It seems like there have been quite a few posts lately in blogworld that are very critical of other blogs. I blame this all on this post which had a minor error in it which got written up on this blog (well after many commenters had already pointed out the error…kudos). Then this blog wrote about that blog and said it’s a good thing to have those kind of things brought to public attention. Ever since that moment it’s been open warfare in blogworld!
I don’t usually write posts about other posts but I even got in on the action the other day with this post about this guy. One of the commenters wrote a post about it as well and all I can say is that it is well worth a read. However, if you are against this kind of thing and don’t like these kind of words then don’t check it out.
Ahhhh….the sweet fog of war…
New Blog highlight
Bad Money Advice is the type of blog I wish I had started – the basic premise of the blog is that he spends his days surfing around the internet looking for stupid things to criticize (hopefully he doesn’t find this blog anytime soon). This sounds like a dream job to me – in fact it was my job until a while ago when thanks to several rounds of fellow employee cuts, my job-related workload increased to almost completely fill up my work day. Admittedly I don’t work a ton of hours, but I kind of prefer the days when at least half of them were recreational in nature.
Anyway – enough about my career problems – I’ve been following this blog for the last few weeks and I am quite impressed – first of all he doesn’t just criticize (although you know he wants to) – he has a few token “normal” posts as well. The second thing I like is that the writer is obviously quite intelligent, so it’s not a case of one idiot complaining about a bigger idiot. And lastly – he’s a pretty good writer and quite funny.
Here are some posts that I really enjoyed:
- Other effects of the great recession. Read it.
- Thoughts on reactions to Obama’s housing plan. An excellent overview of both the crappy home bailout plan and the crappy coverage of it.
- What’s wrong with the millionaire next door. If you liked this book then don’t read this post.
- Who is qualified to give advice? Should bloggers and financial gurus really be doing anything other than menial jobs?
- Frugal Friday – This is a weekly column where he basically pokes fun at extreme frugality with a touch of humour. I wonder what he would think of this post on dryer lint?
Carnivals from this week
Carnival of Personal Finance was held at Wide Open Wallet who had a very creative “World Record” theme.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
A few observations re mistakes found on money blogs:
1) Many people seem to believe that “professionals” have a better record. That’s not been my experience. I have found some big-time lulus in the stuff being put forward by the people earning millions. My guess is that the good bloggers actually put more effort and care into it (I don’t mean that as a dig at the pros, who also often do a wonderful job — the intent is to put things into perspective);
2) Personal finance bloggers obviously make mistakes. Doh! If we don’t put in place procedures for identifying and correcting our mistakes, we all suffer from the understandable lack of trust in our work product that follows. We all should be making an effort to identify mistakes in our own stuff and in the stuff put forward by friends.
3) People need to get over this idea that you are not an “expert” if you make mistakes. Making mistakes shows that you are human. All experts are human. So all experts make mistakes. Your ability to put forward good material goes up by leaps and bounds when you come to accept that you are going to make mistakes, that there is nothing wrong in that, and that no reasonable person should see anything wrong in it. You should be careful, of course. That’s something different. But, if you come to believe that you really are so smart that you are not going to make any more mistakes, you have travelled to a bad place.
4) The test of an expert is what he does when he learns about his mistakes. The true expert possesses the self-confidence needed to own up and fix the mistake. The blogger or pro who denies the mistake or covers up the mistake is not an “expert” in any meaningful sense, in my assessment. That’s the fellow or gal who we all need to be steered away from.
5) The best thing of all is to take some time to examine what caused the mistake and to advance in your knowledge in all sorts of areas by doing so. Every advance in human knowledge originated in the discovery of some sort of mistake (if our knowledge contained no error, there would be no need to devote any thinking whatsoever to any topic whatsoever). Taken in the right spirit, the discovery of a mistake is a gift from heaven. If you really are careful and yet you still made a mistake, there’s a reason. How come you messed up? Figure it out and you can learn all sorts of amazing things.
I speak from personal experience re all this. I’ve made more boners than anyone else out there. I’m a personal finance genius (in training)!
Rob
Hey, thanks for the shout out!
I think that criticism is something that is a necessary part of the blogosphere. When someone churns out a post that is just simply wrong, someone needs to step up and challenge them.
Guys (and gals) who have these huge blogs with tens of thousands of avid readers have a responsibility to get their stuff right. You can put as many disclaimers as you want, but at the end of the day there’s somebody who’s relying on them for financial advice. If no one is listening, then why post? Why give advice if nobody takes it?
Saying that, mistakes do happen. I know I’ve made them, as has every other blogger. Nobody is expecting every blog post in the world to be perfect. But what we should be able to expect is accountability. So please, fellow bloggers, actually address your readers’ comments. Hold yourself accountable.
This issue is a fascinating one and I don’t think it’s going away soon.
Thanks for the positive write up. (Unless this is one of those sarcastic April Fools things.)
Frank – no April Fool’s posts this year.
Funny though, on the one hand to not like the criss-cross criticism between blogs, yet to like a blog that’s all about criticising the advice in the pf blogs? Isn’t it all the same? I think open discussion and disagreement is good; it certainly happens in many comment-conversations. I wouldn’t call it a war. The other day I wanted to write up a counter-point to the Consumerism commentary title about “how to be frugal: don’t be a woman;” since I found that quite inappropriate, even if as a joke. I didn’t write anything up, since I thought it would be needlessly attacked. Perhaps I should have.
Money Energy – I never said I don’t like blogs criticizing each other.
Yes, of course “war” is an exaggeration.
You should have written that post!