Trolls or Zombies - STOP Taking Them On!

by Skip Cohen
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​​It's the slow season regarding incoming business, and many of you are spending more time online. Well, it's  Marketing Monday, and while some of this post is from the SCU archives, everyone needs to pay attention to how to behave in any public forum. The challenge is not taking the bait in any of the battles that land on your Internet doorstep.

When you're hunting elephants, don't get distracted chasing rabbits.
T.Boone Pickens

The written word is the toughest to interpret, especially when English isn't everybody's primary language on social media. Plus, you don't have the benefit of hearing the tone in somebody's voice, seeing their facial expression, and making eye contact. Whatever's been written is left to interpretation. Often, the author is labeled a troll when the issue is about poor communication.

But then there are the real trolls, people who hide behind the anonymity of their computer screens and take shots at everything they can find. From direct issues like photo critiques to industry arguments over A.I. and on to politics, the economy, and the environment - there's no shortage of controversial topics to fight about. But if you take a troll on in a public forum, not only will you lose, but getting a rise out of you is precisely what they're after. You let them win simply by reacting.

Here are a few things to remember the next time you decide to take on an actual troll:

• Unless you know the truth firsthand on any issue, take Abraham Lincoln's advice: 

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet!
​Abraham Lincoln

• There are no erasers on the Internet. Remember, anybody can read what you wrote, and it's pretty much there forever.
• You'll never win in a public forum.
• Stay out of fights that aren't yours. If you need to comment, share something in support of the victim rather than attack the troll.
• Don't write anything you wouldn't want your clients to read!
• When it's personal, rely on your network for support.

 
If you're wondering how in the world did I segue to trolls when it's Marketing Monday. Time is your most valuable commodity, and there's never enough of it. In the same way, you've learned the benefits of getting good images right out of the can, and to avoid wasting valuable time in post-processing, fighting battles with trolls and zombies are the same. Battles on the Internet only serve to drain your creativity and energy!

Don't waste the time you should be using to build your brand. For most of you, YOU are your brand. Don't let a troll occupy your time fighting issues that don't matter.  And when a troll criticizes your photographs in a public forum, remember that line from my old buddy Dean Collins. I've used it dozens of times here in the blog...

Beauty is in the eyes of the checkbook holder!
Dean Collins