A couple of days ago, Dino Dogan guested on here with his awesome post, F***ing and Punching: The Moody Side of Business.
It looked at how he came up with the idea of Triberr and how he shared this idea with Dan Cristo, and together they came up with what is one of the best social media automation tools around. It’s a great read, and the comments after the post add to it even more, and offer some excellent tips on starting a business.
However, because Dino used some fruity language – and I published his post as was, cussing title and all – a few folks unsubscribed from the blog, and commented that they weren’t going to read any more, or share across their networks.
Fair enough – I understand that for some folks, swearing and coarse language may not be their cup of tea, and I completely respect that.
However, some also suggested I wasn’t respecting my readers, and that a blog is no place for dropping the F-bomb.
That’s where I’ll have to disagree.
One of the core points to this blog – if not the core point – is respecting my readers. It’s why I have an open commenting system with a fairly easy-going comment policy, for example, and also support other bloggers who read this one with the CommentLuv plug-in.
But perhaps the biggest way I respect my readers is by keeping this blog authentic.
That means allowing guest bloggers to write as they would on their own blogs; protecting my community and deleting comments where they attack other commenters; and telling things as they are, as opposed to the white-washed writing that sometimes happens around the blogosphere.
If this costs me readers, fair enough. I know my writing – and that of my guests – isn’t for everyone, and I’d rather lose readers to blogs where there’ll be a better fit, than have unhappy readers. That’s what’s so great about the blogosphere – there’s so much choice out there that no-one needs to stay where they’re not enjoying the company.
There are many ways to respect your readers – for me, authenticity and allowing an open space to “breathe” is one of the best ways there is. If that means losing numbers, so be it – numbers has never been high on the agenda anyhoo (otherwise I’d be doing subscription runs every month).
Here’s to authenticity – you in?
image: Marc Wathieu
In his book 
About Danny
[...] Choosing Authenticity Over Numbers Every Time originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog – The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license. If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it! [...]
[...] was reading a post by Danny this morning about the requirement to be authentic rather than worry about numbers. The central message in the post came from the reaction a number of his readers had to the use of [...]
[...] recently an exceptional Social Media Marketing blog published a post that had the ‘F’ word in the title and blatant sexual content. Some of [...]
[...] of Danny Brown’s dilemma; people who know me know I know all the words, and use them (knowingly). I tend not to use them [...]
[...] Choosing Authenticity Over Numbers Every Time *Must Read* [...]
[...] 1) Will They Be Allowed to Blog In Their Own Voice? Generally you have a certain style on your blog. Narrative, approach, format, etc. And when you invite someone over to write for you, it’s because you like what they have to say. But does their style fit your audience and, if not, will you let them write in their style anyway? There’s nothing wrong with allowing a guest to be expressive and in the way they write – just be prepared for any backlash. [...]
[...] things, with real results. And that’s what turns my blogging mind on, if you like – being genuine over generic, either from a writing or reading [...]