Draining Day
May 22nd, 2008
I have just had one of the most emotionally draining days in a very long time. Which is surprising, given that it’s over something as trivial as a blog post.
What happened? Well, I put out a post that was poorly worded. Someone (at work) took exception. I was told about this, took a long hard look at what I said, realized it could very easily be taken in the wrong way (and was), and so posted a retraction, explaining why. And now I’ve been told several times that the retraction looks like I’ve sold out, and that I’m subversively blaming my company for censoring me. That it looks like someone came down on me with a hammer, and/or that the entire exchange sounded insincere.
None of these are true. No hammers, no coercions, no subversion, no lack of sincerity on my part either. Simply one person’s (well, ok-several persons’) hurt feelings and my attempt to make amends. And apparently, I failed so completely that I looked like a vindictive little prat.
So now I don’t just have the original offense to apologize for, I also have to backpedal on the retraction. And short of pulling the original two posts (which I did) I can’t figure out how.
You don’t need to backpedal. It’s your blog. You posted, you took down. You don’t need to explain anything to anyone. As for “selling out”… well, you’re not an indie rocker bowing to the man. We’re already getting paid by the man (or, in our case, the women). You posted, it was not received as you intended, so you took down. I don’t even think you needed to “retract” to the extent that you had to post about why the post was taken down. That’s the joy of the “delete” button…. “post, what post?”
Sometimes, there’s nothing that you can do. It sucks, but there it is. The intertubes have no way of conveying tone of voice, and nuance can easily be lost. That’s all.
As for selling out - remember, you’re being paid well for it.
The haters are just jealous.
I don’t see need for retraction either. Shame such a small thing becomes so large. In my opinion, it wasn’t that you shouldn’t share your opinions–isn’t that the point–but more about making it right. Meaning, what could have been done over the past few days that would have made your experience better? What should be done next time from the start? It’s customer service. No one wants to lose a brand fan (paid or unpaid) over something unintentional, that could ultimately be made right. It’s about bring proactive next time.
As for selling out, that’s hardly true. Like Andrea says, you don’t have to explain your deletion to anyone.
Guess the same tone issues we’ve all had with email from time to time apply equally to blog posts. Misinterpretation happens all too easily!
I don’t like the word sellout, cause that definitely ain’t you. I would use the word compassionate instead. I just think that the HIPPOs need to stay completely out of it. If anyone has issues with what you are saying, tellem to start their own blog and write the retraction themselves. BOOM!
das genau ist es was mich am blog stoert; es ist eine Gratwanderung. und bei diesem betreffenden blog wollte ich dich eigentlich anrufen und dir sagen dass die Betreffenden es missverstehen können. Also mein Rat ist blogge nichts ueber die Firma; Freizeit Reisen o.k.
bevor du es ins Netz stellst
oder stelle mich als Zensur fuer Feingefuehl an