Let the Trolls Do the Work

Welcome to the 120th edition of “In Touch”. As always, I would love to continue the conversation so please hit reply and let me know what you think.

Story of the Week: “Let the Trolls Do the Work"

Not long ago, my wife Christine, whose expertise lies in corporate HR, set up her own company. Recently, she took another bold step: creating and posting videos online to share her knowledge and insights with others.

The response to her videos has been mostly positive...but not entirely. Two people, hiding behind anonymity, decided to mock her accent. Of course, she did what many of us might do: she deleted their comments and focused on the positive feedback instead.

Later, when she talked to me about them, I told her something that my own experience has shown me time and again: there will always be people out there who, for no logical reason, want to make you feel bad, lose faith in yourself and maybe even stop making videos. But here’s the twist: in their attempt to bring you down, they may be helping you more than they realise.

Algorithms don’t care whether a comment is full of praise or full of sarcasm. They don’t distinguish between love and hate… they only measure engagement. So, when someone leaves a comment, even a negative one, it boosts the visibility of your post. I have seen it happen many times: a video gains traction or even goes viral, not because of universal applause but because of the polarising comments that get people talking. That’s the irony… the people who want to silence you are often the ones giving your message a louder voice.

In fact, the real irony is this: it’s not the haters you should worry about. It’s the silent competitors. I have met some of them: they might bump into me in a coffee shop and say, “Michael, I love your videos.” But, in reality, they’ve never even ‘liked’ one or left a comment, let alone shared it with others.

At least the haters are doing something, even if they don’t know it. So, I say let them make their nasty comments and throw their biased words and extreme opinions around. In other words, let them become the fuel that helps spread your voice and ideas.

Christine, this one’s for you but it’s also for anyone who’s brave enough to put themselves out there and willing to face those invisible enemies. My message to you all is: Don’t give up. Keep showing up. Don’t stop believing in yourself. Keep creating.

Above all, ignore the internet trolls who want to break your spirit. One day, you’ll enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that they not only failed to do so but – irony of ironies – helped you to grow both your confidence and your audience.

Words of Wisdom

“Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember, the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you.” Zig Ziglar

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” Eleanor Roosevelt

“It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.” Benjamin Disraeli

A Question to Ponder, dear friend.

When was the last time you received an unfair or anonymous critique… and how did you turn it into fuel for your growth?