Aw Diddums

Dec 10, 2007 at 15:25 o\clock

Comments for this entry:

1. quoteGeosomin wrote at Dec 10, 2007 at 15:36 o\clock:I think it is good that you and others are able to give constructive criticism. I know I've never been hurt by honest criticism myself. As long as people aren't jerks about it, I think that you can only do better with advice. After all, it is why we practice things.
   I find that more and more people are lacking the ability to take criticism. I train students on proper technique in the lab, and I often frustrate them at the small things I will correct them for, but once they are more skilled in what they do, they are able to know the techniques and skills required, and realise why I've done so. I honestly think art and creative jaunts have to be somewhat similar...I do it, because as much as I'd like everything I do to be grand and perfect every time, I want to know how to do things better.
   Don't give up. There will always be the candy perfume girls and boys who gush over things...but in the end it is the honest criticism given in good faith that makes us grow.
2. quoteRichard Madeley wrote at Dec 10, 2007 at 16:04 o\clock:If you asking how to criticise, you’ve come to the right man. Criticism is difficult. I agree. If you say nothing, that's a criticism in itself. Yet it's not good enough to just say 'wonderful' unless, of course, it is wonderul. You need to have a method of being critical.
   
   I find it's best to say at least three good things for every bad thing. For example:
   
   You have lovely eyes, and I think your mouth is adorable; almost as adorable as that lovely little dimple in your chin. But for the sake of humanity, please get rid of that horrible wart on your nose.
   
   You see how it works? The person goes away ‘on message’ regarding the wart but feeling generally good about themselves. Hope this helps.
   
   Fondest regards,
   
   Richard
   
   ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––
   The Richard Madeley Appreciation Society
   http://richardmadeley.blogspot.com
3. quoteKarin wrote at Dec 10, 2007 at 18:24 o\clock:I must commend you. Today everyone is so worried about hurting someone else's feelings that teachers are not supposed to use red pens anymore because it might make a child feel devalued.
   
   As for me, I take photos to remember something, a place, a person, a moment in time, etc. Sometimes they are decent, sometimes not so much. I don't take offense if someone says that's not good or it's good but not great. I can take your critisism and either do something with it or ignore it for whatever reason.
   
   As for the red pen, I survived it and even went on to get published in college (a history journal) and frankly, a lot of kids need to be corrected based on what I see in college kids these days. They can't even handle what I consider to be basic knowlege. Oh well, like you say, darned if you do, darned if you don't.
4. quoteDiddums wrote at Dec 11, 2007 at 13:39 o\clock:Ah - some great comments. :-). Just back from finishing four things on my to-do list... on my way to the next thing.
   
   Geosomin: I discovered at work I was a bit nervy about taking criticism, but then I didn't really feel at home in a busy office. In my case it was possibly down to communication problems plus shyness - I didn't want folk raising their voices to tell me all my mistakes, as everybody would turn and look. :-). A written note was always more discreet; I was fond of my last senior editor because he generally took that option.
   
   When it comes to criticizing images - I think I do prefer something along the lines of Richard's suggestion, which is mix the good with the bad. I prefer that to being given only the bad (it makes me wonder "do you not like it at all?") or having it ignored. And if people are saying "oh, that's marvellous!" you do feel a little as though you were being handed sops when you realize yourself it wasn't that good.
   
   Sometimes I ask for advice on something - "I couldn't get X to work, anybody have any ideas?"... that's supposed to make it easier for someone to say "hum... well, how about...?" - sometimes it works, sometimes not.
   
   Richard: that does work. :-). The humour is always a good touch, and the people on the site who are honest but at the same time helpful, kind and funny are the popular ones. You're happy when they drop by to critique your image - it's like getting a friendly smile from the coolest kid at school.
   
   Some people say 'start with a good thing, ease the bad thing in, and then finish with something encouraging'.
   
   Self-deprecation can help too... sort of "you're like me, I ALWAYS have problems with warts popping up..." (etc).
   
   The hardest ones are the images with nothing good about them. There's a problem with personal snapshots being posted - people using the art site as though it's a photo blog. "See what we saw at the side of the road." Those images were never put there for criticism anyway - I suppose then... it's really up to the moderators to say "this isn't the right place for that"; but there's always another crop of them popping up in the next upload.
   
   I feel quite sorry for them. :-).
   
   Karin: I didn't know about teachers being discouraged from using red pen... that's inconceivable! I did hear vague whisperings along the lines of 'every child wins'.
   
   Quite right about the photos - sometimes I've posted a picture and somebody's said something, and I thought "but that wasn't what I was trying to do" - in that sense their advice isn't relevant. Other advice can be very relevant, but it depends on the image and what it was intended for.
   
   Oh well... got to potter along and finish the things on my to-do list now. Or I might have lunch first...
5. quoteDiddums wrote at Dec 11, 2007 at 13:39 o\clock:Oops - my response was a blog post all on its own.
6. quoteKarin wrote at Dec 11, 2007 at 14:30 o\clock:Like we didn't ramble on ourselves... :)
7. quoteDiddums wrote at Dec 11, 2007 at 16:31 o\clock:Rambling always appreciated. :-).
8. quotePete wrote at Dec 11, 2007 at 21:10 o\clock:now this is odd. bloglines isn't showing me bloggio updates. I only came because you updated blogger and I wondered if this was working.
9. quoteDiddums wrote at Dec 11, 2007 at 21:18 o\clock:I think something went wrong with the feeds around the time that I was panicking because of my 'redirect' problems. I don't think it's Bloglines' fault because Newsgator is having the same experience - it's only updating Blogger.
   
   For all I know, I'm misunderstanding how feeds work.
   
   None of the Blogigo blog feeds are updating - I was meaning to go and look on the German forum to see if anybody there was saying anything! If it's Blogigo's error, I should move - a blog with broken feeds is just... really like whispering into a void. :-).

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