Blogging reminds me of each of us, stepping up on our virtual soapbox and telling others what we think/feel.

Some bloggers tell stories of their day, and tie a lesson in life to it.

Others do tons of research and share their findings

A lot of bloggers share from their experiences, and teach their readers.

And then there are others who write to push people’s “buttons” trying to get a reaction.

Often bloggers are a combination of all of the above.

Today’s Lesson

Shortly after I started blogging, I read that controversial posts can bring tons of traffic to your site.

I thought of ways to write a controversial post, and for my Observation Mountain blog, the closest I came was “Should Smokers Pay A Higher Insurance Premium”. It got two differing comments (both from people who didn’t have blogs (or didn’t leave an address) That blog doesn’t get a lot of comments, so it didn’t surprise me.

When I wrote about profanity on this blog, (which wasn’t meant to be controversial). It got the most attention. Not so much in the comment section but other bloggers used it as inspiration for a post of their own. They said if they want to use curse letter words in their blogs, it’s their propagative, it’s “freedom of speech”. I don’t have a problem with what others do. I just don’t use, or allow profanity on my blogs, and don’t read blogs that are laced with it.

Creating controversy isn’t my nature. I want to help people with my words, and make them think. Sometimes I may make one pass around the “pot”, but most of the time it’s only a blip on the radar screen.

Hunter recently wrote a post, 10 Reasons Japan Is Better Than America which when I read it, didn’t think it was THAT controversial, but his comment section exploded with snide remarks.

Months ago Ian Denny wrote a post titled “The Best Bloggers Are Left Handed” . That too, created hostility.

Catherine Lawson is known to be controversial. When she wrote a post titled: “Is StumbleUpon Going Down The Tubes”, one comment said “go die”, and other commenters agreed.

Controversy will almost always get a Digg or Stumble. Traffic will often soar, as well as RSS feed reader counts.

What you have to ask yourself is, are you ready to defend your viewpoint and handle the negative comments?

Today’s Assignment

Have you ever written a controversial post? Did you see your traffic soar?

Would you consider writing a controversial post? Could you handle the negative comments?

Or, do you prefer to blog quietly in your own words, and stay away from conflict?