A Quick Riff On Criticism And Allowing Comments

A Quick Riff On Criticism And Allowing Comments

Garth Beyer

Why allow comments on your website?

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For two reasons. One, people will try to piss you off, they will hate your ideas, they may even hate you for having them.

Ever heard of desensitization? Nothing makes it happen faster than allowing comments online. Being capable of handling any form of criticism pays off in the best of ways. You’ll see.

Second, percentage wise, we’re no shorter on critics than those in the 70s were. They just had the option of trashing (more commonly burning, I’m sure) letters of unpleasant and unhelpful criticism.

Now, today, the letters, the comments, they stick. What matters, though, is not the 100 letters of criticism, but the one comment that offers you an opportunity to connect.

If you’re going to burn any letters or delete any comments, let it be the ones that bash on the one person who is being human and giving you a chance to connect. Let’s face it, they’re more important than you are.

That’s the biggest problem with bloggers that I see. Authors will often guard themselves, but forget about guarding the ones stepping up and speaking out (commenting) in support of them.

Your eyes don’t deceive you. I don’t allow comments on my blog for two reasons. The first is this. The second is because if you really want to write to me, you can email me at thegarthbox@gmail.com If you want others to read it, by all means, start your own blog and email me the link.

Stay Positive & By All Means, Shun The Critics (don’t think it will stop the criticism though)

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Strangers, No More

Garth Beyer

From this day on, you no longer have customers. Consumerism is passé.

Now you either have marketers or friends. And if you work your brand right, there won’t be much of a difference between the two.

 

Stay Positive & I’m Here To Help You With That

Free Journalism Class (Provided by Wikipedia!)

Garth Beyer

More correctly, Wikiversity.

Journalism < click one of the “under development” courses. I’m sure with how profound Wikipedia is, there will be more courses listed throughout the year.

 

Stay Positive & Worth A Bookmark, Nevertheless.

Show Yourself (Off)

Show Yourself (Off)

Garth Beyer

Show Your SelfA trend I’ve noticed: more and more people are afraid to be human, but they will more than happily connect with someone who is.

This is the leverage available for everyone who goes public with their art.

 

Stay Positive & Michelle Understands This (click the pic)

Get Your Popsicle Stick

Get Your Popsicle Stick

Garth Beyer

Popsicle Stick Marker

I’ve given you a popsicle stick and a marker. I want you to, right now, think of what you really want to do in life, what you love, what you want to invest in that you haven’t already. I don’t care if it’s hang-gliding, asking your girlfriend to marry you or starting a business.

I’m not in the business of getting you to create a business, but I am in the business of turning your ideas into reality. So take a moment right now and write what that idea is and write it any way you want. If it’s a name, a number, a symbol or a paragraph if you can fit it on there, it doesn’t matter how. What matters is that you do.

Now let me tell you about my popsicle stick. First, if you were standing before me, you would notice I don’t have one anymore.

This is a short story of why I don’t.

In middle school, two of my closest friends and I put valuables in a hard case and put it underground. We created a time capsule. The capsule contained a picture, Pokémon card, mini-hand cuffs and a number of other items. Importantly, though, it contained my popsicle stick.

It wasn’t mine to begin with, though. It was a popsicle stick with a girl’s name on it that our teacher used to pick students at random to answer questions. At the end of the school year, I asked the girl if I could have her popsicle stick. She agreed.

I treasured it. I treasured her. I held onto that popsicle stick until my friends and I decided to create a time capsule. I thought it would be romantic that if I ever ended up with this girl that I would dig up the popsicle stick and give it back to her.

That day happened. I dug up the box without telling my friends. This is what I learned:

What you have written down on your popsicle stick right now is down there because you’re not ready to do it – and that’s okay. One day though, you will dig up your popsicle stick and actually do what it says. For some, you might only need to wait until that time comes. For others, you might need to work hard at it – digging that popsicle stick up becomes a goal.

The girl and I didn’t last long at all. Can you guess what I did next?

I went out and got a new popsicle stick.

 

Stay Positive & Shh, My Friends Still Don’t Know

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What’s The Weather Like Out There

Garth Beyer

I’ve just about had it with all these news headlines and front page topic choices.

Weather. Weather. Weather.

I don’t quite understand people’s fascination with the weather forecast. It feels that people take it as seriously as a school shooting, a tsunami or a political scandal that is unfolding.

The only difference is those three are newsworthy. Weather, not so much.

You might argue that a tsunami is part of a weather forecast. I would argue back that there is a difference (a very large difference) between a tsunami and a winter storm. If you’re perceiving that each relate, consider the list of natural disasters by death toll (tsunami vs blizzard) and then ask yourself if the current weather “news” is really newsworthy.

If you’re still wanting more numbers, consider this:

Add up all the time you’ve spent checking the weather, worrying about the weather and reading about the weather.

Now imagine what more you could have done by using that time differently.

It’s not entirely your fault of course. But until news agencies change their tactics, you need to watch yours.

 

Stay Positive & Sunny Days Ahead