Anyone who sticks their neck out knows one of the downsides of modern media: anonymous online comments.
"They are ugly, they are racist," said former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels during a conversation on KUOW radio. Until recently, "you had letters to the editor where you had to sign your name and they checked whether you actually existed. I think we need to bring back some of that civility back to our civic discourse."
People don't think twice about saying something online that they would never dream of in person. So what do you do about it?
The goal behind comments is to drive engagement with readers and get more traffic to a website (this is also why websites split articles, annoyingly, into multiple pages). People leave comments and then come back repeatedly to read them — presto, a newspaper like the Seattle Times can claim a massive online readership.
Unfortunately anonymous comments are the quality equivalent of cute pet photos — they don't create quality conversations or add much information. I've wondered why the Seattle Times encourages readers to sound off on crime stories when they have no knowledge of the incident or people involved (no matter how tragic the news, the comments usually devolve into rants about race, class and taxes). It's irresponsible foster rumors when your business is about reporting news. I once questioned the paper's lazy approach and other commenters accused me of wanting censorship of non-PC comments!
More thoughtful comment systems can actually complement the original content. For example, Nytimes.com allows comments on some stories and uses an effective rating system that helps identify the most substantive opinions. When I started the blogs at MSN Money we moderated comments and included a rating system. The result often made the original blog post even stronger.
As a former candidate for political office, I wish all commenters were required to identify themselves. But until that day arrives, here's how to cope:
Take a breath. If it's an influential site, you'll want to engage. It's tempting to think "they're just blog comments" — but take them seriously. Take time before jumping in.
Consider letting go. Responding to negative comments lends them credence. If it's not a major website, consider staying quiet. The last thing you want is to help that site climb in search rankings by giving it more activity.
Focus on the issue. Does the commenter have a point? Is there something to learn? If it makes sense to engage, respond to the issue, not the person. Don't go negative and don't threaten.
Build your positives. The storm may pass but comments live forever on the Internet. You want to get your perspective out there and then provide more positive information. This is where providing your own smart content on your own site (you have that, right?) will make all the difference.