Your Opinion Matters! (To Whom?)

“People with tattoos on their eyelids are insane!”

Says who? With the advent of the web, people are climbing on their virtual soapboxes and proclaiming everything from why a particular candidate sucks to why their football team is going to win it all!  Opinion, it appears, is the new drug of the 21st century.

In my previous article, I was explaining that in social media, people follow others for 3 main reasons: Information, Help and Entertainment.  But it was pointed out that Help is actually a subset of information and that the third category should be opinion.

So Let Us Examine Opinion

We can classifiy opinion as the beliefs of an individual on the basis of politics, religion, sports and really any topic that can have differing points of contention.

Look at science! We have two opposing viewpoints on the issue of global warming.  Scientists on both sides of the problem are pointing at the same data and saying that it proves their stance.  I wish they would make up their minds… I am freezing here in Florida!

Social Networks Are Good If You Are Opinionated?

Not likely. Think back to the year leading to the election of President Obama.  The opinion on twitter was shooting fast and furious in all directions.  People were aligning themselves with the people who most fit their point of view and bashed those with differing viewpoints.  I still have people who will not follow me because I disagreed with their strong statements publicly.

Yet I consider myself a moderate. But the opinion on both sides of me were over the top in many instances and I could not agree with some of the more polarizing statements. Should I have kept my mouth shut?  Probably, but why should voicing your opinion be necessary, while I should keep mine quiet because I don’t agree with you?

How Opinion Fits Into Social Media

First, you should follow those who agree with your personal mission statement.  If you do not have one, you should read “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey.  You really cannot make effective decisions without having a mission in life.

Second, you should make friends with those who disagree with you.  You can’t go through life with animosity towards people who disagree with you.  People have enough stress in one day, without having to worry about what the enemy is doing.  Make friends with the enemy and you will always know what they are up to.

Third, avoid polarizing topics of conversation, unless you are only surrounded by those who are of like mind.  Think about it.  Do you want to be the only Cardinals fan in the stadium surrounded by 70,000 Steelers fans?  How vocal would you be in that situation? How would it feel to be the only one in a group with that opinion?

If we go around bashing the opposition in battles of words, we are showing a side of us that is not very nice.  If we are looking to build relationships, do we do so by tearing down others?

In my opinion, bashers are the bullies of the philosophical world.  They feel that their opinion is the only one worth having, and anyone with differing views are inferior.  So if you don’t agree with me here, you know where the little [X] is in the upper right corner of the page, right?

Just Kidding! Gosh, Take A Deep Breath!

Social Networks like Myspace and Facebook don’t want you to suppress your opinions, that is why they have groups and fan pages for you to hang with people with your viewpoints.  In those locations you can be free to express yourself with your views among like minded people.

Don’t forget, however, that your views will be out there for the world to see, including reporters, prospective employers, potential customers and potential partners.  If you speak too strongly or say things that are way out there on the fringe (right or left), you could alienate a lot of people!

Unless your product or service is only good for people with your particular point of view, it is not a good thing to polarize your audience!

Your Blog – Freedom Of  Speech?

When you take your opinion to your blog, you will develop a following.  It will be a group of people who are in agreement with you, undecided people and those with opposing viewpoints who want to pick apart your views.  This is where having a polarizing message is good.

The more people have something to say about your topic – either for or against – is good for business because you will get traffic as people tell their friends about your message and urge them to come tell you what they think.

Conflict Of Interest

In reading this post, you may feel that I am telling you two differing opinions.  And I probably am, because if you are a genuine person, you probably ride the line between the two.  People who interact socially are usually going from one extreme to the other.  Sometimes you are talking with people and agreeing and other times you respectfully disagree.

The same is true with your blog and social networking. You shouldn’t ever cross the line of demeaning people because of their beliefs.  Even if they believe that little green men are taking over our government, they are people (while very odd ones) who should be respected.  You simply tell them why you do not agree with their position and leave it at that.

Since you do have an opinion and it does matter to you, you should share it.  Take advantage of everything the web has to offer and find like minded people to discuss things in a civilized manner.  If you treat people with respect, you are more likely to win people over with your logic than you would baffling them with your bull****.

And, no, it is never alright to push someone’s face in it! No matter how obnoxious they are!