Back by popular demand…Don’t be an Asshole
I was reading a Tech Crunch post about one of the coolest companies I know, Nokero. If you haven’t checked them out, please do…http://nokero.com
Nokero is a collection of smart people who are dedicated to getting solar lightbulbs in the hands of the billion plus people worldwide without regular access to electricity.
Their business is simple. The billions of people around the world burning kerosene for light is lousy for the environment. Thousands of kids that get horribly burned every year in kerosene fires. This product creates micro entrepreneurs around the world. Solar lightbulbs are the answer to a lot of big problems. In short they are a kick ass company and a great group of guys.
When I saw that they had gotten some coverage in Tech Crunch, I was excited…until I read through the comments.
Here was the first one:
uhm. are you kidding us? This application is already widespread in use here in europe. For example to light the path through the garden to people’s home entry and so on. Oh and they are cheap too.
Reply · 6 · Like · Follow Post · September 17 at 1:41am
Here’s my personal favorite:
Trent Palmer · Top Commenter · Boring, Oregon
Non-solar Powered Light Bulbs Provide Light After Dark.
Reply · Like · Follow Post · September 18 at 7:12pm
You can see the whole thing here, but you get the idea.
This got my blood boiling. It’s like the Simpsons Episode where Homer worked as the food critic. When Lisa stopped helping him come up with new material he reverted in to bashing everything. Not because he disliked the food, because it was easier to bash than it was to give a thoughtful criticism. Homer was being an asshole.
Instead of bashing the bashers (which would probably make me fell better) I’m going to make a simple appeal on behalf of all of us entrepreneurs to all of you who regularly respond on blogs.
Please stop being assholes.
If you have real and thoughtful analysis…. tell us! PLEASE tell us! We are constantly seeking feedback. Entrepreneurs crave it. It’s ok to tell us that you think our UI stinks. That our product is inferior to a competitor. It’s even OK to say that you think we’re dumb if you tell us WHY!
Just don’t be an asshole.
Here is a simple test to see if you‘re acting like an asshole. As you are about to reply to this or any blog post, ask yourself the following question: Am I offering something or am I taking something? If you are offering something post it. Please post it. The world could use your knowledge and insight. Otherwise don’t.
Still need more help? Try this… If you‘re posts contain: “this sucks”, “this is stupid” or “are you kidding me?” You might be slipping in to asshole mode. Stop, take a deep breath and give us something of use. Tell us what we could do better. Ask a question. Offer your opinion on a certain feature. Give something.
Still need more help? Send me your questions. My 6 year old seems to have a pretty good handle on whether people are being nice or mean. I’ll run it by him.
