Overcoming Trolls

I have my fair share of stories to tell of dealing with trolls on social media. I think what made it difficult for me was to have it coming from people I considered to be colleagues - other massage therapists. While this blog and our social media accounts are for the massage software company I co-own with my husband, I am a massage therapist and felt that this was my tribe.

Unfortunately, I don't think there really is a "right" way to deal with trolls. But Michelle of New Yew has some great tips on how to step back, breathe, and simply put: don't feed the trolls. Thanks for the post, Michelle! I love that you shared and walked us through all the emotions you felt in dealing with this.

I did a quick google search on this topic to get some varying opinions on how to best deal with trolls. I love this excerpt from a blog post written by 99u.com quoting James Altucher. (I happen to adore James Altucher!)

An interesting thing to consider: that 30% will love it, 30% will hate it, and 30% won't care.

The 30 percent rule 

In James Altucher’s book, Choose Yourself, he shares a story about responding to critics that wondered why he always used half-naked women for his blog post photos. The woman in the picture responded to the post, sharing her story and insight. Altucher said, “I’ve seen it in action repeatedly: no matter who you are, no matter what you do, no matter who your audience is: 30 percent will love it, 30 percent will hate it, and 30 percent won’t care. Stick with the people who love you and don’t spend a single second on the rest. Life will be better that way.” File those trolls under the proper 30 percent and move on.  

Read the full article here

In internet trolls and all things in life, I think this sums it up:

Stick with the people who love you and don’t spend a single second on the rest.