Don’t Block That Goofball on FriendFeed
July 16th, 2008 | by ScottIt appears that you're new here, if you like what you read, please subscribe to the news feed or sign up for the Leap eTips news and updates email list. Thank you for visiting :)
A friend of mine was just telling me about how many “goofballs” she’s blocked at FriendFeed because they post what she deems to be silly or insane comments to her remarks.
That’s all well and good if FriendFeed is a purely social venue for you, who wants to hang out with goofballs after all?
But, if you’re like my friend and do business on the web, and it doesn’t matter if you make products, sell products, or self-promote your services as an expert/consultant/etc. then blocking people seems like a stupid idea in my opinion.
Those “goofballs”, no matter how silly or insane their comments may seem at times, represent a portion of the audience or marketplace you’re always talking to, so listening is just polite and getting their input and gaining perspective on why they may view certain topics in certain ways (even if you disagree or think they’re nuts) is valuable data. If you block them you lose that.
To me, social venues like FriendFeed, Twitter and the like are fun and informative. I don’t just view them as tools for my business efforts because they’re not and that would be missing the big picture, but I also don’t overlook them as resources for my business either. And by resources I mean from seeing what people of all different perspectives have to say on various topics I gain insights and understandings that can be helpful to me.
So, don’t be so quick to block that next goofball, (s)he may be your next potential employer or customer.
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