Opinions Are Like …. [How to Deal When Someone Disagrees with You on the Internet]

There has been a disturbance in the Force.

Earlier this week, popular advertising platform Passionfruit Ads announced a new pricing model. Instead of paying $1 per ad and offering free ad swaps, they were now going to charge $9 per month, or a $50 annual flat rate for current customers.

Oh, the feels. So many feels. Some people were angry, some people were happy, some people (like me) were disappointed. Yes, all good things must come to an end and I totally understand why Passionfruit needs to charge. But I am just a tiny blog and I don’t sell a lot of ads, so paying $50 a year for their service just isn’t a smart move for me. That’s okay. I will find another ad service or just manage it on my own. No hard feelings.

(As an aside, this post is not meant to be an endorsement or objection to Passionfruit, a service I am currently using and haven’t 100% decided if I will continue with them once the fees go into place in September.)

Yesterday, on Twitter, Passionfruit asked for opinions on their new pricing system. Foolishly, I gave them mine. I told them the new model just doesn’t work for me and I preferred the flat rate or a percentage fee (kind of like Paypal). Again, I totally understand the need for the fee and no hard feelings. It’s just business.

Silly, silly Mindy. Soon I was bombarded with tweets about how wrong I was. Boooo, your opinion is different than mine. Booooo, your thoughts are illogical to me. Boooo!

In real life and on the internet, I am not one for confrontation. I believe what I believe and I strongly believe everyone has a right to believe what they believe, based on their own life experiences and position in the world.  Of course I have strong convictions and topics I am very passionate about but I would never EVER try to change someone’s opinion simply because I feel like I am right and they are wrong. The thought is totally ridiculous to me.

I am a blogger. I write about my thoughts and my opinions. Chances are, if you are reading this, you are a blogger, too. We are both bloggers! We are pretty much colleagues. We should be on the same side. We should all be respecting each other’s opinions, considering the other person’s viewpoint, and going about our bloggers lives. We should be lifting each other up and not tearing each other down.

This is not to say I don’t get angry at the internet sometimes. Of course I do! I’m only human. But I make my best effort to not get involved with internet battles because nothing good can ever come from it!

When you feel like someone on the internet is wrong, here is what I suggest you do:

1. Take a deep breath.
2. Close your browser and step away from the computer.
3. Write down in a notebook whatever judgy thing you were going to say to that awful person. Let it all out!
4. Rip out the page and flush it down the toilet while repeating to yourself, “We are all just insignificant strangers on the internet. We all have thoughts and opinions. My opinion is best for me but is not always best for everyone. Namaste.”
5. Eat some ice cream or a cookie, if you have one.
6. Return to the internet feeling good about yourself for taking the higher ground.

If you are the type to get really angry at strangers on the internet, you may need to invest in a plunger or biodegradable paper. Otherwise, I hope this method works for you.

As always, I wish all my fellow bloggers out there nothing but peace and love.