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Konquest

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Discussion

ago

How do you deal with negativity as a content creator?

The internet can be a great place to look up information, entertainment and connecting with friends. However, it can also be a vicious and toxic place filled with haters and trolls. As content creators we are putting ourselves out there to the public be it in sharing our views on things, tutorials, tips and other stuff. Thankfully we have JustAbout our safe space on the internet where everyone can just be themselves. My question is, (specifically on youtube) How do you guys generally deal with these kind of things?

As a new content creator I may not have the best ideas of what to do but here is what I would do.

Take the criticism & feedback, reply the comments constructively
In situations where I don't know what to say I would ignore.
If the comment is really bad or obscene I would hide the specific comment from public.

Created at 1:18am, 22nd April, 2024. Page last updated at 2:44pm, 16th May, 2024.

Horror and Cats 4/22/2024, 1:38:37 AM

I think part of my “tism” is that I engage with positive or provocative comments, but negative ones I don’t actually see as real people. It’s hard to explain. If it’s just a rude jerk then I come back with something snarky because subscribers will see it and think it’s funny/respond to MY comment about how it was a good burn. If it’s critical in a way which isn’t productive, I just ignore it.

I do a series about abandonware games and someone put up a comment about how YT had been suggesting it to them for so long they would watch it. Then they commented “I would recommend you add background music.” For one, sound is part of a game and I’m not going to mask it if I’m exploring a vintage game. Two, the first comment acting like an emperor who would DEIGN to watch the video like it’s a favor to me was a turn off. That’s the kind of comment I’ll just let rot.

So far I haven’t deleted any comments because all comments, positive or negative are “engagement.” And if people respond to that negative comment saying they are a doofus, it’s all more engagement for YouTube daddy (me).

One comment I got on a video about black stories in horror being panned, I went into how we should just not respond to hateful comments the video gets. I got a DOOZY of a comment… and I pinned it so everyone would see exactly what I was talking about. The person who made it deleted it lol.

Konquest 4/22/2024, 4:21:26 AM

Horror and Cats

Nice, that's a good take. I know most trolls are probably dealing with problems in their life and taking it out on others, being bitter and hateful. Don't let the haters bring you down.

Sturmer 4/22/2024, 6:14:14 AM

Strategies to Manage and Mitigate Negative Online Interactions:

Engage Constructively: If time allows, engage commenters in a '5-whys' analysis to explore their comments more deeply and potentially uncover genuine feedback.
Acknowledge Politely: Often, simply agreeing with and thanking the commenter can defuse the situation without further engagement.
Changing position: Invite them to explain how they would handle the situation.

Important Note: Always maintain a passive position. Let THEM do the talking. Avoid offering excuses or counterarguments, as these are unlikely to be effective. People often comment to express their egos or to find relief from real-life issues, not necessarily to be convinced. By adopting this approach, you'll find that they either move on to other channels or, surprisingly, might become your most loyal subscribers.

Konquest 4/22/2024, 9:27:57 AM

Sturmer

Yup, that is my point of view as well. No point in fueling the fire in this case.

Sturmer 4/22/2024, 9:32:53 AM

Konquest

Remove any component to stop chain reaction.

Konquest 4/22/2024, 11:15:13 AM

Sturmer

I love this!

Makster 4/22/2024, 6:45:25 AM

Interesting topic OP. I've fallen from the creator space for a long time but I used to write and draw a webcomic in my teen years and obviously I got some flack and criticism. Instead of flaming them back, I took it to heart and tried to pick out the legitimate feedback from the insults. I found that if you engage people positively they will generally respond in kind - afterall, I think the negative comments come from a place of wanting engagement and dialogue. I remember James Stephanie Sterling when she first started The Jimquisition on The Escapist, had really poor feedback but they took the feedback in stride and it made for a better product. You can even take the Sonic movie re-design as an example of negative feedback producing a superior product. Lastly and most importantly, with whatever you make take a page from Anton Ego's book from Ratatouille:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ld9EP5yAX4

But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so

Konquest 4/22/2024, 9:29:55 AM

Makster

Agreed, constructive critism can help in making ourselves better. It's just the trash talk that you have to filter out :P

Prankster101 4/22/2024, 7:47:07 AM

I did this magazine once... Someone on some forum didn't have nice things to say about it... I reacted by responding in kind.

I do the work... I get the recognition.

If someone has a problem with my work, then they should step up and show me how it's done.

That's one of the best things about having my own self-funded blog... I don't need to placate my haters... Because I'm not doing it for the clicks (unlike every other garbage tier media outlet out there).

Konquest 4/22/2024, 9:31:03 AM

Prankster101

Definately, having your own platform you have full control :D

FirestormGamingTeam 4/22/2024, 8:57:07 AM

Here is what I do

If it's constructive criticism, I listen and take it onboard.

If it's just negativity and trolling, I ignore it

Never ever engage with trolls and nasty people, it's what they want, attention.

Content creation requires a thick skin. A very thick one

Konquest 4/22/2024, 9:32:29 AM

FirestormGamingTeam

Yup, I'm learning that now. Good to know I'm on the right track and not doing something I shouldn't be.

FirestormGamingTeam 4/22/2024, 9:43:01 AM

Konquest

Yeah it can be hard, very hard, I've had people tell me to off myself, and make threats, you need to learn to ignore people and focus on what makes you happy.

Konquest 4/22/2024, 9:49:45 AM

FirestormGamingTeam

Man! I feel you, that is harsh. The haters are gonna hate, but that's all they are. Instead of bettering themselves they are trying to bring others down.

MargotCandy 4/22/2024, 10:58:57 AM

thanks for this topic. I’m enjoying reading everyone’s responses.

Here my little story.

Sometimes bad publicity is also just publicity. When I started my pet account I did a reel on Instagram making them a box to dig in using dry rice as suggested by many.

This resulted in the reel causing some outrage that I was wasting food (definitely a good point and I since use playground safe sand instead). But people just kept arguing on my reel without me even engaging and to date (2 years later) it’s my most viewed and engaged post and resulted in gaining 8000 followers.

But I agree that content creators need a thick skin and ignore trolls while engaging with constructive criticism is a good approach.

Konquest 4/22/2024, 11:31:32 AM

MargotCandy

Agreed. I didn’t not expect this kind of response, I thought no one would even care. But despite the comments and I have less than 15 videos this is the first that has over 1k views 😅

MURRRAAAAY 4/22/2024, 12:06:59 PM

As you grow you will get more and more negativity as you reach those types of people (you know who I mean the people in the world that seem to have so little else to do but be keyboard warriors lol), I would say if it’s constructive you can engage if not instantly block the user from your channel and never think about them again as nobody has time for randoms hurling abuse, then get on with making the best content you can.

Konquest 4/22/2024, 1:28:04 PM

MURRRAAAAY

Excellent, good to see that i'm on the same page with everyone else :D if they hating we must be doing something right.

MadamClutter 4/22/2024, 6:35:00 PM

I've been fortunate not to have had too many negative encounters so far. I welcome constructive criticism/respectful feedback. I think it's helpful to get different perspectives to help find ways to improve. If its negative, I think the best thing is to ignore, or simply state that everyone has a right to their opinion. It's very helpful to finfind your support system. Fpr example, on Twitch, I have mods that will be there to back me up if things get hairy. I also love communities like Just About, which are there for us to support one another, give and get advice, and find people that understand what you're going through!

Konquest 4/22/2024, 11:54:28 PM

MadamClutter

Agreed, in a world of negativity it's important to have a strong support community like Just About. I'm ok if its blunt truths or feedback that you can actually improve on, but no need to put others down. I'm still new and I didn't really expect this so soon :) one of my videos 'blew up' on the bright side its got 1.7k views, 16 likes and average of 2+ mins watch time. To date I would say its my most out there video, but i also got 7 dislikes :P that's a first.

Horror and Cats 4/23/2024, 12:37:48 AM

Konquest

I think part of the “dislike” mentality is that regular YT users don’t understand that it doesn’t actually DO anything. They think it’ll affect their recommendations or OTHER peoples’ recommendations. Really the dislike button is vestigial from older YT features.

Konquest 4/23/2024, 12:47:58 AM

Horror and Cats

hehe... yup, i remember reading that somewhere. It's a good thing that it doesn't really affect. Just never expected this reaction. I was expecting that no one would watch my vid at all :P

MadamClutter 4/23/2024, 3:54:37 PM

Konquest

The way I look at it... getting some dislikes in there means you're growing just as much as all those views and likes do! Your perception of it makes a big difference, so keep focusing on the positive and think about it all in terms of interaction!