When thinking about some of the biggest blog fights this year, it was semi-amusing to think that some of them were a blogger vs. a non-blogger. Yet it generated much ado about nothing throughout the blogosphere.
Some of the top blog fights this year:
Jared Leto vs. ALL of the blogosphere, but mainly his "handling" of Stereogum at the MTV Woodies. Some great places to read about this actor-turned-musician vs. the blogosphere are: VH1's Best Week Ever, The Feed and Gawker.
If you are not familiar with who Jared Leto is, you must have been in a coma throughout the 90s. He, of course, played iconic Jordan Catalano on My So-Called Life and went on to act in the films American Psycho, Alexander, and Requiem for a Dream, to name a few. Leto is now a muscian and frontman for 30 Seconds to Mars. Stereogum, one of the web's best-run music sites, is headed by Scott Lapatine.
When Stereogum decided to approach Leto at the MTV Woodies and film him explaining why he hated bloggers, Leto decided to get physical, which led security to remove Stereogum from the event. This ensued a Battle Royale in the blogosphere. I guess some celebrities don't quite get that they can't control the opinions of others.
Leto: 0 Stereogum: 1
Wonkette vs. Michelle Malkin. Wonkette is a D.C. gossip and satire blog. Malkin is an author, blogger, columnist and conservative political commentator. The fight began when Wonkette wrote a post that also included a photo found on Flickr of a college-aged Malkin doing her imitation of the typical "Girls Gone Wild" exposure in her bikini. While Malkin denied the photo was truly her, it's hard to ignore that it definitely appears to be. Didn't we all do stupid things in our youth, after all? It appears there is no love lost between Wonkette and Michelle.
Wonkette: 1 Malkin: 0
Joey Sweeney vs. Jonathan Valania. When Sweeney and Valania ended their blogationship, it started such a battle of the blogs that even Gawker took notice. Both Sweeney and Valania were writers for the Philadelphia Daily News and had a blogationship on Philebrity. Valania was suddenly "let go" without further explaination to the readers, which created speculation, and soon Valania re-emerged with Phawker. Readers took sides and the battle ensues. This one remains a tie.
Sweeney: 0 Valania: 0
Know of a good blog fight? Let us know in the comments!
Cause For Most Fights and conflict resolution:
Ratings, Attention & Hits:
Everyone knows can get more coverage be staging (or provoking) blog fights. Bloggers are hungry for attention (ratings) and everyone wants to be the star, gain more hits, and be the center of “breaking news." Unfortunately not all Bloggers are responsible for “staged fights” and haven't been trained to fact check, or to alert the person or company in question about a post to get their comment, or alert them to a problem they may not even be aware of.
I'm not saying you shouldn't be able to say whatever you want. Just realize your audience will be limited to your girlfriends and buddies, and more doors may have closed then they are opened for you. This is especially true if you’re Blogging professionally and want a career in Blogging.
Miscommunication:
Again, it goes back to basic Journalism rules. If you want to be treated with respect and taken seriously (beyond the circle of your loyal friends), you need to demonstrate professionalism. I had one well know Beauty Blogger tell me a year ago that she would not put a corresponding link to my blog because she considered me an amateur and I did not have a quality blog. She obviously considered herself too professional and above me. This same Blogger has a history of ranting, miscommunication and not acting professional. I know that some Industry leaders who now will not go near this Blogger. The point is, blog posts are hard to interpret and sometimes your tone may come across different than you intended in the first place. Phone calls and follow up before posts is the best way to get the real story and real solutions.
Opposing points of view:
There are some of us who can respectfully disagree and then there are those who just don’t. The best way to start a blog fight is to publicly blast someone else’s opinion or point of view. Many times this begins in a Blogger’s comment section and then becomes the object of posts among Bloggers. I unfortunately made the mistake of showing my surprise to another’s Blogger’s childcare decision, not realizing my tone or how they would interpret my comment. It then got taken up in a post by that Blogger and she no longer would speak to me. There are ways to respectfully disagree with a Blogger without causing a war. Always remember all of the other readers who see what you have to say, that can take issue with it, and your comment you felt was just a simple disagreement can become a war.
Choose to either email the Blogger directly and re-read and re-read again what you wrote to make sure you are wording it with a tone of respectful disagreement or do the same in the comments section to generate discussion, not verbal bashing.
The best thing you can do above all else when things get out of hand: simply apologize. It may be the hardest two words you have to say when you swallow your pride, but it can also avoid a lot of verbal whiplash that may come back to haunt you.
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