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So last week I did my very first Periscope.
My friend, Cheri Valentine came over to do some work with me and we, on the spur of the moment, decided to do a joint Periscope broadcast. It was pretty funny to watch and see all the mistakes we made.
Since then I’ve been watching Alex Pettitt and Tabitha Philen’s regular scopes to learn from people who know way more than I do!
So, on Tuesday, I decided to do a scope all by myself.
I knew what I was going to scope on. It was going to be on my Good Money Habits and how you can implement them to gain better control over your finances. I had just listened that morning to Alex’s tips and mistakes to avoid so I was ready to implement them. I wanted the scope to be the best it could be at the time, with the amount of knowledge I had at this given moment.
I grabbed my phone and microphone, set up my information, chose a title and a few hashtags and hit record.
At first, everything was going along, and people were joining, which I was excited about. I had a total of 16 people join, which was nine more than the first one I did with Cheri.
I was doing my best to chat it up with folks, and even asked folks to let me know where they were from in an attempt to be engaging.
And then it happened.
A bully appeared on my screen.
The first message he sent was ‘fuck you’. I apologize for the language, but I want you to understand fully what was happening, and sugar-coating this won’t cut it.
I ignored it and then he wrote, ‘bitch.’
Finally, he wrote, ‘fat ass.’
Well, needless to say, I was shocked. But it was more than that. I instantly felt humiliated by his comments because I knew other people could see what he was writing.
I kept thinking, “Have I learned anything about how to handle a bully on periscope?”
As I read the comments, I was acutely aware that I needed to keep my composure, somehow keep my thoughts on track and not sound like a complete idiot in the process.
I thought I regrouped pretty well.
Although I had lots more to say, I ended the scope and got off broadcast as fast as humanly possible.
Honestly, I almost started to cry. I mean who the heck does that? Who just arbitrarily writes such abusive language to someone they don’t even know?
Evidently this guy.
And, unfortunately, many more.
It’s not just the bully in playground anymore; it’s grown adults acting in ways that are less than stellar. Social media and the age of the internet has brought people together that never would have known one another 25 years ago. When you hit publish or broadcast, you open yourself up to everyone. The people who like or love you and the haters.
Later that night I was watching a re-broadcast from Pat Flynn, and his whole scope was on ‘the haters.’ Now, I love Pat Flynn, and to see this guy have haters, well, it made me feel a whole lot better about the guy who wrote those vicious comments to me. I mean Pat’s a guy who puts it out there and tells people how to make passive income on-line. If you hate him, if you’re jealous of his success and not replicating it in your own life, it’s probably because you’re too lazy to do the work he painstakingly explains in detail how to do. Or maybe you’re just too busy being a jerk and hating on him.
There’s a multitude of theories out there for why someone behaves this way. Ultimately, it’s a reflection on their poor self-image. These people feel so bad about themselves they almost need to project that self-hatred onto everyone they come in contact with. And because they’re cowards, they do it ‘anonymously’ via the internet.
Once I got over myself, listened to Pat’s broadcast and other’s who are rocking it on Periscope, I felt much better about what had happened.
I haven’t done a broadcast since, but I did find out how to block the jerk who made those comments. That gave me immense satisfaction. Knowing I can block anyone who makes hateful remarks to me or anyone who may join my scope, gave me the confidence to try again.
My best friend Janet gave me this piece of advice for my next broadcast, “Stay calm. Bullies want victims to be scared, upset, or angry. If you don’t react, the bully loses. You’ve got this!”
Just the vote of confidence I needed!
So sometime shortly, I’ll be scoping again. I’m not sure exactly when, but you can find me at @debtfreeforme. I’m looking forward to interacting with all the wonderful people out there and blocking the haters.
