buyer AND the creative in question feel bad.
I’m so glad you posted this, Ross. It seems that as of late, folks just seem to be on edge and are posting before thinking. Maybe it’s the economy. Maybe it’s the end of summer. Maybe it just feels good to snipe at someone, and it’s easier when done somewhat anonymously through a website.
But I’ll tell you what – it just plain feels bad, and adds a kind of funk to a project. When someone makes a snarky or grumpy public post – it changes the whole feel. This is one of the main reasons I asked about wanting to take listings off my “participating” list… sometimes I just want out, and I don’t want to even LOOK at the name of the project.
You guys do a great job of setting a tone here – but like any workplace, there are going to be those who have a bad day, and make a bad choice. And for those who don’t recognize they made a bad choice – like you said, it reflects mostly on them.
[...] Worry about what you say more than what others say about you. Using foul language or displaying a ‘bad’ attitude is a sure way of turning buyers off and ruining your reputation on crowdSPRING. As flat and mundane as words and sentences can sound, what you write – whether publicly or privately - can greatly affect how you’re perceived by other members of the community and buyer(s).Remember also that how you act and what you say, privately and publicly, reflects not only on you, but also impacts the entire community. Keep in mind that lots of buyers read the forums, too! Protect your reputation and maintain your integrity at all times. [...]
[...] to reach out to everyone. This was the right thing to do. It was the honest thing to do. It was the responsible thing to do. As individuals and as a company, we deeply feel that as long as our core values are sound and we [...]
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