Recent dust-ups, misunderstandings, and their associated apologies in the blogosphere have got me thinking about transparency and blogs as communication tools. 

Specifically, what ever happened to good old fashioned in-person talks to resolve issues and annoyances?  Gone are objective reviews in favor of all out rants that end in hurt feelings, retractions and “updates” (read apologies).  It seems, particularly as of late, that a lot of people have their knickers in a twist about a lot of different issues.  But what gets me most about this recent trend is that, in most cases, these people know each other. 

So why are they blogging their grievances versus interacting with each other directly?  While blogs might be a great way to share your opinions is airing your dirty laundry always such a good idea?

Or is this all an effort to get more site traffic?  Some would argue no, but I get the strange impression that we are seeing the Rosie O’Donnell vs. Donald Trump type publicity stunt for our medium.  Wouldn’t you rather read and comment on a provocative piece vs. a ho-hum review?  I would.  It gets me involved and maybe I will even go back to your blog.  Just check me out; I am linking to these stories myself. 

That said I’ll be the first to argue that transparency is a good thing.  People want to know what’s going on inside your company and what independent bloggers are thinking about.  Whether bloggers admit it or not, this medium is also an astonishingly good way to drive interest in your business or other pursuits.  It’s a marketing tool.

However, maybe it’s a good idea to take a step back and evaluate the purpose behind your opinionated post before unleashing it on the public.  Maybe instead of fueling a blog with negative emotions and rants, we can chant the mantra “can’t we all just get along” and create compelling content that drives readers to return for more then just cat fights.  Or maybe I’m just being the Pollyanna of the blogging world.  I'll leave that up to you to decide :)