Did I ever tell you about the time I got arrested at a blogging convention for punching twenty seven different people?
Blame it on my bad temper. I saw a group of people wearing shirts that said “I am A Really Big Deal on The Internet” and went mad with jealousy. Yep, I was struck blind by both their wit and biting sarcasm.
But what really set me off was the person who referred themselves as being the most humble blogger they knew and the smartest. They climbed on top of a trashcan and lectured the rest of us on how to become aterrificblogger like themselves and I just lost it.
It is embarrassing, but I couldn’t take it. They were standing on trash inside this trashcan and the smell didn’t even make them blink. It was amazing and I just knew that someone that could stand in trash could cover themselves in shit and never be bothered by the stench that came with it.
This is a skill that I longed to master for years. Really, can you imagine how much value there is in mastering the secret message behind the story of the emperor who wore no clothes.
Jack Is Old And Cranky
Jack is old and cranky and tired of the bullshit that some people peddle, but not so tired that I need to speak in the third person about myself. I am tired of continuing to stumble onto posts where some know-it-all tries to convince everyone else they know more about blogging and social media than anyone else.
It is not because those people don’t exist it is because those that do don’t spend their time fertilizing the blogosphere with self righteous garbage about how the blogosphere would be better and people would be more successful if they would only blog like the self proclaimed master does.
This kind of crap irks me because it is not true. There is no single, uniform path to internet success and unless I see your books I am unlike to believe all that you say.
It is not because I am smarter than anyone else but because I have been around long enough to have seen a few things and learn a few tricks. Anyone can say anything online and some of the people that hang out here with us are bald faced liars who claim success they haven’t seen.
I could pepper this blog with ads from companies you have all heard of and many of you would assume that means I am generating quite a bit of income from those ads. But their appearance here doesn’t mean that is true.
What You See and What You Know
You don’t know what arrangements we have or don’t have. You don’t know if our financial arrangements are based upon CPMs, Cost-Per-Lead, Cost-Per-Acquisition, Flat rate sponsorship or some other hybrid model.
Hell, you don’t know if I have arranged to run these ads for free in the hopes that others will be impressed by what they see.
If you don’t check references you don’t know if the testimonials you see on sites are real and even then you probably won’t know many of the details. You can’t accept everything at face value nor should you always assume that people are lying. Not everyone does.
But that doesn’t negate our responsibility to question what we read. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ask ourselves if what we are reading makes sense or if something feels hinky.
When you get that funny feeling that something isn’t right you shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions. You don’t have to phrase it in a way that sounds like you are accusing the writer of stretching the truth. It is almost always better not to start conversations by making people defensive and or by insulting them.
Related Commentary/Links
Yeah, I know, I seem to have a bunch of posts that relate to this, but I have 9,500 others you can choose from if you don’t like these. I even threw in a few others just because…
- Bloggers Are Narcissists
- Jesus Hates Tim Tebow & 17 Other Reasons Why Your Blog is a Failure
- How 3,000 Sycophants Made One Man A Better Blogger
- How 3,000 Sycophants Made One Man A Better Blogger Part 2
- The Best Way To Blog Is…Your Way
- The Biggest Challenge Most Bloggers Face
Or maybe I should just ask Can You Write a Funny Post? I wonder how many people will comment. This could be interesting.
And with that Jack is ready to leave the building. Just remember blogging is about having fun and I am having a ball. How about you?