In it, she talks about, in her opinion, the value of a review, or in some cases, (value) lack thereof. She also compares reviews to critiques and gives her opinion on both. In essence, she is a woman sharing her thoughts in a video about reviews.
I got to see this video and I have to be honest here - I like it. For the most part, I agree totally with her opinion on reviews. At one point, Suzanne recommends that authors, when they see a low rating or negative review on their book(s), to take a deeper look at the individual giving that rating or review. She suggests you find out all that you can about that person through their GR account history, Facebook, and other social media. Look into their past ratings and reviews to see if you notice a trend of constant bad ratings and negative reviews to other authors. This could demonstrate a pattern of "behavior" more than a pattern of reviewing.
The more you learn about those who leave reviews, the more you come to understand that maybe you're not really dealing with a "reviewer" as much as you are dealing with a "bully". (Or disgruntled individual who just simply hates everything in life for whatever reason - as those reasons could vary.) On the whole, I think Suzanne really hits the nail on the head in her video. The value of the review is only worth that of the value of the person leaving it. And since we know that bullies are not worth shit, then you can see where the value of their review would come into play.
Why do I bring it up? Well, I got to talk to Suzanne about it and I learned that one of her reasons for doing the video was to help out a friend and other authors she knows who have been victimized by the Goodreads bullies. She doesn't want to see other writers give up on their dreams just because of a handful of disgruntled people who hate their lives and have dedicated themselves to try and make as many people as they can as disgruntled and talentless as they are.
Here's the thing; When Suzanne posted this video on Youtube, it didn't take long for the bullies to sniff it out and attack her. And this is the most common theme of the bullies, gang style attacks. I have compared these people before to nothing more than street gang thugs who run on the internet. And how many times have these internet gangsters / terrorists complained that it's all about "the reviews"? Or cry over their butthurt that everyone just wants to silence them and their "freedom of speech"? And yet, here they are turning around and trying to silence Suzanne and her "freedom of speech".
Suzanne didn't single anyone out in her video. She wasn't attacking the bullies. She was just generally expressing her views and or opinion about book reviews. And the bullies went after her!
To the bullies, it is in their DNA to believe that writers are not humans and therefor, they are not entitled to an opinion of any sort where writing is concerned. If an author expresses his or her opinion, the bullies find this to be "disrespectful" towards them. You see, in the mind of a bully, they are right and everyone else in the world is wrong.
The attack got to be so much that Suzanne pulled the video from Youtube. Then she contacted me. I got the bright idea that she should post the video up again, however, with a twist. I asked her for a copy of the video and got her permission to post it on my Youtube channel. You see, I like the bullies. I like their attention. It makes me feel special. I figured, if they want to go and leave nasty and hateful comments on the video, I would rather they leave those comments on my Youtube page and or blog. The reason is that I know these bullies. We already have a two year relationship together. They are like that pimple on your right ass-cheek. It's bothersome at first, but when it goes away, you kind of miss it and are a little bit happy when it comes back around a few months later. Yaay, the pimple is back!
Of course, one of the biggest attackers towards Suzanne is the ever so popular bully, John Green. You remember him, right? Currently, John Green "the ex-marine" has been attacking author Anne Rice for her stance against internet bullying. By that standard, that automatically means she is against John Green because he is an internet bully. And apparently, he doesn't like females very much except when they are porn-stars whom will interact with him via the internet. (Pathetic) Anyhow, consider this an invitation "tough guy" to come and attack this video here. Why pick on women John when you could come here and pick on me, a real man.
Suzanne had no idea when she did the video that these people would respond like they did. She wasn't really aware of the bullies to the magnitude she is aware of them now. Nor did she think such vile people existed like this on the internet. But here is a truth that I have shared before on this blog; the bullies never read the books of the people they bully. So in reality, the bullies really are not readers. And here is another bit of reality; the bullies are destroying the very thing they claim to love - reading. By their actions, and their actions alone, they are destroying the love of reading by smearing the internet with their hate. They are ruining this art form one attacked author at a time. But they can't see this yet. Or maybe they don't really love books as much as they claim they do? That would explain all of their other many lies and hateful attacks. It's like terrorists who claim to be followers of Islam. That is a lie. Terrorists are not "religious" people. Just like the Goodreads bullies are not "readers" (or lovers of books) If they were, they would be spending their time reading and not running off into other people's personal spaces (or even their own hate blogs) to attack the people who are writing the books they claim so much that they love.
Anyhow, I uploaded the video on my Youtube channel now so bullies, if you have something to say then you can say it there, on my Youtube page. Or, if you got the ball-sac to do it, leave a comment here because you may also watch the video right here in this post down below.
I like people who have the gumption to stand up to these bullies. I know Athena Parker and STGRB preaches to ignore them, but that is the wrong way to go about it. (Unless it fits your personality) When I was in high-school, I stood by and watched a few bullies push other people around, but then one day I had had enough and finally stood up for a bullied kid. It felt good! The bully backed down and a lot of the bullying going on started to cease. (At least in my presence.) So the best thing to do when you get bullied by the Goodreads bullies is to stand your ground and defend yourself. Stand up to them, don't coward into a corner. The more people who confront these vile people, the faster they will be run off of Goodreads and Amazon. Show the Goodreads bullies a force and they too will coward into a far away corner of the internet. And as for Athena Parker and STGRB? You can trust sock puppets all you like if you wish, just don't say I didn't warn you. Don't depend on a sock puppet to defend you, defend yourself, and join forces with real people who will have your back. With other people who are not afraid of the Goodreads/Amazon bullies. Join up with people who don't hide in secret groups on Facebook putting together schemes and plans. Join up with others who will not hide in shame or fear. Stand up - stand tall - stand proud - just like Suzanne Dome.
Great video Suz. :)
ReplyDeleteThe problem is with goodreads. It is a fraudulent website from conception, based on false data. Amazon needs to close GR down. It's common knowledge that Amazon only bought GR so no one else could. They should sue Chandler for selling them a broken product that cannot be fixed.
GR is an Amazon tax-write-off.
Delete