I hate 98% of opinion posts.
I rarely write opinion posts because they are the blogging equivalent of smoking weed. Like weed, they seem harmless, but after a while, they make you lazy, dumb, and boring.
The real problem is that it takes a great deal of skill to write a credible and logical opinion post.
Genuine opinion posts are constructed with extreme care and attention to detail. Like a star litigator, opinion writers tie solid logic, penetrating insight, and chutzpah together to deliver a belief-changing perspective. Anything less is just an adult temper tantrum.
Now, I happen to love the 2% of opinion posts that are written by true masters of the art. These writers are soaked in expertise, real-world experience, impeccable logic, and fascinating insights.
In my experience, it seems like these bloggers write facts first and opinions last. If you check their archives, you’ll find that the majority of their posts are practical-expertise honing pieces; they’ve only recently started writing opinions. It took them a while to get a handle on their topic. Excellent.
If you feel compelled to write an opinion post, here are some of the more irritating sins. Use this checklist to make sure you don’t end up looking like an idiot or, worse, contributing to the echo chamber.
Arguing the Obvious
An example: “Twitter isn’t the end-all of social media.”
This is a safe and apparent proclamation that will be almost always true. You can substitute Twitter for any noun, and you’ll have a winner. You get no cool points for this. It’s especially sickening when the author prances around with the obvious as if they are a thought leader.
Highlighting the Ridiculous Extreme
Another example…
I often say that modeling top performers is a great strategy.
Within 24 hours, like clockwork, someone will assert that slavishly copying top performers is a horrible strategy. That’s true, but that’s not what I said. Embellishing someone else’s premise to make your point doesn’t make any sense. If you can’t argue the merits of the thought as it is, then you probably shouldn’t write anything at all.
Ad Hominem Arguments
Ad hominem arguments are a logical slip-up in which one attacks the person and not the idea.
Chris Brogan gets this a lot. People attack his motives without analyzing the merit of his ideas. Ad hominem arguments are hard to resist, because they often get a reaction and start a fight, thereby increasing traffic. However, in the end, you just look like a bone-headed jackass. That’s not an ad hominem argument – just a fact.
Focus Group of One / Overgeneralization
My favorite. Basically, the opinion blogger makes a proclamation based on narrow personal experience.
“Google Plus sucks because it only allows 5,000 people in a circle.”
“Starbucks sucks, because it doesn’t have chocolate chai latte,” and other nonsense.
You are entitled to your opinion, but be careful about banking on its ‘universal’ application.
The Thought Follower
The Google Plus conversation has put the spotlight on the latest opinion post sin – being a thought follower. Thought followers love to bash the thought leaders.
Their entire premise is based on a simplistic and not particularly original notion – the thought leader could be wrong. Now, they would be interesting if they said that the prevailing wisdom was wrong and made their case.
However, 99% of thought followers really agree with the thought leaders. They just wanted a contrary lead paragraph to grab eyeballs. Simply saying that Google Plus pundits are short sighted because they are too hasty in proclaiming Pluses benefits isn’t an original argument. It’s obvious and boring. Try again.
If the Shoe Fits Analysis
This could also be called the “Opinion Drive-by.” In this opinion post, the writer implicates an individual or group in wrongdoing. They paint a horrible picture of their motives and actions. The crimes are so socially heinous that the reader immediately swears off the behavior and rushes to comment and separate themselves from the wrongdoers. Disgusting.
The writer has disingenuously created a straw man, a boogie man that can’t defend himself. They can build this straw man into the perfect villain without repercussions. With their straw man built, they piously hand down their opinions without threat of reprisal. What makes this opinion sin so abhorrent is that if you protest, you are assumed to be the guilty party. “If the shoe fits….”
Be Careful
Call a rant a rant. Don’t try to pass off an ill-conceived rant as opinion piece. I often use the Washington Post’s Op-Ed section as a litmus test. If my opinion post could live there, then I post it to the blog. As you can see, not many posts carry that authority. Many times, you’ll be better off educating your reader on “how to” versus arguing the negative.
Am I off base here? Have you been tempted by the rant masquerading as an opinion post?
About Stanford
Great post. Informative, useful and well, made me realise about what I post on my blog!
Ouch! I know I get caught up in arguing the obvious, too often. Always love reading your tips, as it gives me brain food to chew on for a while.
I rarely, if ever, find any use of reading rants. I realize every once in a blue moon they are called for. But, it’s such a rarity that I tend to skim past any blog posts that lead to ranting. Espeically if it happens frequently with a particular blog.
@jessievaz12 @Wittlake Jessica thanks for your honest comment.
I think its great that you came to this post at the beginning of your blogging career! Here’s why…
Your readers and you will get the most out of solid, practical how-to and review posts that deliver information they can use to solve their problems. These posts are harder to write but they will grow your readership super quick.
On the other hand, opinion posts are easy to write but are trickier to pull off without offending some or all of your audience (just look at this post!).
I understand that you are blogging for personal reasons. That’s cool. In this case, my perspective doesn’t apply. Write your heart out.
Just a quick clarification – I am telling people to ignore bloggers who write poorly written blog posts. In my post I outline the signs of a poorly written post. Thoughtful (meaning well written and researched) posts should be devoured and shared.
As for cutting you some slack… Well the blog is called Pushing Social
I tend to be a little harder on my readers than most. But, I’m always here to clarify if I push a little too far.
Thanks for this interesting post. I came to it because I am quite new to the whole blogging experience and thought that I should read this to find out what not to do. Unfortunately, it has really scared me off. I don’t think that was your intention, however, it is a side effect to what you have written. I will be the first to admit that I may not have the honed argumentative skills as a litigator but I do have a perspective and a point of view when I write. I am 100% behind @Wittlake when he mentioned that there are other reasons people write besides moving knowledge forward or exercising their opinion in the form of a rant. I am learning to blog because it helps me clarify and solidify my personal experiences and beliefs. While I would be flattered if my opinions helped others in their reflective journey, it is not the primary reason I am starting a blog. I am disheartened that someone with some klout such as you has now given your 400+ followers the OK to ignore the majority of bloggers like me who are writing thoughtful, yet opinionated, posts as part of their professional practice. You, and many of the other thought leaders out there, started small too. Perhaps you could cut some of us a little slack and encourage others to believe that 10% of blogs with opinions are worthwhile!
I would like to end by thanking you for the tips, while I am now feeling tentative, I have a clearer picture of what a “good” blog post with an opinion is like.
@stevesonn Glad you stopped by… I would be worried if you agreed with everything I said. Let me clarify a couple of points:
1. I am not arguing for stringent objectivity. Quite the opposite, I believe that a person should have a strong stance and clearly articulate it. However, I am arguing that the writer should not commit obvious logic errors while doing so.
2. I am all for great opinion posts from everyone. The problem is that most posts aren’t intelligent, perspective-widening pieces. Instead they are narrow, flaw-ridden rants.
Which gets me to your core point – what is the difference between an opinion post and a rant.
IMO
An opinion post is focused on widening the experience and knowledge of the reader. It supports opinion with new information, data and insight.
A rant is focused on the writer. They have something to get off their chest. They get points for being edgy, witty, and sarcastic. Facts, evidence and data gets lost in the rush to publish. Rant writers often apologize in the first paragraph for their rant. Why? Because they know that the post will fall short of the normal rigor they normally observe.
You shouldn’t dismiss 98% of opinion posts. But I do
The 2% I do come across are pure gold. For example – take a look at Mitch Joel’s Being a Twitter Snob is a Good Thing – http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/being-a-twitter-snob-is-a-good-thing/
- His perspective is well-thought out and original
- He doesn’t personally attack someone else to assert his idea
- His adds to the debate by referencing other work (not just his own)
I walk away from this post with a new viewpoint and new information.
Make sense?
By the way, I don’t subscribe to having an open-mind to stuff that is plain wrong, boring, or ill-conceived. It’s just a waste of time. Guess, I’m a social heretic. But I like how you think, so keep coming back!
Love your blog, but not sure I agree with the thoughts in this post. It’s difficult for most people, even journalists, not to create something without their opinion coming through somewhere, no matter how objective they try to be. Even a how to post/article contains opinion. Let’s face it, there’s not a whole lot out there that hasn’t been talked about somewhere at some point. Frankly, that’s one of the great things about social media, that more people can share their opinions. If we’re going to reserve opinions for only “thought-leaders” we might as well simply go back to the days of media controlled content. I’m not sure even how a thought-leader is defined. Your opinion there may be different than mine.
I’m also a little unclear as to the difference between a rant and an opinion post. It seems as if a person is not pre-identified as a thought-leader, they are under immediate suspicion for posting a rant. In reality that person could have a perfectly legitimate and valuable opinion.
I think the key really is too evaluate it on a case-by-case basis. I would not say that we should dismiss 98% of opinion posts. I’ve come across great opinions from people online that I’m sure were not considered thought leaders. Just today, I wrote a post that would be considered an opinion post that offered a very different opinion of what a very influencial marketing and PR blogger recently wrote. I didn’t mention him by name or misrepresent his argument, but simply put his opinion out there and explain how and why I disagreed. If that would make someone a “thought follower” so be it, but I still feel the thought leader was wrong in what he wrote.
I do totally agree with you on the point that we need to be very careful and clearly make our arguments. Some people are better at that than others. It is our job, as digital consumers, to sort out the good from the bad and the truth from the fiction.
Thanks for writing this post nonetheless. It’s a good reminder that we need discernment when surfing the web. Hopefully, we can do it with an open mind to others opinions.
Love your blog, but not sure I agree with the thoughts in this post. It’s difficult for most people, even journalists, not to create something without their opinion coming through somewhere, no matter objective they try to be. Even a how to post/article contains opinion. Let’s face it, there’s not a whole lot out there that hasn’t been talked somewhere at some point. Frankly, that’s one of the great things about social media, that more people can share their opinions. If we’re going to reserve opinions for only “thought-leaders” we might as well simply go back to the days media controlled content. I’m not sure even how a thought-leader is defined. Your opinion there may be different than mine.
I’m also a little unclear as to the difference between a rant and an opinion post. It seems as if a person is not pre-identified as a thought-leader, they are under immediate suspicion for posting a rant. In reality that person could have a perfectly legitimate and valuable opinion.
I think the key really is too evaluate it on a case-by-case basis. I would not say that we should dismiss 98% of opinion posts. I’ve come across great opinions from people online that I’m sure where not considered thought leader. Just today, I wrote a post that would be considered an opinion post that offered a very different opinion of what a very influencial marketing and PR blogger recently wrote. I didn’t mention him by name or misrepresent his argument, but simply put his opinion out there and explain how and why I disagreed. If that would make someone a “thought follower” so be it, but I still feel the thought leader was wrong in what he wrote.
I do totally agree with you on the point that we need to be very careful and clearly make our arguments. Some people are better at that than others. It our job, as digital consumers, to sort out the good from the bad and the truth from the fiction.
Thanks for writing this post nonetheless. It’s a good reminder that we need to discernment when surfing the web. Hopefully, we can do it with an open mind to others opinions.
Stanford:
Love this post. Found your blog via markwschaefer.
As you wrote, “it takes a great deal of skill to write a credible and logical opinion post.” i’d add that it takes a great deal of skill to write a credible and logical post of any kind – that also adds value in some meaningful way.
Clever that you compared the writing exercise to a litgator’s tight logic. I used to be a litigator. Logic had to be tight, or it lost. In the bloggosphere, that’s not often the case. There’s a lot of loose logic out there that wins big, in terns of numbers, anyway.
I suppose it’s a question of substance and sustainability. One thing I find it useful to ask sometimes is: “Does this [whatever it is] have intrinsic value that can sustain itself on its own, independent of things that seem to matter so much now (like Twitter and Klout scores)?
Well done. Good thoughts, very well presented.
Susan
Indeed! It takes time, creativity and effort to pay attention, be original, and make a difference with words. As Whittlake implies, people are posting for other reasons than to contribute to the conversation or forward knowledge.
….And these people make my blood boil. Their motives leads to post that are sensational but ultimately empty.
A rant is a rant, but often there is a nugget of truth in it. Likewise, unless you are reporting with no perspective, blogs will reflect your opinion. My underlying view, that marketing was once able to win by pulling the wool over the eyes of the audience more effectively than the next marketer, but marketers can’t compete on that basis any longer, is (in my opinion) arguing the obvious. Yet it is an obvious that seems to so often be missed in actual marketing practice.
So where do you draw the line? A lot of it comes down to your purpose. If my primary goal was traffic, I would post headlines like “The 7 Step Plan to Dominance with Content Marketing”. But my goal is improving my knowledge, building new relationships, and improving my business relationships by allowing those I work with to understand my POV (and the difference with the few vendors who have taken a couple minutes on my blog before calling me has been tremendous).
Here is an example of an opinion post. It generated discussion. It has my point of view. But at the end of the day (as you can see from the comments) there are smart people that both agree and disagree with my opinion. http://digitalb2b.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/five-reasons-lead-generation-is-on-its-last-legs/
Now, I would love to hear your opinion, as a blogger that is only ~5 months into this exercise, I would welcome your opinion.
– @wittlake
Lots of great stuff in that comment! Thank you for leaving it.
A couple of thoughts:
1. My main problem with Opinion posts is that you have to hunt for the nugget of truth. It also concerns me that only a “nugget” of truth is available. Why not more?
2. The fact that many blog writers are defaulting to opinion pieces is a problem. A good blogger is an experimenter, investigative reporter, synthesizer of new information, and an explorer. Any blogger that takes these roles to heart expand their post repertoire. The experimenter presents results, the reporter presents a new perspective/story that others hadn’t notices, a synthesizer helps connect the dots and create new disciplines, the explorer creates new opportunities. These roles require the blogger to go out and get some real perspective rather than fabricating it from their recliner.
3. You are right; your purpose is key to the type of content you produce. I would also add that your base of experience is also critical. In order to be successful at building knowledge and relationships you have to offer substantive facts, unique and new material that makes your audience sit-up straight and re-read your post.
But here’s the kicker – as a 5 month young blogger
You’ll grow your blog much faster as a experimenter, synthesize, reporter, or architect then you ever will as a opinion-leader. If for no other reason that the space is already taken!