Here is my theory on why people don’t often choose to leave positive feedback.

#1: Just Browsing. Often times, people go on the internet to check out products, whether they be art, designs, music, videos, recordings, or other items that have been handcrafted by a producer. If they see a new item that impresses them, they may think, “Oooh ahh, that is really beautiful! I love what I see/hear and am very impressed! I’ll definitely revisit in the future for more updates. I don’t really feel like writing my opinion right now, but maybe in the future I will. I love their work!”

#2: Lack of time. Sometimes people are in a hurry and just don’t want to take the extra couple minutes to make a statement of their opinion. People often just get busy. How many times have we been on the internet just to pay a bill and while doing so, we happen to multi-task and browse our favorite items? We may not write our opinions on the things we viewed simply because it was not our number one agenda for going online. This is not only common on the internet but in real life as well. Some people may not want to take the time to log in to a website, come up with a screen name and write their comments. Others may feel that there could be more important things to do with their time than have one-sided conversations with a person just to express an opinion that may not go anywhere. Some people may not want to leave positive feedback simply because it’s time consuming.

#3: Shyness. Some people just don’t know what to say and are very shy. Sometimes the act of approaching a successful person is a dramatic thing, and may cause mild anxiety. For instance, have you ever gone to an art or photography exhibit and glanced at all the work and was extremely impressed but just didn’t know what to say to the exhibitor… so you said nothing? Or consider this example. You watched a great film with an up-and-coming actress who was not only drop-dead gorgeous, but ridiculously talented. Perhaps you may be too shy to try to contact the actress out of fear of sounding like a stalker, a freak, or an obsessive person.

#4: Not knowing what to say. Some people may be extremely impressed with a product but simply don’t know what to say or how to convey their opinions. Perhaps they might view a video that was profound to them but are clueless with what to write. Maybe they have attempted writing something but realized it sounded pointless or ridiculous so they delete it instead. Many times, being at a loss of words can be a big factor in not wanting to leave feedback for someone.

#5: Assuming someone else will say it. In this case, it’s common to assume that if a producer comes out with a great product, people will glance at it and think, “Wow, that’s soooo cool!” They may not write or express their opinions publicly, because they assume someone else will come along and do it for them. Or perhaps they see 50 or 60 people have already positively commented on a product, so they neglect to add their opinions in fear of being overlooked and/or having no impact with their own opinions.

#6: Redundancy. Some people DO leave a lot of positive feedback, consistently. Over time, the person may choose not to leave positive feedback for the producer anymore because they feel they are repeating themselves and/or their impact is lessening over a period of time. If they constantly say, “Your work is great!” Perhaps they feel that if they say the same thing every day and/or every time a new item is produced, it will have little to no impact for the producer.

#7: They weren’t that impressed. Some people want to leave positive feedback, but don’t know how to express their opinion in a way that will be uplifting for the producer. Perhaps they just weren’t very impressed with a product and feel if they say something, it may not come from an honest place. In this circumstance, they may choose not to say anything at all, rather than to hurt someone’s feelings.

#8: High expectations. Some people feel that if they take the time to leave positive feedback, they expect a written response back, showing acknowledgement of receipt of opinion. In many cases, this is almost impossible, especially if the producer of a creative item is highly busy. The person who wants to write the message KNOWS that if they write a positive opinion, then they will get no acknowledgement back, so they don’t bother. Some people feel that if they put their time and energy into a response, they deserve an equal response back.

#9: Privacy and voyeurism. Some people go on the internet simply as voyeurs and don’t feel like interacting with others. The producers are the exhibitionists. The voyeurs are there to watch. Consider this example: There is a group of street performers who are dancing and doing acrobatics in front of hundreds of people. Some people leave donation coins in a hat as their contribution. Some people watch and leave no donation, but are equally impressed. Instead of personally saying something positive to the performers (and instead of leaving money), perhaps they tell their friends about what they saw. These types of voyeurs and lurkers are the very types of people personally responsible for a lot of word-of-mouth advertising.

#10: No feedback is good feedback. Some people feel that by not giving their opinion, they are actually acknowledging their happiness with a situation. Many times people go to a concert and have a great time, only to leave and never say anything to the promoters of the concert for a providing such a fantastic performance. When the concert-goers leave the auditorium, people appear happy, although little to no one has gone out of their way to track down the promoter to say thank you. However, let’s assume that the concert was horrible. That perhaps there was poor customer service, poor sound quality, poor bathroom choice, poor food, poor drinks, poor everything. In this circumstance, the promoter would receive lots of feedback, which would be mostly negative. So in essence, often times receiving no feedback is a sign of customer satisfaction.

Consider this other example as well. Let’s say you shop at a music store and are satisfied with your experience there. You’ve shopped there a million times. You always leave without telling anyone “Thank you for providing such a fantastic selection with great prices!” Maybe just assume no one cares about your opinion and/or feel that no one will really listen to you unless it’s a complaint. However, let’s say you go to the same music store a month later to look for a particular cd or album. Everywhere you look, a sign says, “Out of Stock.” Every product you actually want is out of stock. You’ve been browsing the store for an hour for something and just when you think you’re getting close to finding a product, it’s out of stock too. You decide to talk to the manager and ask what is happening. Just the fact you are talking to the manager about the situation is “giving feedback.” However, if you had said nothing to the manager, he would have assumed everything was just fine. Sometimes people will only give feedback if there is something wrong.

Love
Isabella
xoxoxoxo

P.S. I encourage people who enjoy products on the internet to say something to the producer, even if it’s just a smiley face. That shows your pleasure and gives the producer acknowledgment of a job well done.