Comment, I Dare You - with Madeleine Chapman

Madeleine Chapman is the author of two books and a former senior writer at The Spinoff, New Zealand. ~

Whenever something controversial, scandalous or provocative happens online, I'm as guilty of anyone of grabbing the popcorn and heading straight for the comments. But in the back of my mind, when reading and making assessments of the situation based on the opinions, biases and twisted thoughts of total strangers, I always fear in the back in the mind that one day the target in a comments section - will be me. 

In this episode we are joined by Madeleine Chapman, a former Spinoff senior writer at The Spinoff and author of not one, but TWO BOOKS. From ranking New Zealand dairy lollies to reminding people that reverse racism has never been a thing, Mad is no stranger when it comes to being the cause of debate - nor is she a stranger to being the target of a bunch of angry, outraged and loaded comments, sometimes at the expense of her character.

While you'd be forgiven for thinking that being exposed to this type of stuff comes with a huge mental toll, this conversation is incredibly refreshing. Mad is someone who does not let the comments define her writing decisions, nor her self esteem. But, like, HOW, I hear you ask? Hit play, people!

For anyone who publishes or plans to publish online, this discussion is a fantastic resource for thinking about ways to disassociate yourself from the comments, and getting motivated to write what you really want to write. 

Topics include: overcoming 'hate' in the comments, the Martin Devlin incident, regulation, and unfair chip rankings.

Show notes: 

Get yourself a copy of Madeleine's latest book - Jacinda Ardern: A New Kind of Leader - from your local bookstore (just in time for Mother's Day..). Stores aren't currently open, so here are a few links:

Tweet your thoughts @SelfieReflect

Check out the shiny new WEBSITE!

And here's the link to Mad's favourite piece of writing on The Spinoff.