Quote of the Day
Negativity is Inevitable with an Online Business
April 19th, 2008 | 17 comments
In the past week there has been alot of hatred and negativity going back and forth between a few different blogs and I hate to admit it, but I’ve been adding to it.
I’m not going to link to any of the blogs involved because 1. The original source of the trash doesn’t deserve the exposure 2. I don’t want to contribute anymore than I already have elsewhere, and 3. I don’t want to expose anymore people to it…it’s just a waste of time and energy and it doesn’t do anyone any good!
It doesn’t matter how much you help people. It doesn’t matter how ethical you try to run your business. It doesn’t matter who you are. There WILL be negativity brought your way if you have any kind of presence on the web. This particular incidence wasn’t directed toward me, but it was directed to a good friend, who I know for a fact is a very ethical person, so it really hit a nerve.
This person, rightly so, is chalking it up as a “lesson learned” and letting it be history rather than adding to it and bringing the negativity to a greater audience!
I ALMOST wrote a nice long blog post that exposed a few people for who I believe they really are, but now that I’ve cooled down I’m glad I didn’t.
This is a business and it should be treated as such. All parties involved, including myself were wrong by calling names and degrading one another.
Lesson Learned!
I know, and I believe all of you who have been supporting me over the years know, that I honestly want to help people.
So, instead of spreading the virus of hatred, I’ve decided to write this post and hopefully teach a lesson at the same time.
That lesson; when negativity comes your way, ignore it! This isn’t the first time I didn’t take my own advice, but hopefully the point gets across!
You’ll be happier as a person and your business will be better off! (I’ve wasted alot of time adding to the negativity myself when I could have been building my business!)
photo credit: AJ
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19th April, 2008 at 4:07 am
Good post Josh. You weren’t to bad. You might have dipped your toe in the negativity pond, but there were a few people that stripped naked and jumped right in. It was fund reading though. Wasn’t much fun getting screwed out of $2,500 though. Lesson learned.
19th April, 2008 at 4:52 am
You can’t help everyone and those you do succeed in building a relationship with make the whole effort worth while!
19th April, 2008 at 7:13 am
I was working through the Product Launch Formula stuff yesterday and somebody asked a question that sparked an interested answer. Jeff basically said that far too many people in business spend far too much time worrying about what other people think of them, or what their competition is doing and so on.
As you say, while all those people fight and bitch, the rest of us can just quietly continue to build our businesses.
19th April, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Josh — Well said, man.
I think I am going to go right now and change the tagline on my blog - Mark Mason — the gentle blogger. LOL
This is a great post. I hope the parties involved read it.
19th April, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Do you really think it’s hatred. Hate is a pretty strong word to use. I’m not entirely sure what you’re making referrance to. But I would like to think that there isnt all that much hatred out there. Business is business and money can make people stupid or do and or say things that they might not normally do or say. But as my mom alwaus taught me theres a fine line between truth, what is and opinion and its important to recognize the difference. Wish I was a wise as that old crone sometimes.:-P Ive been known (not so much on my blog) to speak my mind its the way I was raised. Opinionate isnt always a bad if you can substantiate your opinion. Being honest is often hurtful to some. And the question is always if its helpful but hurtful should you say it?
19th April, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Giving your honest opinion is always best in the end, however it should always be accompanied by “tact”…a funny little word…but when left out, it can cause many problems.
Very commendable not doing the post Josh. I’ve been in a scuffle or 2 myself, and it IS always best to take the high ground after all.
19th April, 2008 at 10:02 pm
If someone is making negative comments about you the best thing to do is to prove them wrong with your actions.
Business is about getting along well with others.
The people who talk too much always lose in the end.
21st April, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Thanks guys and gals.
@ Shane - You’re right, most of the “negativity” out there isn’t hatred, but the post that sparked this particular incidence and the other posts coming from the same individual were indeed EXTREMELY hateful, so I would definitely say, yes, it was HATE!
22nd April, 2008 at 2:34 am
You see all these while, nobody really bothers to highlight or criticize harshly these so-called valued-information newsletters or other junks being sold by “gurus”. But I don’t subscribe to using foul language.
22nd April, 2008 at 4:02 am
Indeed, it did pretty ugly there for a while, Josh. Not by you, but clearly the crossfire was pretty thick.
I’ve had bouts before with negativity. It’s not easy to swallow at times. I can see why people get so defensive about it because they’re not standing right in front of the person they’re arguing with. That, in itself, makes it so much easier to lash out at someone. That’s why cyberbullying is so prevalent these days.
Good post, Josh!
22nd April, 2008 at 3:59 pm
@ Kher - There is junk all over the place, both online and offline. I see more false accusations online accusing people of being “scammers” just because they use a sales page or sell a product than I do legit claims of scammers. It all comes down to being a smart consumer.
@ Mark - Yep, that’s part of the problem. This type of issue wouldn’t last so long if it were in person. In person the size and personality of each individual comes into play lol Online it doesn’t matter. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
23rd April, 2008 at 6:07 am
Hi Josh,
On the one hand, I agree with you that sometimes the blogger in question’s style can be a little hard to swallow.
That being said, I can honestly say that of all the blogs I’ve read in the past 6 months or so, that particular site has given me more profitable ideas than probably all the others combined.
… and all with no expectations of anything in return.
If you’re on his good side, he’s got a heart of gold. If you’re not, well I suppose you’ll hear about it pretty quickly.
I’m not at all in agreement about all of the “targets” who’ve been singled out for rants.
But, on a larger scale, I think a very good point was raised …
The great majority of Internet Marketing sites out there are NOT helping *most* of the people who read them.
I think it’s great when somebody like you who “walks the walk” wants to open up a private forum, and get compensated for sharing your knowledge.
But there are way too many people out there who purport to “teach” people how to make money, but who’s real purpose is quite obviously to simply to hawk as many (overpriced) ebooks and affiliate programs as they can.
I’m not trying to be negative. But I think it’s definitely a subject that warrants a bit of debate … especially for marketers who do try to be as ethical as possible.
Just my two pennies,
Todd
23rd April, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I often wonder where these people who “warn” everyone about back products and service get the money to purchase them all.
I mean, have these people really purchased and reviewed every product out there? Seems a little unrealistic to me
If so, wouldn’t that make these people bad consumers? If not, wouldn’t that “warning” be on false terms?
There are scams and bad products everyone, both online and offline.
I’ve been online for 4 years now and I’ve never been scammed. I’ve bought a handful of bad products and I’ve ALWAYS been refunded when requested.
I don’t see any problem at all with ebooks which are sold online.
We can worry, bitch and complain about how others are making money or we can make our own money.
Thanks for stopping by, Todd.
23rd April, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Very well put Josh.
One of the biggest “scams” to watch for is all the bad “reviews” that are followed by a competing affiliate link for the “good alternative”.
23rd April, 2008 at 3:54 pm
@Todd Morris - I agree with you. I have a unique perspective since I am one of the people that were recently scammed in a blog transaction. I’m sure Vic would have no problem called me a ‘_uck’in Idiot’ like he did Marc.
But when it comes to content, Vic has some very interesting ideas. I’ve learned a lot from visiting his blog.
I find some of his rants entertaining. I don’t like to see him go after Caroline, Marc, or someone that didn’t ask for it. But it has been amusing to listen to him respond to some of those that leave comments that choose to challenge him.
If you take Simon Cowell off of American Idol that show would have never been a success. He is harsh and he says what he is thinking.
If you take the ‘_uck’ away from Vic, he looses the entertainment value but still has some good content.
26th April, 2008 at 6:47 am
Well said Josh. I too was tempted to blog about it. But avoiding negativity definitely makes you feel a lot better.
I made the mistake of blogging about the folks that follow us round thumbing down our posts on StumbleUpon a couple of weeks ago and they’re still putting vile remarks on my SU now. I could respond but, it’s better to ignore them.
28th April, 2008 at 10:47 am
Hi Josh,
Great post and very true statement indeed! “When negativity comes your way, ignore it!” I’ve been running my online business for 3 years now, and I’m still learning to take things in my stride when the inevitable happens. Thank you for sharing with us.
Cheers,
Roy