Talking trash is fun. I love having drinks with friends and trying to outdo one another with the eloquence of our invective. But I don’t think trash talking translates very well online. So I am going to singlehandedly stop all negativity on the internet.

I was asked recently to contribute to the Denver Egotist. For my first piece, I’m going to go through the comments, find all the negativity and hateration, of which there is a plentitude, and try to find a way the commenter could have approached their idea in a constructive way. I know, I sound like a Mom.

In countries where liberties like freedom of speech are in jeopardy, people are very conscious of the messages they send online. The opportunity that the internet provides to make the world a better place is something they really appreciate and respect. If we in the advertising and design industries all adopted this attitude, I think the power of our numbers leveraged with the fulcrum of the internet could make real changes in our industry.

When you hate on something, you don’t contribute to a solution. Bitching does not motivate positive change. And no matter how clever you sound in your head, you sound like a misanthropic meanie when someone reads your comments without the benefit of inflection or body language. When you hate on something, you quit. You quit believing that you could contribute to a solution and you quit being helpful to that situation.

I think the missing link here is hope. I’m asking you to believe that your comments and writing online can make a difference. The link below is to  an interview with Evan Fry who did oodles of great work with Crispin Porter and Bogusky and then went on to start Victors and Spoils. The first time Evan applied to CP&B, he got rejected. He didn’t quit, but he did hate in a really creative way, and that’s how he eventually got the job that launched his baller career. Hating is quitting. Don’t be a quitter.

http://lifeatthebottom.com/2010/01/20/the-interview-series-28/