Draw More Reads and Invite Comments to your Article By Being a Hater
“Misery loves company” works its wonders to your stats when you touch the right topic to get others to rile up about
A few writers out there write about threatening to leave a platform due to its algorithm.
That creates intrigue because now I wanna know what’s making them leave. And almost all the time, I do not get much out of their complaint other than them warning other writers (because they “care” about other writers) to go find another platform to write for. But what I don’t understand is the reason why they can’t just leave without writing about it.
It makes me wonder if there’s a hidden agenda behind the complaint?
Controversial topics draw a lot of attention because if they didn’t then there would be fewer articles that revolve around that topic. It makes sense why a lot of writers want to cash in on that (regardless if that’s what they really feel toward a subject or if that’s their strategy of getting their articles viewed). I, right now, am also complaining about writer’s complaining.
But my intent is simply to help you question whether or not reading such complaints is good for you — not only for your mood but also for your career as a writer.
Hate is a strong emotion everyone can relate to
Everyone has felt hatred at least once in their entire life. And if everyone can relate to it, the more attention you can draw to it.
A controversial topic works because it splits a group into two, and it touches the ego of the individuals in each group. And when your ego is attacked, your initial reaction is to fight back by doing and saying whatever you can to preserve it. These draw people with strong opinions to leave a comment on your content, which, is an invitation to get other people (with strong opinions) from the other side to share their thoughts, which then becomes another topic of debate the other group can latch on to.
It naturally turns into this cycle — that is good for your stats.
I see this happening on social media. And I have to admit, I enjoy reading the bashing between two individuals. I’m naturally drawn to the conversation (not sure why) but I don’t have any intent in participating in it. There are a lot more important things in the world I’d rather put my attention and energy to. Plus, I’m happy with the way things are now. This is why I had to question myself whenever I consider writing about something I hate:
Am I doing this strategically for the views?
Or, do I genuinely feel the need for others to acknowledge my feelings?
Is it “fake” hate?
“Hate is not the opposite of love, it’s indifference”, I’m sure you’ve heard that before.
When you hate someone, you still care because you allow this individual to take up your headspace. Even if they’re not physically around, they still have a way to get you to think about them. Now, that doesn’t happen if you don’t give a crap about the person or the action that was committed. And when you’re happy, you typically don’t give a crap.
And that’s just it: if things are not working out for you then you will complain about it. Otherwise, you’d leave things as they are.
This is what boggles me when someone complains about how the platform is not working out for them.
I suppose the hope is to get the platform to listen and cater to their needs?
But what about those individuals that are happy with the way things are?
It could be a subtle form of manipulation
Are they doing this to serve others or to serve them?
A lot of creators flock to a platform to make a name for themselves. The goal is to stand out, become an authority and later on, provide some sort of product or service to their audience. That makes total sense if viewed through the lens of business. That is what I intend to do in the future; however, for now, I’m more focused on figuring out what people want to read more from me. I’m a total beginner.
Everything I do is a pro bono effort — I don’t want the money (at least not right now), instead, I want the attention.
Then there are the others who already profited from their success on the platform.
And now, they want to share the same formula of success with others (for a fee). This makes sense because now they wanna reap the rewards of their hard work. Because if they don’t get paid, they wouldn’t be able to support themselves to support you — the beginner.
I follow a famous writer who is basically asking other writers to leave the platform due to such and such reasons.
This famous writer also offers a program that will accelerate your career as a writer, however, it’s for a different platform. Now, I wonder if the articles he writes about “hating on the platform” is just a strategic approach to selling his program. Or perhaps, it is genuinely an “act of service” for beginners out there (like myself) to achieve the same success he and his students had.
Whether that’s true or now, who knows?
There is no way for us to gauge his intent behind the approach. Then, you’ll also come across another famous writer who sells you a program on how to find success on this platform. Follow him, and you’ll understand why you shouldn’t leave the platform.
So now I’m torn between leaving or staying.
Is the platform’s algorithm really that bad?
View the challenge as a test of your creative skills
It doesn’t really matter if you love or hate the platform.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you to figure out how to find success in whatever platform you choose. Acquiring guidance is definitely a good thing, just be very careful at turning that desire into a distraction. I became an information whore due to the fear of wasting time. Then, later on, realized how the “act of consuming too much info” is a waste of time.
If you really hate the platform, then perhaps it’s best for you to just leave and not drag everyone else with you.
Understand how the tougher the challenge is, the more skilled you need to be to conquer it. So instead of bitching about it, why not do something about it?
Try, fail, learn, iterate…you’ll get there eventually.
