Tag: trolls

Haters

The late Kobe Bryant once said,” Haters are a good problem to have. Nobody hates the good ones. They hate the great ones.” Hmm. He might have been on to something there. Every time I have an experience with a hater, it always gives me pause. I hear or look at the comments and then I feel compelled to go back and look at my office records and my detailed notes to search for the possibility that I went wrong somewhere. I have to tell you, the vast majority of the time, the person’s statements and accusations are false, sometimes wildly so, or at least skewed to the point of their perceived advantage without containing concrete facts.

Yes, I initially fall for it every time. I’m thinking, oh my god, they really think that?! They really think that is true?! As most good physicians with a conscience, we are always striving to do the best for our patients and guide them appropriately. This sometimes requires steering them in the opposite direction of their potentially bad choices. I realize that this technique does not jive with everyone, but I would not truly be doing my job to the best of my ability if I didn’t. So, I don’t plan on changing my strategy any time soon.

The other potentially sticky point about haters is they always get to strike first and get their word out there and sometimes you don’t even get a heads up that it is happening in order to construct a well thought out response. By their first strike method, their opinion resonates with readers and listeners sometimes before you even get to know it’s happening. You know what they say about social media. If it’s on Facebook or Google it must be true right? Well, wrong. Neither Facebook or Google prechecks to make sure that the person has even visited the place or person so whatever you are reading could even be by someone who has never even had contact with whatever they are talking about. At least Google now sometimes gives you a heads up if someone posts about you on Google maps. I have regretfully even had people post that I killed their child, which is definitely something that has never happened.

So, yes the haters can potentially cause damage or mislead. They will always vex me to an extent. I will probably always be looking and verifying. But, when I really think about it, having a hater might be just like Kobe said. It might be that my reach is so far and wide that even the smallest unhappy people with nothing better to do than spread hate are paying attention too. I am going to chose to accept the fact that these folks are just a natural consequence of putting yourself out there to the public. Well, I am going to keep doing it.

Dr. Katz

Internet Trolls

The internet troll. We have all experienced them. The typical stereotype goes something like this: Single, bitter, perhaps jobless, nothing else to do, endlessly surfing the net for opportunities to pour out some of their overabundant flow of misplaced negativity anywhere and everywhere, seemingly without any knowledge of appropriate human social graces, punctuation or proper grammar . You know what I am talking about. We run into them everywhere on the internet. We are at risk 24/7 from their lambasting attempts. These people are most often people that we do not even know in any of our business or social circles. They attempt to turn any post into something negative. They point out all your flaws, or at least the ones that they perceive that you have…without even knowing you. They can make you doubt yourself, worry about issues that aren’t even there, and even have you consider removing a carefully crafted post that you took a lot of pride in. Why I ask you? What is their purpose? What is there to gain from this behavior? What is the best way to respond or deal with them?

We even experience these creatures on our office social media. They like to comment on everything, even if they have never been to our office. We can post some great results of one of our aesthetic services, complete with a smiling and happy patient that is really satisfied and glad that they finally did something for themselves. These folks will come out of nowhere accusing us of using filters or insulting the patient’s picture. I say if you are not interested in our procedures, please refrain from even looking at our stuff! No one is forcing you to look! There are like a bazillion things to peruse on the internet. I am sure you can find something else!

I think that they fling these insults under the misguided perception that they can somehow hurt us, when in fact, the only people they are potentially hurting are the patients who were brave enough to go through with a service to make themselves feel better! Our practice will go on, believe it or not, even with their insults. I am not calling us invincible or anything, but I am saying that we will not stop providing safe and effective services to patients just because they post something ridiculous. My usual rule of thumb is to post a professional response one time and ask that they refrain from negativity, politely explain why their perception might be incorrect, and kindly dis invite them from looking at our site. If this does not work, then I am forced to block them from being able to comment. It may sound like a childish move, but sometimes that is the only recourse we have.

I find these creatures to be particularly pervasive on internet marketplace sites as well. Let me be clear. When I have some gently used piece of junk that I want to sell, I do not spend hours researching what the true value is. I just fling it up on the marketplace site, pick a price and make it clear it is negotiable and see what happens. I promise with my whole heart that I am not trying to “pull a fast one” on anybody. I am just trying to see if I can sell some crap on the internet like everybody else. If you don’t like what I listed or you think the price is not right? MOVE ON! NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO MAKE AN OFFER! I am especially fond of those who get so excited with slinging criticisms that they seemingly forgot how to speak or type in English for the moment. If you can’t spell outrageous( often spelled as out rages) , I am officially taking away your privilege of accusing me of it…..lol. Have a fantastic day folks!

Dr. Katz