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Yesterday, I asked for people’s opinions on unpaid internships after discovering that some are considered illegal. On my last blog, I wrote about whether or not interns should be required to fetch coffee. I’ve also written about what Gen Y seeks in the workplace and how recruiters use Facebook.
I wanted to start a conversation about these subjects to hear the viewpoints of students and employers. I often recieve great feedback from my peers for starting the conversation, but it’s scary to consider what the repercussions might be for my blogging.
With my name tied to each post I write, I try to be careful about what I write. I don’t write about my personal life, but I do write about things that affect myself and others in the workplace. Some of these subjects might come off wrong to certain people though.
For example, an employer might see me as saying I would never do an unpaid internship or get coffee for the office. This isn’t the case. I’ve done both before and neither were bad experiences.
Controversial posts receive the most traffic and retweets. But, sometimes I wonder what the risk is for posting them.
Has anyone ever suffered negative repercussions for a controversial post? Or, has anyone had a good result from a controversial post?
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Comments
11.19.09
I try to play it safe too, but when I've written what I thought were controversial posts--most recently, one asserting that the phrase "social impact" is nothing but jargon--I've gotten only good feedback, including having them mentioned in a Chronicle of Philanthropy blog. In contrast, virtually no one reads the "safe" posts. They generate no conversation.
Have you gotten negative feedback from some of your posts already, or are you just bracing yourself for it?
11.19.09
Elizabeth,
I am mostly bracing myself. The coffee post, which was featured on Brazen, did get some not-so-positive comments. But, you are totally right: no one reads a safe post. Thanks for the comment and for reading!
11.19.09
A few months ago, I made a negative remark about a particular campaign and company. Not ten minutes after I hit "post," my supervisor at the time pinged me to let me know that the object of my critique was a client. It was certainly a wake-up call, and now I am very careful about qualifying every statement I make on my blog. I am not going to stop sharing my opinions, but I try to be very aware of how I share them.
11.20.09
My whole blog is kind of controversial in that is paints the picture of someome recovering from disordered eating issues ... a taboo subject at best and not something I'd want the world knowing about ... but once I began blogging and realized just how many people I could help through my honesty ... I put the fears of controvery aside. I also blog at WeAretheRealDeal and we're always being flamed for controversial posts and/or comments ... but to me, it's part of being authentic.
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