As 2015 rolled along I found myself becoming more and more frustrated with my industry. The Social Media channels I manage gradually became infected with thoughtless nonsense.

On one day in particular, a twitter troll responded to an unrelated article I posted with some of the most vile, narrow-minded comments to which I’ve ever been subjected. Sure, I’ve seen a lot of hate online (as I spend basically my entire life connected to the internet), but I’d never been the target of such an attack before.

So I shot back.

I Like My Internet Fun

My first move was to embarrass the troll with a harmless joke. Can you guess what happened? The fires of hatred were stoked and the battle was on. You see, the problem you’ll face when engaging with trolls is that they’re built for the confrontation. I earn a living based on the reputation I build for others, so I have to be a bit more careful with what I post.

And when you roll in the mud with a pig, the pig will love it and you’ll both get dirty.

But that hasn’t stopped me. In fact, I now look forward to engaging with the negative nellies on the twitters.

I was drinking beer in my hometown with a colleague of mine a couple months ago, and he told me that a common strategy of freelancers was to zig when the industry zags. This got me thinking – my favourite online profiles, whether they be companies or individuals, are those that don’t take themselves too seriously. These are the profiles I engage with, so why shouldn’t I revert to what’s most natural for me?

Finding a Niche

My ‘niche’ when I started writing professionally was goddamned everybody. This was foolish in retrospect, but when you’re scraping by and eager for any opportunity that will pay you, you kinda have to take what you’re given. And that’s cool, but it’s not how I’d do things if I were given a do-over.

If I were to re-do all of my meetings and interactions from the last two years, I’d define myself as something a bit different.

• I’d focus on fun
• I’d walk the other way when clients ask how I’ll ‘measure social media results’
• I’d focus more on what comes to me naturally

And I’d be content finishing blog posts without making some grandiose statement that’s meant to change the world.

photo credit: cooper loves tumblr via photopin (license)