I love this website dearly, and I am thankful for the chance to write and share it with real people. I love using this platform to talk about things I think matter. With that being said, think before you post a political article. Yes, that subject is probably something you are passionate about, and yes, it may be a very important subject to discuss.
I am not denying that in any way. I have written a political article in the past myself. Nothing wrong with that. Just think about these things before you post that political article you are thinking about/
1. Are you informed on the subject?
This is hopefully a no-brainer to you, but, hey, it's the Internet. Make sure before you jump in that you have all your facts straight. This benefits both you and the reader.
2. Can you discuss this subject civilly with strangers on the Internet?
There are subjects I stay far, far away from unless necessary or with someone who knows me well because I know how passionate I am about these things. I know that I can get heated and things come out more angry than I intended, and I know that it is hard to hear tone on the Internet, leading to unnecessary fighting due to misunderstandings sometimes.
Just make sure that you can have a discussion on something without violating the Golden Rule before you post it on the Internet.
3. Are you ready for backlash and controversy?
Going hand in hand with number two is the question, are you ready to have your ideas challenged? Are you ready to deal with people who disagree with you as passionately as you disagree with them? Can you handle this maturely and as an adult.
4. How many articles are there on the subject currently?
No matter how important something is, people get sick of only seeing articles about that subject. People hate talking about the same thing over and over again. They want to find something new and interesting to read. Just take a moment and consider the recent volume of articles on a subject.
5. Can you add anything new to the discussion?
This is closely related to number 4. Think about what you have read and heard on whatever subject it is lately. Do you have enough of a new idea or perspective on it to create a whole article? Does a lot of what your article says match what other articles have been saying?
Maybe, if you find it is similar to things you have already seen, drop a comment on one of those articles and share it. You get your idea across without adding another article on whatever subject to the home page.
6. Finally, why are you sharing this article?
Consider your motives for a second. Are you posting this article because of your beliefs, or are you posting this article because you think the title will get you more page views and shares?
Because let's be honest, thanks to this website showing the page views and trending topics, the temptation is there for most people to write for views and not content. I have been there before. I have written an article and said, "I bet this will grab people's attention."
There is nothing wrong with that, per say. I just think your motive is something important to consider before you write that article.
Well, there are the five things that I think you should consider before posting a political article. Actually, looking at these now, it would do us all well to consider these before we post any article.
