Sometimes when I listen to a podcast, read a book, or checkout a new TV series, I am disappointed. The podcast guest might be a shyster pitching his book/courses, the book might be repetitive and banal, the news, the TV series that my feed “recommended for me” has a plot-line that is trite and formulaic.
Occasionally, I’ll think, “Is it me…or do others think the same about this?” – Especially if the guest, book or series was highly rated or is currently trending. When that’s the case, I’ll dive into reddit forums, google reviews, IMDB, Goodreads to see what others think.
Once I filter out past the obvious fake reviews, my opinion is echoed by many reviewers. Some write the exact things I am thinking. After seeing a few of these confirmations, I’ll decide not to waste any more time listening to the rest of the podcast, reading the book or watching more episodes in the hope it grows on me.
What I don’t do is write a negative review because there are already plenty of them posted. I don’t need to pile on by repeating what others have already said.
What I notice is that others don’t feel this way at all. So many people are quick to jump on with negative comments that are usually just repeating what the previous negative reviewer said.
It’s like joining a bully when he’s picking on someone or jumping in at the end of a fight to kick someone who’s already been beaten down.
I won’t even post online when I think the person is an a$$hole (and with the proliferation of podcasters out to make a quick buck, there are quite a few).
As my wife used to say, anyone can point out the problems, that usually doesn’t help anything.
So if someone’s already done this, I just keep my opinion to myself.