Why instant feedback on the internet can be BAD
This past week I was in PEI Canada – working with companies. Given the beauty of the surroundings and given that my wife was with me with no teenagers – I stopped Twittering, Blogging and Facebook Posting.
From this I learned that instant feedback from the web had caused me to change the “voice” of my writing. Over time I had learned how to post messages and content that maximized chances of “retweets” “blog postings” , blah, blah, blah.
Instead of saying what I believed – I was writing based on what I thought the audience wanted. The result was a “dumbing down” of my messages. And, a lack of authenticity.
I’m reminded of what Erskine Smith – noted theatrical director and leader of the Victoria Playhouse - told me as I was preparing for the opening of North Pole Tenderfoot (a one man play I’d written). Erskine said, “tomorrow a review will come out in the newspaper on your show. What I’ve learned is to not believe the bad review OR the good reviews. What you need to do is do the show you want to do. If you do that you’ll always be happy – and the audience will in the end be happy too.”
I’ve learned the same thing with my books. Two were written based on what I believed – two were written to be commercial successes. The ones I believed in have outsold the others 20 to 1.
So from now on – I’m only writing what I believe.
Filed under: Doug's Soap Box, Science of Sales & Marketing
Doug, great post. I call in Authentic vs. Deliberate. People can tell, it’s the same with public speaking. If you talk from the heart about what you believe you don’t need all the techniques and stage craft, people just get it.
Look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.
Kia Kaha, Ben
Doug…how true…it seems that with all social media sites like twitter, facebook etc we are all trying to be witty..which I am guilty of as we may seem to be trying to prove something because after all who wants to know that “Hey I just got up and brushed my teeth” Sure we want to know something about others but we have to treat it like a cocktail party and not scream at the top of our lungs….
Dont get me wrong…being witty can help get the message across but make sure their is an actual message. As the famous quote goes “better to be thought a fool than open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.”