I’ve been hearing a lot about the idea that books on Amazon and other places with nothing but five star reviews don’t sell as well as books with mixed bag ratings. While this doesn’t surprise me entirely, I suddenly wish there was this kind of easy metric for blogs as well.
I read a lot of blogs. I also read a lot of comments for blogs – some of the most interesting stuff is in the comments, I’ve found most of the people I read through their comments on the sites of others. Some of them even comment here now and then, for which I am eternally grateful. They don’t always agree with me, but I like that. Why?
I’m a fan of opposing opinion. The vast majority of what I read in the comments of other blogs starts with sycophantic drivel and decomposes from there. One thing a lot of these commentators miss is that dissent, in many ways, proves you’re listening. Even if the lesson was unclear, or had less merit than as presented, distension and deconstruction, more than flat out disapproval, show that you give enough of a crap about what just got said that you’re willing to help improve it.
I wish I had more dissent here.
Why? Because I like to discuss things. Can’t say for certain if this puts me among the perpetual contrarians of the world, but I love tearing part a preconception and making sure the gears all fit together, especially if it’s mine. So I want you to argue with me. I want you to challenge what I say, because there’s no better way to prove you’re listening. I promise I’ll respond in kind. If you bring me value, I’ll try to add to it. If you flame me, I will mock you viciously.
Sound like a fair deal?
I await your scorn.