This guest post on using swearing on your blog was written by Justin Dupre from Blogosis.
I’m thinking of a word that starts with F- and ends in U-C-K. There are two answers to this. If you are the good blogger, which I know you all are, (Italics for emphasis, people) you would know I’m thinking of a “fire-truck.” Of course, 99.9 percent of you thought different.
Blogging using cuss words has become a trend for some new bloggers hitting the scene, but I’m wondering is it really to any avail? I want to take this time on Problogger to analyze the pros and cons of putting the S-word, B-word, or any other X-word that might be whispered into your eat by that devil on your shoulder.
Let’s start with the pros of blogging without cussing:
- Your blog will have a friendlier, less hostile look. Saying a swear word creates a more hostile atmosphere to the sentence you have just said. This applies to blogging, as well. Keeping your blog friendly encourages people to enter and comment.
- Your blog will be appropriate for all ages of your audience. Some niches have readers from all age groups, kids under 10 to grandparents in their 60s and up. If you were 12, how would your mother feel if she caught you reading a blog that dropped the eff-bomb every other word? I can tell you little Carlo (from Carlocab.com) would not be reading you. Your grandparents might be downright appalled if they stumbled upon one of your blatant attempts to show off your swearing vocabulary (that is, assuming they know how to use Stumble Upon).
- Your blog will be more appealing to those who have strict religious beliefs. I don’t want to go too far into this because this always causes problem, but those that believe in a god might be shocked by some words bloggers use in their articles. This population is huge, too, so if you avoid swearing you can attract them to subscribe, as well.
Pro’s of using those naughty words:
- It is easier to attract a younger audience! This is a bit odd, but some children are just learning these kinds of words. If you show them how to use these words to effectively get link-bait, or how to offend Google for screwing you over again, you might just have them hooked. (I don’t condone showing children how to swear. These are just the facts, baby)
- Most users online are well accustomed to this kind of language. If you haven’t been hearing the F-word since you were 6-years old, you aren’t from an English-speaking country, or your father locked you in your basement/room/closet as a child. We’ve heard it on the television, movies, plenty of YoutTube videos, and if you want to check out iTunes you can download the latest Snoop Dog album to gain some more knowledge in this phenomenon. Cuss words are a part of our society.
- Using bad words makes it easier to find your voice. In any kind of writing, you need to find a unique voice. There are less bloggers that I watch in my niche that use a foul-mouth (-fingers?). When something is less common, and you do that less common thing, you are (more) unique! Revelation, isn’t it folks.
I don’t particularly enjoy swearing on my blog, Blogosis. I might throw in an ‘a$$’ or a ‘I3!tch’ every once and a while, but I don’t overdo it. I want to keep my blog open to the widest audience I can. I have studied the demographics of my audience, and a little more than about 60% is in their 20s-30s. They are well aware that all these words are part of daily vocabulary, and probably part of theirs. It is kind of a toss-up. You can swear and cuss your head off, or just avoid it. The easy choice would be to let my hands run wild but I attempt to be a little more retained than that (unless I am talking about Google.)
In order to gain my unique voice, I write a little more alternatively than others in the ‘blogging/writing’ niche. Every once in a while I might write extremely intellectual posts, but I attempt to keep it fresh with humor (which I hope you’ve experienced here). There are plenty of other alternatives to get the same effect as swearing might for some blogs (minus the offensive attitude they admit). Let me make a list:
- Make it funny. That’s easy. Put a joke in, make fun of Google, or tease another blogger (I choose you, Carlo-mon. Kids are fun). Keep it playful, though. Jokes can get offensive, too.
- Make a reader smile. Make someone excited to be able to read your post. I love to hear my friends smiled over something I wrote to them.
- Write about or from something that inspires you. People love to hear what inspires others, because we are always searching for our true inspiration (It is like the question of life, constantly challenging us).
What does Darren tell you in every post? Write original content, write original content, and oh yeah! Write original content. This is the only way you will be successful, so stop linking to bigger blogs that will never notice you, and start some creative blogging!
Whether or not you want to swear is completely up to you, but before you drop the nuke of all destructive words, know your blog’s demographics which you are blogging for. Dropping that bomb on them may lead to a bomb destroying your subscriber count.
I attempt to keep it clean because the people I am writing for aren’t kids. Also, I feel potential employers can always come online and catch me running my mouth and I will end up with no and looking like an idiot
Let’s be honest….can you really trust someone who NEVER drops the f’bomb?
F*ck! I wish I could spell markeTing! haha
We also talk about not allowing differences of opinion on a blog. I have already emailed justin my comments SANS your moderating my post here….useless.
Man, I must be soft core after all. You are all talking about “F” bombs and a$$. I looked back at my Shoemoney post a few days ago and became worried for using the word “sucks.”
Man…where did my obnoxious youth go?
I really enjoyed this piece :) Nice work :)
Personally, I’m not comfortable cussing on my blog – a personal development site for women :)
I want my blog to be accessible to a wide audience
this doesn’t mean reading the effers on OTHER people’s blog offends me. Just my personal preference.
one again, great post
What is it people have against certain words. It is irrational and should not be tolerated at all. I would think that George Carlin and Lenny Bruce and the like made that point clear to all who could think. There is nothing hostile about using the F word it depends on how it is use. “Saying WTF” this is crazy is not hostile, saying “F you” is. I am tired of people trying to force their antiquated morality on me. What a sad society we live in where people take arguments like this seriously.
I do a better job of not swearing in my writing thatn I do in my spoken vocabulary. I’m not sure why that is, but I guess it’s that my written voice doesn’t swear much. I just don’t need to swear to get my point across, and in writing, it’s just one more word to have to type.
My stats show that many people read blogs at work. I do not want to bring any trouble upon my readers by triggering their IT department’s “naughty filter”.
Don’t anger the Net Nanny!
@Rhys: what’s so bad with wanker? I’m british, I don’t care.
Let’s investigate the history of these words.
Some words were blasphemous. Others were “vulgar”, which simply meant “common” – in other words, these were the words that an uneducated “common” person would use.
In other words, most of this nonsense originated with simple class discrimination. It’s hard to take any objections seriously when you consider it in that light, but of course we have to be aware that many, many people simply have knee-jerk reactions to these words without ever thinking about why..
…and this means not only that I refrain from using profanity, but that I must also refrain from linking to foul-fingered bloggers whose work I otherwise enjoy.
I hope that those bloggers who think they are being “authentic” by using swear words will keep this point in mind.
@Adam:
Nothing, but it’s still a swear word – you wouldn’t hear it on Eastenders, so it’s weird that it was on the Simpsons. It’s stronger in the UK than Americans apparently perceive it.
Although off-line I swear like a trooper in the right company, I don’t normally swear in writing, so I don’t swear on my blog. And honestly I don’t see how would it fit in with personal finance anyway.
This has been one of the most interesting posts I’ve read in a while. I swear on my blog every now and again, but it adds a certain fun element to it. It’s all a part of spicing up content.
I do use them. Rarely though. If I do feel like saying %!#&*#$&%*&%$ then I say it. It is a good form of expression after all. If I am pissed then I don’t use five picked up sentences. I use just four letters.
For those that can be offended by a word… I don’t care. Really. One should be offended by what I write about at the moment, or by negative emotions I present there, not words.
But using nasty words can be a tricky practice. Overdo it and there is a reason for readers to be annoyed. Beside that, words can lose their meaning and power by pointless use.
Finally! I totally agree to this. I don’t really swear much and I have heard it all my life, but it seems to me that it just shouldn’t be in literature of any type. Can we not keep anything clean?!?!
Curtis, clean is a matter of Culture and Opinion and Anthony Lawrence above is right: “most of this nonsense originated with simple class discrimination”. I’m a vegetarian and I’m totally offended and disgusted by all the images of meat and flesh eating on TV and the casual display of it in stores: Murder does far more damage than a mere word or Porn for that matter. Should I enforce my values on you, should meat be outlawed, should bloggers refrain from talking about it? If you don’t wanna read a blog go somewhere else.
I don’t normally swear on my blog because my audience doesn’t come to my blog looking for swearing. (Unlike Ittybiz, a wonderful little blog that prides itself on a wealth of curse words.) I do use strong language occasionally, when the post calls for it.
Bloggers should be thinking about the effect of every word on their blogs, though, not just the ones with four letters.
I don’t use swear words on my blog. It doesn’t feel right to me. However, yesterday I allowed a comment with the f-bomb because the rest of the comment showed a discriminatory attitude that I wanted to comment on.
The foul-mouthed (foul-fingered?) blogger has really become kind of a cliche’. Strong language doesn’t bother me… an overuse of it gets boring quickly, though, and I tend to write off the blogger as unimaginative…
“Fire truck.” That was great.
@Starhawk
The worst part (in my opinion) is that the people who object don’t think about WHY they object – in other words, there is no rational thought, just emotion. It’s often the same sort of reaction seen to any unorthodox sexuality: it makes people uncomfortable, but they never examine why. It’s that lack of examination that disappoints me.
I’ve been avoiding ‘cussing’ in my own writing on my blog. In fact I go so far as to edit the comments of readers with socially unacceptable language. Any comments with F@#ks I either delete (if they’re abusive) or edit. My reasons?
1. Abusive language undermines any sense of professionalism I have developed.
2. Abusive language results in my sites being banned by education system filters.
3. Abusive language can lead to a loss of advertisers.
4. Abusive language leads to a loss of readers.
Blogging using cuss words has become a trend for some new bloggers hitting the scene
What? Are you new to the internet? F-Bombs are a long heralded art form dating back to the time before blogging began. By which I mean the listservs and so forth.
I don’t know where you get the idea that this is new.
Stop by my blog. Use the F-Word. I’m ok with it, and by no means am I new to blogging.
@Nick There is a time and a place for language like that. A Blog is not the place.
I might agree with you if the purpose of the blog is professional in the corporate sense. Other than that, I disagree. Blogs started as personal journals. I consider the best ones to still be the ones with that personal touch to them. Even if they are different in their topicality than originally.
Is anyone here going to disagree with the age old advice, “Write like you talk?” Well, anyone?
I’ve even written posts that include profanity in the titles. (Not often, but I’ve done it) I don’t care if that makes it inappropriate for children or the easily offended. My blog isn’t for children or the easily offended.
I think for me, it depends on how strongly I feel about something. I do not think I swear all that much on my blog. And usually, I will do one of these – a$$, Beeearch….etc….
I try not to swear in real life, so I don’t swear on my blog, called Real Life. Mine is a Christian blog, so I don’t think my readers would appreciate it, either ;-)
It’s kind of sad if you feel you have to swear to get a point across. You can do it if you want, but I won’t read it.
@Sarah
Why is it sad? Why the condescension? You seem to imply that the use of profanity signals a limited vocabulary and/or a lack of intelligence. It’s symbolizes neither.
It’s simply a way of expressing something. So, again, how is that sad?
@Sarah
Why is it sad? Why the condescension? You seem to imply that the use of profanity signals a limited vocabulary and/or a lack of intelligence. It symbolizes neither.
It’s simply a way of expressing something. So, again, how is that sad?
Interesting post Darren. In my case, I wirte monologues which are based on circumstances and revealed through Character. For me, it is writing truthful dialogue that captures the truest expression of the essence of character. Of course there are other elements to the structure of a piece like actions, subtext and what have you. But for me, it comes down to the nature of the human being I am writing and in some cases there are cursing, HEAVY cursing and in other cases, NONE.
It boils down to the nature of one’s blog and in my case it is in regards to creative expression and I can’t hold back what must be revealed.
In terms of a different blog site, cursing may be completely unappropriate.
Wow! What a reply. I really want to thank everyone who is helping in the discussion of this topic. Be sure to follow back to my blog! I had no idea Darren posted this entry and I think I was sleeping while he did. Haha
Justin Dupre
I agree, using cuss words on a blog definitely drives most people away – unless the blog is an adult, humor, or personal blog. But if you’re going for something more professional and business-like, then leave words like ‘f***’ out. Bad words definitely take the feeling of seriousness out of a blog, and not everyone will know that they can trust you.
And also like you mentioned, it definitely narrows down the age groups and types of people that will read your site. Will youngsters read it? No, because they might get in trouble with their parents. Will religious people read it? No, because they may feel offended or try to stay away from such “bad influences”. Will people take you seriously? No, often not. It definitely lowers how trustworthy you seem.
ouch! :).. just submitted my new article and it’s full of A- word? good thing no eff.. ..
nice tips.. but id rather prefer to provocative and vocal coz it stirrssss conversation of portable generation’s kind..
I’ve read PB quite often, but have never felt compelled to comment until now.
In regards to using “profane” language on your blog, you have to do what serves your content and your readers best. I agree that there is a time and a place for such “language,” but only because society as a whole is still backwards enough to suggest that some words are “bad,” while others are “good.”
Alan Ginsberg used profanity as he wrote about the best minds of his generation in an epic work of poetry called “Howl.” It was and still is hailed by many as one of the greatest works of American literature ever produced. But, your kids won’t learn about this poem in school. Turn on public radio and you’ll hear countless readings of poetry and prose, but you won’t hear “Howl.”
Yet despite its being so heavily censored, it is evident that Mr. Ginsberg’s poem will continue to be treasured by millions long after our blog posts on SEO and Adsense Hacks and 10 Best Ways to Monetize Your Blog have fallen into obsolete obscurity.
I, for one, am willing to give Alan Ginsberg the benefit of the doubt regarding his intellect and the depth of his vocabulary.
So please try to be a bit more open minded and refrain from insulting those of respectable intelligence because you don’t like their affinity for fire trucks. You might just find that some of us are better writers than you think ;)
Oh,
How rude. I forgot to say “cheers” to Justin for a great and thought-provoking post!
That first paragraph should say “ear” not eat. My bad… :(
Justin
All I am thinking is to buy a new domain, something like naughtyblogger.com…
There is a particular blog I visit daily in the equine blogoshpere wher the language is, ahem, rather “salty” to say the least.
I forgive the language as the points brought to the surface are very much well worth reading. The issues at hand there bring about insanely passionate responses from the readers, who post often and with great veracity. (Viciousness at times also.)
While I refrain from swearing on my blog, striving to keep it as family friendly as possible, I truly do understand the vocabulary choice at the blog mentioned above. However, for the most part, the utilization of incessant swearing only seems to lower your standards and intellect. At least, that is how it comes across…
The horse world that I live and work in is peppered with foul language. Being able to SEE the person interact with the horses and people around them creates a distinclty different impression. However, when you can only go by the written word…. well…. image takes a large hit!
Keep it clean, keep it fun, and they will come! ;)
Well, I suppose the internet public is different than the radio public.
The other day, on a radio show, the #1 show of a big city, the announcer had to apologize because he used the word “stupid”.
I think you can get away with bad language if it is in a humorous context – such as The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs or Money is the Way. Swear words on a serious blog just look aggressive and rude.
More tiresome canards for me to swat down with ease.
@Jeff McIntire, who says:
I tend to write off the blogger as unimaginative…
I think it’s pretty funny to think that The Astonishing Adventures of Lord Likely is “unimaginative.” It’s f**king brilliant, and I am choosing the best word available to express my enthusiasm when I use that word. It’s not a limitation to my lexicon. It’s the right tool for the job.
Lord Likely is more imaginative than 99.9% of what’s available in the blogosphere. That might be the reason it won Performancing’s “Best blog you’ve never heard of.”
@Tay – Superblogging
Will religious people read it? No, because they may feel offended or try to stay away from such “bad influences”.
Even that must be qualified. One of my most loyal and devoted readers is pretty strong in her Christian convictions, yet had this to say about my blog:
Add some sarcasm to some humor and blend it up with some grrrrr…and you have the rants you can find at Radioactive Liberty. While not completely adult in nature, the f-word is used lovingly.
I don’t think she feels abused either. Re: Duncan.
4. Abusive language leads to a loss of readers.
Some readers. I’m thoroughly convinced, though that others thoroughly enjoy the outlet it provides.
D’oh! I must have forgotten to close a tag. Sorry fort the huge section of boldface.
I went to Bible College in the midwest, and we adapted what we called “Christianized Cuss Words.” A couple examples would be “arse” or “shizzy” or “freakin”
THese are the words I use for emphasis when needed. They get the point across but appear grey instead of black or white.
AL
In my case, I keep the cursing to a minimum because I KNOW my Dad reads the blog.
… Cursing in the comic strip I write is fair game though. Maybe because it’s full of a bunch of criminals who are expected to curse anyway.
Thanks for this valuable insight.
Working alone from home – and striving to “be real” I can quite easily be tempted by that devil on my shoulder.
You are totally right that what may be effective when spoken – looks very angry and off-putting to the reader.
Perhaps this is a great reason to go back to great litarary traditions, if not for style, for ethics and perspective.
Sincerely,
Rick Butts
@Fiar… clearly you misread my comment as I made no reference to Lord Likely. I’d argue, though, that for every blogger that does use obscenity well (and this certainly can be done, and I’ll even accept your characterizations of this particular blog), there are many, many more that use it when more descriptive, evocative language would work much better. There are other adjectives besides “fu**ing” …
Obscenity can be extremely effective when done right; usually, that means dropping that f-bomb when provides a necessary level of shock or emphasis. I just don’t see that kind of careful use of this kind of language from bloggers that regularly incorporate foul language into their posts… rather, I see it overused, which ultimately weakens its effect.
Maybe you can swat me down next time…;-)
“I see it overused, which ultimately weakens its effect.”
Do we ever hear this argument applied to the overuse of other words? I could use “extraordinary” or any other word twenty times in a single post and many readers wouldn’t even notice, never mind complain. I could use it where it is really not justified, but again, no such charges would be brought. But use one of those “awful” words, and you’ll hear this thought every time.
@Anthony… sure we do. The very definition of a cliche’ is a phrase (usually metaphorical) that’s been used so often that it’s lost its effect. And overuse of any word in a post is weak writing, and shows a similar lack of imagination (or, maybe, just vocabulary).
You seem to imply that “obscene” words are just words like any other. If that were the case, we wouldn’t need to have this discussion. The fact that they’re considered obscene gives them special power: they can shock, unlike “extraordinarily.” That’s their power… and when well-used, they retain that power (there are definitely times when we do want to shock our readers). Repetitive use dulls that effect, though… you can only shock people the same way so many times.
@jeff
Objectionable words obviously are not like any other – but only because of people who make nonsense noises about their “special power” and other weaseling intended to provide a pseudo rational justification for their suppression.
“Weak writing” is seldom remarked upon outside of academic settings. As I stated above (and I stand by that), I could overuse any word in a post, be obviously repetitive, and no one would remark upon it. Drop one word that the little minds don’t like however, and aside from the expected objections from people worried about children and other complaints about “keeping it clean” you’ll regularly get someone like you warning that “repetition dulls effect”.
In actual fact, dulling is a constant and never ending part of every words life: witness the evolution of words like “awesome”, “catastrophe” and many others.
(As an interesting aside, new words coming into being exactly through dulling. Our English word “not”, for example, came from “ne-a-whit” which was once quite emphatic, meaning “nothing what so ever”. Our “not” is much weaker and dulled)
The words you are so worried about are already being dulled through casual use and are slowing passing into acceptability. Almost no one is upset by “damn” now, but a half century ago that was still verboten. Bringing it into ordinary use may have “weakened” it from it’s original religious meanings, but so what?
I don’t expect you to agree with this, and frankly, I don’t give a .. :-)
My language is terrible, in fact I am offensive on purpose. It wouldn’t be honest if I did it any other way. I love pushing people’s buttons and shocking them out of their day-to-day stupor.
I think it stems from the old saying “You can’t please everyone”. Well I take it one step further and make it a fundamental law. There’s no way in hell I’ll ever please every reader, so I might as well make it fun for the select few who are as warped as I, rather than water down my character for the benefit of the very people I can’t stand. I think it’s better to be a foul-mouthed a-hole than a hypocrit.