A great post from Craig titled “When Edgy Becomes Offensive” hit me hard the other day and, quite honestly, was perfectly timed since I had just gotten done reading a series of blog posts that were definitely offensive in nature.
I think Craig’s thoughts apply to all realms of communication; I’d just like to represent the blogging-side of things.
It is without question the posts that contain the most controversy and that polarize that drive the most traffic, and for many, this is their prime (and only) strategy.
I sometimes have to catch myself before publishing and ask myself the silent but hard question of whether or not the content that I’m spewing to the entire world is with or without real purpose and if it’s a weak/fake attempt to be cool or edgy or offensive for their own sake.
I’d like to think that I’ve been able to mature beyond that in my blogging development but it creeps back every once in a while. I can get riled up just as much as the next person so I often need to take a deep breath and do a gut-check.
But, like Craig, I’d rather have the message be the source of offense rather than me; the problem is that it’s often hard to distinguish the two, especially in the blogging medium.
What do you think?
[Image from Godogo]
Matt Harrell says
This post is very related to the previous one about "cool pastors". http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2009/05/13/cool-is-no… I found that post very interesting, because of my recent exposure to the larger, I guess "mega-church". It's incredible the difference b/w the average size churches and the very, very small maybe 0.2% of churches that have the budget to spend on media, music and generally….very cool stuff. I would imagine that it becomes challenging to make sure you're a "cool" pastor without un-believers trying to find hypocrisy or some sort of idolatry, maybe? This last post goes in hand with that, because I feel like so many pastors now are able to speak their mind and thoughts so easily and quickly to the world (Twitter) that the filter b/w their mind and keyboard is getting thinner. It's cool, but it's dangerous. Just saying… I guess this is social media. It's a game-changer.
dewde says
This is a tough one, John. I don't think it's fair to evaluate a post or a message or and idea as "offensive" without simultaneously evaluating the sensitivity level of the reader.
Offensiveness and sensitivity are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are mutually /inclusive/.
On the rare occasion that I post on my blog it's because I have something to say. The only real tension that gives me pause is if I feel as though I might offend a particularly common sensitivity in nonbelievers. If I think I will offend believer's sensitivities then I'm more inclined to hammer the publish button and hope they show me grace and strike up good dialog that we can all grow from in the comments.
As Christians, we're supposed to have a predefined protocol that we follow while interacting with each other. So I feel confident err'ing on the side of authenticity within this peer group. When interacting with nonbelievers… anything goes. So I tread lighter.
peace|dewde
dewde says
This is a tough one, John. I don't think it's fair to evaluate a post or a message or and idea as "offensive" without simultaneously evaluating the sensitivity level of the receiver.
Offensiveness and sensitivity are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are mutually /inclusive/.
On the rare occasion that I post on my blog it's because I have something to say. The only real tension that gives me pause is if I feel as though I might offend a particularly common sensitivity in nonbelievers. If I think I will offend believer's sensitivities then I'm more inclined to hammer the publish button and hope they show me grace and strike up good dialog that we can all grow from in the comments.
As Christians, we're supposed to have a predefined protocol that we follow while interacting with each other. So I feel confident err'ing on the side of authenticity within this peer group. When interacting with nonbelievers… anything goes. So I tread lighter.
peace|dewde
Mikes says
In my Christian Blog, I always make sure that what I post is true. And because it's the word of God, it will surely sometims rebuke and correct the readers to bring them back to God. When I submit my link to reddit, a lot would disagree adn debate with it and click on my link. Honestly sometimes i like it (because it adds traffic) but really at the end of the day I go back to the purpose of my "blogging". Is it to fuel a debate or to give inspiration and hope. Great post and timely.
human3rror says
thanks mike! how has your blog continued to “mature” as it grows?