Controversial post on my blog???

13 years ago

I would be very careful when posting something controversial when it involves children/babies. While controversy can be good in a blog, going to far will harm your reputation. If you want to raise something which goes against the norm then put both sides of the argument across and let your readers decide and comment on which side they agree with. That way you have started a controversial topic but are actually not taking a stance on the subject, just stating two different views.

Edit: Be prepared for religion being brought into it to.

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Alexa Smith

Banned 13 years ago

"Selective reduction" is terribly controversial/emotive. And may offend people, I think (especially in America?). I'm posting quickly without thinking it through (which is perhaps sometimes a good thing to do, with questions like this?) but all my instincts are telling me that you might be wise to keep away from this on your blog.

It seems to me there's even a risk of "unforeseeable complications" or non-blog-related problems from this?

:confused:

I see that (sometimes) "there's no such thing as bad publicity", but instinctively I have grave misgivings. Just my "quick perspective", Brit.

(And you know that few people, in general, are more in favor of "controversy in marketing" than I am?! I write seriously controversial things myself, but I'm not sure I'd go near this. This is a subject that people actively want to cause trouble over for religious agendas of their own. That's a bit dangerous.)

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brit16

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

"Selective reduction" is terribly controversial/emotive. And may offend people, I think (especially in America?). I'm posting quickly without thinking it through (which is perhaps sometimes a good thing to do, with questions like this?) but all my instincts are telling me that you might be wise to keep away from this on your blog.

It seems to me there's even a risk of "unforeseeable complications" or non-blog-related problems from this?

:confused:

I see that (sometimes) "there's no such thing as bad publicity", but instinctively I have grave misgivings. Just my "quick perspective", Brit.

(And you know that few people, in general, are more in favor of "controversy in marketing" than I am?! I write seriously controversial things myself, but I'm not sure I'd go near this. This is a subject that people actively want to cause trouble over for religious agendas of their own. That's a bit dangerous.)

Thanks Alexa, I was not really planning on talking about the subject in general (or so much about my viewpoints in particular), but I was writing a post on how many embryos are ideal to transfer and was going to share about a story that I read about on a forum as part of the post. While talking about the story it was hard not to let my views come out a bit. Do you think I should avoid it all together....even just used as an example within a post??? I have been torn about this because I think it could create some good conversation, but I truly don't want to offend anyone!

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agmccall

13 years ago

There is a difference between a controversial subject and drawing a line in the sand.

That subject will draw a line in the sand and you will lose probably half your visitors. What half depends on what position you take.

Besides, your site is about helping people have babies and not get rid of them.

just my opinion

al

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brit16

13 years ago

Originally Posted by agmccall

Besides, your site is about helping people have babies and not get rid of them.

al

You are correct the sad thing is it comes up more often than most would like to think. The only reason I even considered talking about this is because I was writing a post about "how many embryos" to transfer and was considering sharing a story I read about a lady who transferred 6, got pregnant with 4, then aborted 2 of them. It was supposed to be an example of why there should be some limits set on number of embryos transferred.

Glad I asked....because I had already written the post and was close to publishing it

. I do not want to offend anyone, I am there to try to help others!

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Alexa Smith

Banned 13 years ago

Originally Posted by brit16

It was supposed to be an example of why there should be some limits set on number of embryos transferred.

Yes, I see. This is a little different from what I'd imagined at first, I must admit.

I ought perhaps to downgrade my "strong instinctive feeling" that this should be avoided to a mere "milder unease" about it. You'd think that presenting the perspective that way ought to be inoffensive? I don't know ...

(I'm really surprised that someone had 6 embryos transferred. I think they don't do that, over here).

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brit16

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

Yes, I see. This is a little different from what I'd imagined at first, I must admit.

I ought perhaps to downgrade my "strong instinctive feeling" that this should be avoided to a mere "milder unease" about it. You'd think that presenting the perspective that way ought to be inoffensive? I don't know ...

I knew everyone might be misunderstanding my intentions a bit

. You would think that most people in the niche would feel pretty much the same as I would, but when I responded to the post in the forum where I first read the story.....some people responded saying that they were glad I said what I did, but some people came back at me for "judging"....which I was never trying to do.

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

(I'm really surprised that someone had 6 embryos transferred. I think they don't do that, over here).

Ya, six is too many, and they don't typically do that in America (although there are not strict guidelines....most RE's are just smarter than that!) This lady was from america and went to another country to have the procedure done. Still not feeling too sure about what to do. At first I thought I should avoid it after everyones responses....now I am thinking about just mentioning it, not stating it in a way that will be controversial.??

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fluffythewondercat

13 years ago

I don't much care about offending people. People have been miffed at me my entire life.

What I do care about, though, is setting off a chain of events that could result in harm to my family.

There's the possibility of that happening in this scenario. It may not be likely but it is possible.

Bloggers have inadvertently offended people to the point where they invoke extreme retaliation. Have you heard of "SWATing"? It's where some creep pretends to be you or your husband and calls 911, spoofing your phone number. The creep tells the operator he's just killed his wife and/or child and is about to kill someone else. This gets (as you might imagine) an armed response.

From the point of view of the creep, the idea is that a trigger-happy SWAT team member will shoot one of you.

That's just one of the things that can happen when you, as a blogger, stray into uncharted waters.

Is your controversial blog article worth even a small chance of that happening?

fLufF
--

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brit16

13 years ago

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

I don't much care about offending people. People have been miffed at me my entire life.

What I do care about, though, is setting off a chain of events that could result in harm to my family.

There's the possibility of that happening in this scenario. It may not be likely but it is possible.

Bloggers have inadvertently offended people to the point where they invoke extreme retaliation. Have you heard of "SWATing"? It's where some creep pretends to be you or your husband and calls 911, spoofing your phone number. The creep tells the operator he's just killed his wife and/or child and is about to kill someone else. This gets (as you might imagine) an armed response.

From the point of view of the creep, the idea is that a trigger-happy SWAT team member will shoot one of you.

That's just one of the things that can happen when you, as a blogger, stray into uncharted waters.

Is your controversial blog article worth even a small chance of that happening?

fLufF
--

No, I have not heard of anything like that. I think everyone may have misunderstood my intentions a bit, but I do get the message that it is probably not a good idea! I was only going to bring up the topic within another topic (how many embryos to transfer....and I am not in favor of selective reduction in case any of you were thinking I was....it took we 7 total years to have my babies!!)

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brit16

13 years ago

Originally Posted by butters

I would be very careful when posting something controversial when it involves children/babies. While controversy can be good in a blog, going to far will harm your reputation. If you want to raise something which goes against the norm then put both sides of the argument across and let your readers decide and comment on which side they agree with. That way you have started a controversial topic but are actually not taking a stance on the subject, just stating two different views.

Edit: Be prepared for religion being brought into it to.

I agree, I am not at all trying to persuade anyone's viewpoints or offend anyone. The post I was writing just lent itself to talking about this a bit and did not know if I should include it or not. I wouldn't say I am going against the norm, just talking about it in general. (but it is hard not to let your views come out when talking about something

)

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Shaun OReilly

13 years ago

If you post content on your blog (or elsewhere) you're
sure to offend some people no matter what you do.

It's generally not a good idea to tread on egg shells
with the futile aim of not offending anyone - that's
impossible.

Using controversy is a proven tactic to get a response
from your audience and get a discussion going.

However, use controversy with care.

If you believe strongly in your point of view, then go
for it. State your beliefs un-apologetically and polarize
your readers to separate out the believers from the
non-believers.

It's worse to have a mild point of view that gets no
response than it is to have strong point of view that
gets people interacting and responding to your message
- negatively or positively.

I guess that it comes down to how strongly you feel about
the specific topic and how concerned you are about people
liking you for who you actually are.

Dedicated to mutual success,

Shaun

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Michael Ten

13 years ago

You are thinking about posting some controversial content? I have a separate website where I post controversial content that I create. That might be a solution for you.

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sal64

13 years ago

It depends on what your objective is and what the blog is about.

My personal view is that you should not worry about offending because you will never please everyone. As someone stated: Those that agree will love you and those who get offended will talk about you.

However, it is one thing to blog in your own language - ie: be blunt or sarcastic or whatever... but another to just be rude and offensive.

Good luck with it.

Sal

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brit16

13 years ago

Originally Posted by sal64

It depends on what your objective is and what the blog is about.

My personal view is that you should not worry about offending because you will never please everyone. As someone stated: Those that agree will love you and those who get offended will talk about you.

However, it is one thing to blog in your own language - ie: be blunt or sarcastic or whatever... but another to just be rude and offensive.

Good luck with it.

Sal

I understand that you will never please everyone, but my blog is about a highly emotional topic and I do have to consider emotions.

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seobro

13 years ago

Hi brit16:
I believe that in life we must stand for something and let it be known who we are. Controversy helps to get the word out on who you are. It is true that we might lose some one. Still, we need to be up front on what we believe in. Hope the best for you.

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MartinPlatt

13 years ago

You'll probably get a lot of traffic because of it.

But it might be hate traffic. Really depends on how well you present your argument, and how many people might agree with your views.

Controversy can be a great PR tool.

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James Gladwell

13 years ago

Originally Posted by brit16

I am thinking of posting about a very controversial topic, but I am not sure if this will hurt or help my blog. I know it could get some conversation started which is always a good thing, but I also have the chance of offending the people with a different viewpoint as me.

It's certainly a controversial topic...

But if you're writing purely to express your opinion and start a conversation, it can't hurt your blog long term.

Lots of people will hate it and tell you so. Lots of people will agree with you. Either way you'll be attracting more of the people who are likely to become your 'tribe' who will continue to come back to your blog and share your content.

If you write just to stir people up, it could well backfire, but I think you already appreciate that.

However, deal with it sensitively and you could well get a huge amount of people sharing your post and going there to debate the topic.

I'd say go for it. Whatever happens, it will ultimately help your blog.

The most well-known bloggers have their own voice and you expressing your opinion can only lead to you creating your own voice.

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Ron Desi

13 years ago

I think if you blog was about political topics, socially controversial topics, a conservative/liberal blog, etc it would be fine. That's the purpose of your blog. But if it's not on topic, I wouldn't do it.

Your's is about IVF, which is related to this topic. If you spoke about it in a very clinical way, presenting the pros/cons/emotions surrounding the decision and not necessarily stating your own personal opinion, then it may work. Perhaps presenting both sides and letting your readers make their own conclusion. That may work.

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sal64

13 years ago

Sadly, you will always get haters in whatever you do. So the big question for you is if you are ready to deal with them.

Dynamite topics can attract some real lunatics.

Sal

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CatK

13 years ago

I'm with Sal. It doesn't matter where or what you are on the internet today, there will always be some rude people, or knockers out there. We can all have our different views, that's okay, but we can also speak to people and comment with respect!

So yes Brit, occasionally I may "ruffle feathers" with my views on my website.

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Malcolm Thomas

13 years ago

I think that you should go ahead and do it. Sometimes creating controversy is a great way to drive traffic to your website. It allows you to stand out from the crowd and create a loyal following. Don't be afraid of controversy.

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Controversial post on my blog???

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