The easiest thing in the world of blogging is writing a fluff piece. I could do it for just about anything without having to even look at a product or use a service. Just give me a press release or some basic info and I’ll be fine. And the person behind the product/service will be fine too because they’ll appreciate the positive coverage regardless of if I actually used it. And most readers will be fine too — content to read another boring, bland post. It’s running through the motions — and it’s easy as hell. But it’s so lame.

I bring this up because I’ve been thinking about this a bit recently. With my new gig, the size of the potential audience for my words has gone up considerably. On one hand, that’s awesome. On the other, that’s scary as hell. It’s scary only because I hate being bland, and so I’m going to say what I’m thinking. And given the bigger audience, I know that’s more likely to piss some people and companies off.

Take today for example — I wrote a piece ripping what I consider to be a pretty weak search strategy on the consumer end by Yahoo. I did this after the company invited me to their relatively small press event. I would hope they don’t expect that to automatically ensure positive coverage or platitudes, but I do wonder if they think I’m just a total dick now? I hope not, I think I’m a fairly nice guy. But I highly doubt they see things from my perspective and so they’re undoubtedly at least a little pissed off.

But here’s how it should be seen: If I rip your company, it’s nothing personal, I’m just giving my honest opinion on something. Certainly not everyone will agree with me, but undoubtedly some people will. And me speaking on behalf of that portion and unmasking what may be issues, should be viewed as a good thing. If I’m thinking it, someone else is likely thinking it, and there’s no point is pussy-footing around issues.

It’s human nature to want positive feedback. To want yes men and gladhandery. But I would imagine it’s much more beneficial to your company to get the opposite. For someone to tell you something like it really is — or at least, how they really perceive it. And that’s what I do.

It may not earn me a lot of favors from companies, and may make me seem like kind of a dick. But my responsibility it to keep it real with the readers. I do this everytime I rip Microsoft, even though some of my best friends work there. I do this when I rip Comcast, even though I know that will not help my cable getting fixed. And I’ll continue to do this. Because it’s really the essence of why I do what I do.