At least it seems that way.
On Sunday, I wrote a post listing 10 things I hate about Vancouver. Having been born and raised in this city, it’s easy to pick out countless items to dislike about my hometown, but I narrowed it down to ten things that stuck out most prominently in my mind. And then it started to pick up steam.
The post was included in a speedlink from Beyond Robson and then it got picked up on StumbleUpon late yesterday. There hasn’t been a huge flood of traffic, but the post has certainly been more popular than many other posts that I have written on Beyond the Rhetoric. It’s been way more popular than the post I wrote on why I love Vancouver. The “hate” post is getting more comments and eliciting more emotion from readers.
This wasn’t really the original intention. Instead, I just wanted to present a sense of balance, because there’s no way that I love everything about Vancouver. After all, I talk a lot about balance, whether it be the life-work balance or finding the balance between success and happiness. By showing both sides of the equation, readers are better equipped to make their own decisions.
Now, it’s probably not a good idea to write a “negative” post just because you feel like writing a negative post, but it seems that they are more likely to grab the attention of readers than posts that are more conventional and more positive. It’s also important that your post doesn’t come off sounding just like a rant. A coherent, organized argument is ultimately much more effective than an emotion-filled rant.
Whatever the case, have you experienced a similar phenomenon on your blog?
Yes, I had a lot of response to my ‘negative’ comments about Google, it became my #1 article last year…
But I don’t like to feed negative energy though there seems to be a large audience for it.
Kenneth
PS How can I get that little cloud before the comment link on the blog? Is that Haloscan and Blog template?
What cloud?
I was unaware, I’ve changed it to accommodate your bandwith.
Actually you are right. Whenever I write something negative, or something that contradicts to other people’s opinions, they are likely to speak up. People feel very strongly about their own opinions (and they should be)!! When I write something just general, or just common, they’ll look at it and go “oh yeah, read that before” or just nod their heads and move on.
Funny isn’t it?
This is extremely true, though a lot of people don’t have the stomach for it. Even if you’re doing it more for attention than anything, it can be tough to stomach the kind of rude comments that some people make.