In this post, I’ll be writing about how I manage criticism on the blog and my thoughts on this topic. If you haven’t heard about the Controversed project by Moya, click HERE to read about the project and HERE for more information about Week 4.
I have received criticism regarding my blog, drawings, and cosplays before, but it’s happens once in a blue moon. I get a lot more compliments than criticisms. When I do get criticism, here are some things I think about:
- Did I ask for feedback?
- What is the commenter’s intention? Do they want to help me or are they saying it out of spite?
- Do I agree with what they are saying? Even when I don’t, I still try to see things from their perspective. People’s feedback don’t always align with my goals. On the other hand, when giving feedback, you must consider the individuality of the content creator. Not everyone is going to want to do exactly what you do.
- Is the issue something that’s out of my hands? If there’s nothing I can do about it, then I will just leave it.
- How are they phrasing their words? Are they being clear and specific, or are they so vague that they’re unhelpful? If someone is rude, I will likely ignore them, which goes back to the second point on the commenter’s intention.
I will listen and try to understand why those comments were made, but I will not follow everything. Not going to lie, feedback when I did not ask for it can feel like mansplaining. I think this can be mitigated by the last bullet point on how you phrase your criticism. I’ve found some feedback incredibly helpful, but those were mostly when I asked for feedback.
When it comes to work or academics, I am a lot less critical of feedback. In fact, I often ask for constructive feedback. At work, there is a quality of standard deemed “acceptable” or not. When it comes to my personal blog that I just update for fun, I feel that it’s a lot more subjective.
I rarely criticise others because I feel that I would need to be really knowledgeable or really good at something to do that. When people ask for my feedback, I will let them know my thoughts. However, whether they decide to do something with it is up to them. I will not be upset if someone does not listen to my suggestions.
Wretched and Divine 