The world certainly isn’t getting any easier and the Internet is a reflection of what is going on in the world in real time. Thus, the attitudes and perceptions of people across the world are also reflected on the Internet in the form of videos, music and content. This is also true for mood. Recent surveys and researches revel that Twitter can actually reveal what the predominant mood of a country at a particular time really is.
Internet Reflects the General Mood and Attitude of the World around Us
With Internet reflecting larger attitudes, moods and the way we generally feel, it should not come as a surprise that we must often try not to reveal our negative emotions in content, no matter how testing the times are. With this in mind, we are often asked if blog posts and other content forms should be as honest as the writer is feeling at the time of writing. Thanks to a terrible economy and a general sense of skepticism and doubt, we often tend to be snarky, and that is of course, a word popularized on the Internet.
What On Earth Is Snarky and Why Should You Bother?
Snarky means ‘short tempered’ or ‘irritable’, according to the most popular definition on Urban Dictionary. The lack of a dictionary meaning for the word ‘snarky’ itself suggests that the word is very new and is yet to appear in mainstream dictionaries. No matter what the origin of the word is, snarky certainly seems to be the prevalent attitude and mood across the Internet, thanks to the bad economy and political situation across the world.
With that in mind, should your content be snarky? The answer to this question is not simple and is certainly not straight forward. It is always a good idea to be honest and forthright about how we feel and receive. If that is reflected in our writing, it is not really a big deal unless it is offensive. Most companies tend to be as pleasing and friendly as possible when they get their marketing copy written.
Snarky Content Is Not Always Bad
However, sometimes it is not a very bad idea to be snarky. Healthy cynicism and skepticism can reveal a more honest side of your company than sugarcoating words. Of course, snarky content is not for everyone but for discerning consumers and customers, snarky content can actually mean that you understand their predicaments and apprehensions about life in general. Life is not easy for either business owners or for their customers. If a healthy dose of cynicism and sarcasm is reflected in your content, it can come across as you being transparent, witty and intelligent, while acknowledging the darker side of life.
A Healthy Dose of Cynicism and Skepticism Can Be Good
With this in my mind, most of the times, a good measure of cynicism and genuine skepticism at the way things are is not such a bad idea at all. As a business writer or content manager, you need to know who you are writing for, and what they expect to read on your website. Most of us tend to underestimate our own readers and the reality is, they are smarter and wittier than we believe them to be and a healthy dose of sarcasm and cynicism will be well received. You do not have to sugarcoat your words all the time and try to present things in an appealing manner. Speak your heart out and if you wish the tone of your language to be snarky, then go ahead and be snarky!
Snarky is neither bad not unpleasant. It can actually be a great way of connecting with your readers instead of churning out typical marketing copy that will eventually get buried under heaps of words that is published later on. A snarky attitude if done right can strike a note with readers who are disillusioned and bored with the way things are. It can help you to create an online persona that is based in wit, intelligence, skepticism and humor. This persona will help you build your brand around the same wit and skeptical attitude with which you build your content. And these are qualities that indicate trustworthiness, reliability and intelligence.
