When does an honest review become threatening?
There have been a few things that have happened lately that have left me feeling angry and scared at the same time.
As a blogger i buy, get given or asked to review and read books and provide my opinion on what i liked or didnt like about the book and recommend it.
Is this a personal attack on the author or product? no. Is this intended as a way of deterring anyone to buy/ read the book? not at all. It is my opinion, which i have the right to have. If you read what i have written or said and make an opinion based off that... We live in a free society where we can speak out and make up our own minds. I treat everyone who reads my blog or enjoys my content as a friend - what i say on here is no different to what i would say to a friend.
On the flip side; when you ask someone to review your work or you, yourself provide the review, there is no guarantee that the review will be positive or in your favour and you also shouldn't expect to get a positive review because you asked for your book/ product to be reviewed. Every single person is an individual and they have the right to like or not like something. Just because you have asked to have your book reviewed should not mean that it automatically guarantees a positive review.
But for some reason society is seeing this as a personal attack. With so many industries now forcing people to market themselves, feedback that is not favourable is now seen as 'defamation' or 'slander'- when it is feedback it can be positive or negative. We have officially lost the ability to now speak our mind. 'I didn't like this', now has become 'you are costing me money and future business opportunities'. Building a rep-all with customers and clients isn't as important as maintaining the 5 star rating, so when people click on your link they will be automatically enticed because 56 people have said this is good, doesnt matter that those 56 people were all brought or friends. It feels like the world if operating with rosy coloured glasses where everything has to be perfect and nice.
I feel suffocated like i cannot speak my truth for fear that i will have legal ramifications. Am i the only one noticing this new trend?
I believe you are correct on the new trend. Unfortunately it is bleeding into super important matters of freedom of speech. In America, freedom of speech has become only for those with the correct narrative. That isn't what it truly is, but mainstream media and high tech companies (Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, etc.) actually block (they call it fact checking) people who speak out against certain political parties. This makes the news unreliable and only promoting one side of the story. Unfortunately, that way of doing things is bleeding over into everything including book reviewers. When I want a review on my book or any, I know it is subjective to individual opinion. I want true opinions not white-washed feel good fluff. I accept that my books, just like any are not everyone's cup of tea. That's why I'm thankful for a world full of so many books, because every book will find the reader it was meant for eventually. Keep being true to you and your opinions.
ReplyDeleteThis is so true, there is a new issue of moderation of peoples voices and only amplifying those that follow a narrative that certain people want the rest of the world to believe.
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