Women in 2.0: Be a Blogging Armadillo

Cyndy Aleo-Carreira,

on June 13, 2008,

girl tech matrix image Gawker notes that Chelsea Alvarez-Bell has quit blogging for Slog. The reason given in her post was the vicious commenters who were allowed free rein on her posts, and the first several comments lend credence to her complaints, with virtual high-fives at her resignation.

Haven't we seen this all before, though? History repeats itself again and again. Natali del Conte. Kathy Sierra. And every time a woman blogger turns tail and runs it makes a dent in the news cycle, and the people who think women can't hack it on the Web win.

Ms. Alvarez-Bell claims that she'd been prepared for the rough audience there, but it obviously wasn't enough, since she says in her post:

"No matter what I post here, it will be ripped to shreds, whether by the grammar police (I dare you to find me something more boring than someone correcting another person’s grammar), the pearl-clutching grannies who take umbrage with my use of profanity, or those with a general distaste for what and how I write. That’s not what bothers me (I just find it intensely dull). What bothers me is that I woke up these last few mornings perfectly happy… until I remembered that I had to write something for Slog and the dread set in. I found myself unwilling to send in my best material, wishing instead to post it on my own blog where it remains mine, unsullied by comment threads that are at turns spiteful and boring."

There are bloggers who take that sort of abuse every single day and don't quit. Duncan Riley was one of the most popular scapegoats at TechCrunch, earning his very own tag at Valleywag as well as commenters on both blogs describing him as "the worst writer on a technology blog with five other people who are bad writers" and frequently encouraged to quit with "Duncan - you are an idiot. Please resign from TechCrunch." And yet he did his year hitch, then went out on his own to do it all over again. No storming off in a hissy fit about rude commenters.

A thick skin is required if you gain any popularity as a blogger, because there will always be people whose favorite form of entertainment is trolling. The detractors will always be online, but too many people forget that you can step away from the keyboard any time.

What is it about some women that makes them more likely to take the comments and threats of trolls to heart? I think that most people who've been on the Internet for any length of time have had their fair share of trolls and nastiness. Those of us old-timers who cut our teeth on Usenet and IRC had more than our share. Why are some able to take it and some not? And why do women seem to be such a frequent target?

Duncan Riley Leaves TechCrunch

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10 Comments (Subscribe to rss)

J. Phil - June 13, 2008 at 09:53 pm PDT

I like that this article deals with the realities of working as a pro blogger. However, it does make me a little sad that having such a thick skin is required. I know that every job has its stresses, but I wonder what it is in the nature of mankind that naturally causes hecklers and rabble to coalesce around the more popular blogs and bloggers.

I guess it isn’t much different from any other role that deals with a certain amount of fame, like movies stars or politicians.
Duncan - June 13, 2008 at 10:21 pm PDT

The sad truth is, the more successful you are, the bigger target you become. Another example for you in Natali Del Conti, lasted at TechCrunch 5 minutes (well to be precise about 1 month), she was driven away by perhaps the worst trolling campaign I’ve ever seen in my entire time online. A lot of the comments are still there.
Rahsheen - June 13, 2008 at 10:27 pm PDT

Anytime you put yourself out there on the internet, you risk getting flamed. Anybody knows this. If you are a woman, you may as well draw a target on your forehead because you will get all types of attention just for being here. Now, go ahead and try to be a woman AND an authority on something and you have just popped up on everyone’s radar and they are arming the warheads as we speak. Everyone knows this. It’s just the way it works. Sad, but true.
Leslie Poston - June 14, 2008 at 12:34 am PDT

Hear, hear, Cyndy. I get so tired of women turning tail and running for the hills at the first negative comment. It gives us all a bad rap online, in my opinion. Up until recently tech was a man’s world and women were rare. As more and more women come into tech it makes me angry to see them wanting to change the status quo to be more touchy feely. What about those women who don’t want touchy feely, politically correct pablum to be the norm? I am one of those who doesn’t want that kind of change, and who thinks you need a thicker skin if you want to play in the pool.
TonNet - June 14, 2008 at 03:51 am PDT

So sad this is happening with women. But as you point, it’s not only with the fems, men are bullied and have to deal with this kind of ‘blogging’ because that’s what those people think, they pretend that being blogger gives them free speech to attack and insult fellow bloggers.

What we should be doing?

Keep the peace of work and maybe emulate Duncan Riley. Of course you have plenty of control of what comments to approve or reject and forget about sexism, not matter what gender you are, as you write quality and interesting content for yourself and your readers.
Igor The Troll - June 14, 2008 at 05:23 am PDT

Not only you need thick skin you need to be In your Face Blogger and Stand your Ground!
Mike - June 14, 2008 at 07:55 am PDT

Boo. frickety. hoo.
Jen - June 14, 2008 at 09:55 am PDT

Personally, yeah, I think growing the thick skin and rolling with the punches is the practical way to go at this. But I don’t know if refusing to put up with offensive and abusive behavior is necessarily wimping out. I think we’re making a dangerous mistake if we start thinking the real problem here is people having thin skin, rather than the fact that other people seem to think the anonymity of the internet gives them the right to act like virtual thugs.
Cyndy Aleo-Carreira - June 14, 2008 at 05:28 pm PDT

@J Phil Well, sure I’d LIKE it to not be that way, but the reality is what it is. I’m trying to teach my girls the same thing. If you want to play with the boys, you’re going to have to take what they dish out for a while. Maybe THEIR kids will tell a different story.

@Duncan I referenced her in my first paragraph. Lucky her, she’s gone onto other things. I used you only because your tenure invited a lengthy vendetta.

@Rahsheen Your comment nails it right on the head. I’ll admit that there have been a few commenters who have ruffled my feathers, but I usually get more angry than anything else. They usually don’t hurt my feelings, but they do get me riled.

@Leslie I don’t want special treatment, but I would like people to treat everyone with some modicum of respect. Of course, this being the Web, that’s probably too much to ask.

@Ton Agreed, which was why I brought Duncan into it. He had far worse comments than Natali had in her blink-and-you’ll-miss-it stint at TechCrunch, yet never posted a whiny resignation letter and skulked off with his tail between his legs. Then again, Natali’s had some pretty good gigs since her TC departure, so maybe I should try that. I need to practice my foot-stomping and crocodile tears, though.

@Igor I don’t think you need to be “in your face” since I don’t think I’m like that either. But I have never been afraid to speak my mind, and I don’t back down unless I’m really convinced that I screwed up. People have emailed or commented with some errors I’ve made, and I’m more than happy to own up to them.

@Mike Was that directed toward me?

@Jen Ignoring it is the answer. I don’t think we should put up with it, but the dramatic exits are tiresome in their own right. And that actually gives the bullies exactly what they want, which, of course, breeds more.
Honest Joe - June 15, 2008 at 10:50 pm PDT

Let’s be honest here….It sucks that there are so many assholes who have no class. I guess the crowd isn’t so wise. But some of these ‘bloggers’ are people who write complete crap. They don’t have any special knowledge or experience that makes what they write worth reading. Just look at Duncan Riley. If it wasn’t bad enough that most of his posts were obviously not thought out, he couldn’t even use proper grammar to make them look half decent. Blogging would be so much better if idiots kept from doing it.

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