Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You're only a stranger once.

August 6, 2009

Provocative vs. Genuine

Liz wrote this at 8:17 am

sealionI’ve been thinking about the difference between being provocative and being genuine lately.

We all read stories or see ads that are “provocative.” They are fun to read and see from time to time. But I wonder… do you trust a provocative story or would you prefer genuine writing?

There have been a few blog posts going around this week about being provocative in your blogging, marketing or overall strategy. I read that being being provocative has value in challenging people and pushing them to think.

Sure, I can agree with that.

Another blog I read suggested, “Being provocative isn’t about being controversial. It’s about being ahead of your time, solving problems in new and interesting ways, and creating awesome brands and products.”

But what does the word “provocative” really mean, I wondered. Here’s one definition that seems to be generally accepted: “Making people angry or excited: deliberately aimed at exciting or annoying people.”

Being provocative to me means trying to get people to react emotionally, quickly, instead of giving them something to think about, and respond to in time. It can mean prodding someone’s emotions instead of challenging the way they think.

If you were talking to a person face-to-face and you could tell they were being “provocative” or controversial just to get a reaction out of you, how would you feel? Would you feel challenged intellectually, or emotionally annoyed?

Every now and again I catch myself getting incensed by something I read which *I* know is “wrong.” I start a post and am writing away but I stop myself because what I am in fact doing is reactionary. I’m not carefully considering the points put forward and formulating an intelligent response.

That could very well be because in many provocative ads or blog posts there are few ideas to think about, only phrases to react to. I’ve read that writing like this is like the loud person at a party who swears a lot and is “controversial” just because he or she has nothing intelligent to say.

Do you read “provocative” blogs and enjoy “provocative” marketing strategies because you are enriched or learn from them, or do you just enjoy the controversy?

By Kathryn Jennex
www.kathrynjennex.com





Filed under Successful Blog | 7 Comments »




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7 Comments to “Provocative vs. Genuine”

  1. August 6th, 2009 at 8:54 am
    Daniel said

    I love reading anything by Richard Laermer. He’s provocative, smart and knows his stuff.

    It’s the same thing with Strumpette or Ron May in Chicago. Everyone reads them, but nobody will admit they do.

    Blog responses are always a good thing, too, when done sparingly. You don’t want to get a rabble-rouser reputation.

  2. August 6th, 2009 at 9:20 am
    Pace said

    I think it’s important to take into account who you’re talking to. When you’re talking face-to-face, being intentionally provocative is just being a jerk.

    But when you’re talking to a large audience, being provocative can be a good way to rally your Right People and get the fence-sitters thinking.

    But I think we might be talking past each other, Kathryn, because it looks like we may have different definitions of the word “provocative”.

    For me, it doesn’t have the connotation of not giving them something to think about. In my idiolect, “thought-provoking” and “provocative” are similar phrases. “provocative” means “emotion-provoking”, but it can certainly be thought-provoking as well.

    So maybe we’re actually disagreeing about the definition of the word “provocative”, which is much less interesting than disagreeing about the actual issue at hand. (:

  3. August 6th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
    Wilma Ham said

    Using provocative just to shock and thus to get my attention for something that doesn’t deserve my attention, things interruption marketing or a loud mouthed person at a party can do, is utterly rude and not acceptable in my books.
    Having my feelings provoked in a deliberate conversation is still challenging but appreciated. However one condition needs to be present always when appreciating being provoked and that is this; is the provocation done from a place of love, is it coming from the heart and thus add value.
    THAT for me is the biggest difference between provocations and how I receive them.

  4. August 7th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
    Suzanna B. Stinnett said

    Hey Liz,
    Good timing for me on this article. Gathering viewpoints on a product I’m creating for job seekers, I realized that people are concerned about the authenticity they see on blogs. “How are bloggers tweaking their posts to suit the occasion or desired readership?” Being provocative does feel counter to being genuine. And according to that definition you found, I’d say my reaction to almost all radio and TV “news” is that it values provoking above truth. (Which is why I’m so quick to shut it off.)
    That said, I think there are delicate ways to productively provoke a reaction and then nurture the reaction into a response.
    I think I’d call that “art.”
    My favorite “artist” in that sense is my friend and council, one Michael Phillips. (@phillips1938)
    He regularly blogs on subjects that we might only vaguely recognize as controversial. His tweets are punchy bits of truth from his blogs that often sound WAY off (deliberately.) But he is fostering love, through love of diverse thinking, in a way that only a demigod can muster.
    May we grow in collective kindness through the global brain,
    Suzanna Stinnett

  5. August 7th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
    Suzanna B. Stinnett said

    p.s. My thanks to Kathryn Jennex, the author of the article. Good stuff.
    Suzanna

  6. August 8th, 2009 at 3:43 am
    Sean Morrissy said

    I think it can be a good way to learn. Sometimes it takes something really provocative and “out there” for us to actually wake up a little.

    Have fun,
    Sean

  7. August 8th, 2009 at 4:43 am
    David said

    I read provocative-for-the-sake-of-being-provocative as a character trait, or a character deficiency.

    Making a genuine contribution is something else.

    Of course, if one is on the side of the righteous, and addressing the closed-minded, the oppressors, the arrogant, then provocation coupled with humor has its place.

    Best of all is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-idDbIfGvw

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