I discovered this after I clicked on my profile picture to see the status of my comments.
What I found out was that Social Media Examiner now labels all of my comments as spam.
#1 I Speak My Mind
These are typically the posts with a lot of comments as people tend to take umbrage with what I say.
The reason for this is that I speak my mind.
People don’t like that, for the following reasons:
- It’s forceful;
- It’s direct;
- It’s intelligent;
- It makes them doubt themselves.
One of the easiest ways to determine if you’re speaking your mind or not is if people call you a troll.
Being called a troll is a 100% indication that you are not afraid to speak your mind.
So I’ve been called that, among other things.
The problem for sites like Social Media Examiner – and the writers they have write for them – is that I don’t back down. I just keep coming back to comment on any reply.
And why not?
Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? It’s called a conversation.
Alas, I’m not wanted in the conversations on this site any longer.
#2 I Criticize, Question and Complain
This is what happens when you produce work that you choose to put out into the public sphere.
Maybe I’m disgruntled, alienated or angry.
Those are all good ways to explain why I’m saying what I’m saying.
They’re a helluva lot easier than looking at your content and taking into consideration the criticism that’s being directed its way.
So we shoot the messenger, and sites like Social Media Examiner like to do that.
They’re of course not the only one. Many sites will relegate you to the spam pit darn quick if you’re speaking out of place.
Oh, and speaking out of place can include:
- Highlighting the lack of originality in content;
- Pointing out that big sites aren’t really delivering;
- Suggesting that more effort needs to be directed to content;
- Questioning the level of shares vs. the level of comments;
- Complaining about spam.
I think it’s that last one more than anything that got Mike Stelzner mad at me.
He came over and commented on my article Big Sites Can’t Control Comments. What Can They Control? back at the end of October.
He founded Social Media Examiner and I’m willing to bet $5 that if he read this post he’d come here and say that the reason I was banned from the site was…
#3 They Have Third-Party Problems with their Platform
What I’m saying is that Social Media Examiner will likely tell you that I got caught in their spam trap.
This is the typical response you’ll get from the Big Boys when you tick ‘em off and then have the audacity to make a fuss about it where others can see.
It’s a defensive move, a bit of posturing to show that, yes, they do give a damn about those that comment on their site.
The problem is that this is complete bullshit.
Just today Content Marketing Institute had a post called Is It Time to Ditch Your Company Blog’s Comment Section?
Clearly, big sites do not like comments.
And why not? What is the drawback to taking comments away, what is the penalty?
Typically there is none – people just don’t care about comments.
I think that’s clear in the number of comments these posts on the big sites get, which is hardly any.
Remember, these are large sites that tell you how to get ahead.
Despite this, they can’t elicit enough interest in their own fare to garner the comments they claim are so important.
Are comments important?
I don’t see much in the way of linkbacks from sites I comment on. Hell, I don’t see much of anything!
No, it's about showing your authority and your knowledge. Alas, I had too much of that for Social Media Examiner so they quietly showed me the door.
I still think that Social Media Examiner put me into Disqus pre-moderation, meaning that anything I write automatically goes to the spam folder.
Disqus causes problems…and not just for people like me.
Here’s a post from June on WP Beginner that talks about switching away from Disqus and getting a 304% increase in comments. Reasons they cited for switching away were:
- Inserting Affiliate Links without Permission;
- Sponsored Comments;
- Significant Decrease in Comment Engagement;
- Moderation Interface.
So…not a whole lot on problems with the spam trap.
Yeah, this was no mistake that I got banned from Social Media Examiner.
I figure this is true because I sent them a tweet with an image attached
I got no reply nor did I expect to.
Conclusion
I’m actually surprised that more sites haven’t banned me. I’ll still go to Social Media Examiner but maybe I’ll just save my comments for a weekly post that highlights their shortcomings.
Is that really what you want to read, however?
I think the best strategy is to let Social Media Examiner continue on with its beginner-level content and expounded-upon ideas.
If they’ve got no problems rehashing the same-old same-old then why should I?
Let them continue to dodder along. Perhaps they’ll be so busy focusing on their current path that you and other hardworking sites can zip right on by them.
Let them coast through on their name. It won’t work for them forever, especially when their content is so lackluster.
- Take heart knowing you’re putting out much better stuff than they are.
- Take heart knowing that this will one day be their downfall.
Let them do themselves in – their laziness, ineptitude and incompetence already are.