Archives for June 2012

Promote Safe Blogging; Report Blogger Abuse

06/28/2012 By Jayme Soulati

When I write a blog post, I welcome everyone to my house to read, comment, debate, negate, laugh, cajole, banter, and share in the ‘raderie I’ve created in this amazing community.

Everyone regardless of creed, color, age, religion, gender, profession, alien status (Howie!) or other is invited. We carry on in a friendly manner, exchanging hugs and kisses along the way as well as highly professional discourse. Rarely is there an offensive comment in the midst.

Apparently, this is not the norm in some places. A person in this community posted a comment on one of my posts in the last several weeks that made me shudder. She, a Muslem, was called a “terrorist” on someone’s blog she visited and asked never to return. If that’s not enough, the blogger proceeded to attack her blog and make a mess in comments and elsewhere trying to create havoc. Regardless of her experience, she continues to keep a positive attitude with forward momentum.

For anyone who has been the subject of a racist or religious profiling blogger/commenter, I want to apologize to you. I naively write in the comfort of my home and in the company I keep, and I had no earthly clue this was happening. It saddens me to have ignorant people mistreat others and not suffer consequence.

Here are several resources to report such behavior on the blogosphere. If anyone is privy to or the victim of hateful accusations, racism or other ethnic or religious profiling, these organizations share some steps on how to respond. The first step is logical – blacklisting, but there is more recourse:

Report Hate on Social Networking Sites

Youth Web Online

Blogger policy on reporting abuse

Other policies are also available on Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and other sites. Don’t allow a cyber-hate experience to go unnoticed; at least file a report and inform your communities. Get professional counsel on the best way to go about managing the experience, too.

Who might have something to add here? I’m not expert in managing such situations, nor do I have professional training. The resources on the web are slim pickings, too. Share some?

Reading Online Vs. Print Publications

06/27/2012 By Jayme Soulati

When Bacons, now , published its media directories online, I was so accustomed to turning the thin pages of the five green telephone bookish resources that I was forever lost. I needed to skim and scan and quickly flip the dog-eared newsprint with the flick of a licked tall man to make my media list.

Tactile. Tactilization. Tactilness.

I think the latter two mean something like, “I’m so old, I like to physically turn the page.” And, guess, what? That goes the same for my morning paper.

I want to have a coffee and scan the headlines of the every day for blog fodder and client news.

I want to take the entire sheet into my sight line and scan down the page without clicking, scrolling, tapping or sliding pads and mice and pointers and other spongy-tipped gizmos along a colored screen.

I want to recycle the soy-ink, best newsprint for , who uses stacks of wet Wall Street Journals to shape and cool near-liquid glass into paper weights (I made two of them!).

I want to mark up the story I need to read later and tear it out. I want to use it as reference to write a blog post and extrapolate snippets from the story. How can I do that from the iPad when I’m writing on the iPad?

I’m on the computer all day, and when I’m not I’m thinking about being on the computer; I dream of being a computer. I don’t wish to read my media online. Some outlets require that, but I’ll tell you I prefer to see the pretty colored pages with lots of advertising hit my mail box to the kitchen table to the dining room table to the office to the floor of the office and then eventually to the recycle bin. Or, perhaps I share copies of some pieces, like or .

I haven’t counted in awhile, but I subscribe to likely two dozen periodicals; there are stacks and stacks of them all over the office shelves. I could probably keep an art class swimming in collage materials for years. Do not even think of me as a hoarder! That’s not the case; it’s just that I will one day get to my reading and find a gem to inspire my story writing.

Don’t you wonder how I write about such a wide range of topics? I read a wide range of print publications. I am not inspired as much when I read online. I am unfocused; over-stimulated and cannot pay attention to the story and the never-ending clicks that take me deeper with snarky comments from anonymous idiots.

Think about the peacefulness that goes along with reading a publication that smears ink on your sweaty hands? Then compare the experience of reading the same publication online with all the intense distractions targeting your attention.

As long as publishers are foolish enough to offer me a subscription for $10/year, or thereabouts, I’m good to sign on the dotted line and have a hard-copy publication arrive in my mail box.

What’s your practice? Online or print publications?

Thoughts About Women To Watch

06/25/2012 By Jayme Soulati

I eagerly devoured the latest edition of Fast Company with a longer-than-usual perusal of the cover on which are three gorgeous women gracing a headline, “The League of Extraordinary Women.” And, then I began to think about that headline more intently and feel a bit of guilt that I was less than inspired to read that cover story.

Why? I hadn’t thought long enough to come to grips with my reason for discomfort. Then, I switched over to June 18, 2012 Advertising Age, and was shocked with the serendipity of the Viewpoint article written by Linda Sawyer, CEO of Deutsch in re Ad Age’s Women To Watch list. Her thoughts provoked mine to gel more quickly…let me share:

Linda Sawyer of Deutsch said:

“The gender imbalance at the top of the industry might suggest that it’s time to move past citing women’s accomplishments in terms of how they stack up against each other, and solely in terms of how they stack up.

Linda is an avid reader and fan of Ad Age (and alumna of the Women To Watch list in 2000), and she felt compelled to question the Women to Watch feature and its relevance. She realizes that “lauding the accomplishments of star talent is beneficial, but perhaps we have to entertain the possibility that any type of segmentation of talent unduly diminishes that group to a subsegment.”

I pondered what she said, a lauded and laudable woman executive in the advertising profession…and I came to this conclusion of my own:

I am not diminishing the amazing talent and inspirational accomplishments of the 60 women featured in Fast Company or those featured annually by Ad Age, either. Where I’m coming from is how to parlay these stories to a level in business that is far diminished from them and their levels in business. Fortune companies, celebrities and well-to-do philanthropists with the ability to make a tremendous difference across the globe with their earnings have a bit of an edge over women in business who strive daily to achieve success, raise families and improve themselves professionally while paying it forward.

I am inspired with the stories I read, and then I’m immediately realistic — I can never make a widespread impact like they can. My accomplishments pale in comparison; I am relegated to my wee corner to manage my business, build my future and raise my child. Would that I could make such a difference on such a grand scale…but, should I pine for that when I know very well I am in this place for a purpose?

Thoughts about women in business, achievement, and always keeping your purpose alive in spite of others’ accomplishments right next door…? I’m still thinking on this one.

How Do You Manage Negative Blog Comments?

06/18/2012 By Jayme Soulati

This post originally appeared at New England Multimedia on April 19, 2012.

How can you handle conflict while keeping your cool? Michelle Quillin invited me to share how I manage negative blog comments because she believes I do it differently than others. She ought to know, as I’ve never met a woman other than Michelle who reads and supports so many bloggers. She hears voice, knows style, understands professionalism, and is thoughtful in her own blog comments always bringing different insight on a topic.

Apparently, I stick my neck out when I write. I push the envelope of what’s tried and true and thought to be consensus. I like to poke a hole in someone’s opinion and rabble rouse a bit. I think they call me a bit of rebel.

I shoot from the hip more often than not; my opinions are validated from many sources that gel into the writing. I don’t take valuable time to fact find ad nauseum to write the best, most accurate blog post. If I was publishing a daily newspaper, I would take that approach, don’t get me wrong!

So…I’m getting to my point, promise…when you write as I do explained a bit as above, there are bound to be contrary comments. When I’ve been published on a national level, those comments come fast and furious from people who are total strangers to me and usually writing anonymously. I dread those retorts and experience a range of emotion as a result. Regardless, I have to respond for the benefit of others reading and to also defend myself!

Handling Negative Comments

These tips I offer on how to handle negative comments in your community are true and tried. I’ve been in the hot seat (not always) enough to have developed something that works. It took time, mind you! The first time I fielded a negative comment, I nearly collapsed with angst and ended up letting that anonymous person dictate my control in my house. No more! Perhaps these will help you when (because it will happen) you experience a detraction:

1. Never respond immediately. Let that comment sit there until you catch your breath.

2. Be calm because that emotion will direct your writing.

3. Accept all comments regardless of how they’re written. Thank the writer anyway in spite of the tone of his/her comment.

4. Direct people to your blog’s comment policy. If you don’t have one, you should reference the unspoken rule every blogger has calling for collegiality.

5. From your dashboard, locate the url/email from where the commenter wrote. While that may not be the true identity of the writer, you can tap that information and use it in your reply.

6. There are other ways to check identity of commenters and you can do that by the internet protocol or IP address. You can also Google the exact comment to see if it’s spam. Whois provides identity for domain owners, too.

7. When replying, never address the negative points. Skirt them at all costs. If the comment is so highly offensive, delete it! It’s your house, after all!

8. Invite the commenter to write a guest post and express his/her views.

9. Ask your community for support or send a direct message on the Interwebz calling for people to come to your rescue.

10. Most of all learn from the comment. If you’ve done it really well, ahem, you may get more disagreement than just one comment. Rather than being defensive, stop and think how your post was written and regarded by the readers. In your responses, be appreciative, courteous and take something away from the entire experience.

What experiences can you share about negativity at your house in comments?

Soulati-'TUDE!

Archives for June 2012