I often read a lot of nice things on the forum. But last week I read a post that made extra glad. But to make you understand why it made so glad, I think you need a little background first.
Have you ever thought about how little we seem to appreciate what we have and what we get? And how much we focus on the negative side of things? Well, I do. A lot. I don’t think you see much of it in public though, but I guess I leave traces of it both here and there on the forums.
Thing is that I just don’t understand why it seems to be more interesting in today’s world to focus on what you didn’t get or what that new (all in all fantastic) thing didn’t do, than focusing on what you actually did get.
Last week we celebrated the Supporter anniversary by giving all Supporters 11 Credits as a birthday gift. 24 hours after the announcement we had 17 posts about this in the global forum. 17. About half of them were “thank you”-posts.
Now imagine if the news would have been negative. We would have got the same amount of posts within 5-10 minutes. Within 24 hours I’m quite sure we would have got 500-1000 posts.
No, I’m not saying this because I’m disappointed on the amount of thank you-posts.
No, I’m not saying this because I think there’s too many critical voices out there.
No, I’m not saying this happens only in Hattrick (we’re probably better of than most other places).
I’m just fascinated by this phenomenon or what to call it, the fashion people in general seem to react on things, or perhaps choose to react. And the reactions on our gift last week is just a good example of this.
When something works as it should, no matter how amazing it is, it does just that. Work. As. It. Should. No need to give it any praise or say anything at all about it. But when this something doesn’t work, IT IS AN OUTRAGE!!!! I WANT MY MONEY BACK (no matter if you’ve spent any or not)!!!!!
As an American comedian put it, we live in a time when everything is amazing but nobody is happy.
But just so you get me right, I don’t think the biggest problem is the amount of negative reactions or so. It’s totally ok to be critical, and different risks should of course be discussed. I just don’t get why the negative perspective is the default one or why the amount of negative feedback always dramatically exceeds the amount of positive feedback. And if something is genuinely good, why don’t we take the time to show our appreciation?
Questions and thoughts like this often occupy my mind, because I think we would be so much better of and a lot happier if we focused more on the positive side of things. And that’s why I was so glad to read this post I talked about in the beginning.
It was from a user that used to be very critical and negative on the forums a while back, but now he has changed his attitude. In the post he says decided to do himself a favor a year ago and stop being so overly negative about the game, and since then he enjoys the game even more. And even though he still thinks we make some mistakes, there is a lot we do right as well.
Frank – thanks for sharing. It really made my day. Well, week actually. 🙂
(If you want to read this post yourself, it’s post #11 in the HT’s decline thread on the Global (English) forum.)
Tjecken, it must be harsh to have to deal with this phenomenon day in, day out. I must say that I totally agree to this column and hope more people will follow Frank in his decision.
Let me be the first to say “Happy Birthday” later than normal. To tell you the truth I was happy to see that anniversary posted but as I never used the credits I just said that maybe, just maybe, one day in case I will succeed in training my YA players I’ll use the credits to give them some nicknames. Still, I don’t want to make an excuse, because “One should never give something to get thanks BUT everyone should thank for getting something”.
Just a little philosophical, I’m tired as hell, but to end this post I would want to say “Thank you for the gift” with my head bended down and SHOUT “Thank You for the game” with really all my heart.
A good season to everyone and let’s all remember that we have this game because a bunch of people work very hard to keep it running (for us).
That’s all…
You’re welcome! Nice to read this 🙂
Amazingly, I had thought about this same things few hours before reading this post. Sincerely the world and humans will get better if we take time to appreciate the good things around, no matter how little. It can go a long way in reducing our feelings of negativity.
Well, I kind of agree with that article but I think it is a little bit unfair to a whole bunch of people that actually support Hattrick not only by purchasing your extra services but by creating your whole society which makes Hattrick so special.
People are enjoying Hattrick, they love it and are showing it in their own way each other. There are millions of new friendships thanks to Hattrick and I’m sure that all of these pals proudly can say he plays this game (not only by posting on forum:)
Well said, Tjecken.
That’s why there is only a “like” button and no “unlike” button on Facebook. It would be used so much and taken very harsh… ‘Cause the thing is that people react much worse to critics than to compliments, witch makes the equation even worse.
Thank you Frank and Tjecken for sharing this with us! The best thing of showing appreciation is that the most people smile when they receive a thank you! 🙂
I see where u are coming from. Being not satisfied but demanding more all the time seems to be the regular attitude in 1st world countries. Every1 is greedy to anything some other may have “more” or “better”. This is fueled by TV shows, Ads, pressure in job/career and the usual envy througout all peer groups.
After thinking about it i have to question my own attitude as well, since i tend to rather rant in forums than to say “ty, well, done” .
To start here: thanks for dragging this sensible issue into the light once again.
boooriiiing!
or am i just being negative?! 😉
Dear Tjecken, did you ever think that nobody replied simply because what you believe to be a good gift is actually nothing for all other people?
the truth is that the credits are useless!! I have over 50 of them and I don’t know what do with them.
so your vision is actually distorted…as a proof of this let’s try to give as a gift 3 (better 6) free months of supporter and then you will see the great amount of answers in the forum you hoped to see with the credits 🙂
I’ll take your credits if you don’t want them Don Fabio.
and btw, thanks HTs for the free credits
Well, this wasn’t really about the gift at all. It was more about how we humans tend to react on different things, where the difference in reaction between positive and negative things is pretty big to say the least. And well, I find that a bit interesting – that’s all.
Thank you for showing me that there are still people in the world with potential, you being a case in hand. Think about it. 🙂
Dear Tjecken, did you ever think that nobody replied simply because what you believe to be a good gift is actually nothing for all other people?
the truth is that the credits are useless!! I have over 50 of them and I don’t know what do with them.
so your vision is actually distorted…as a proof of this let’s try to give as a gift 3 (better 6) free months of supporter and then you will see the great amount of answers in the forum you hoped to see with the credits
Holy words.
Tjecken, happy to read you article again! 🙂
i want to apologize for i too have taken focus on the negative side of things when recently making press declarations. at least i have left the forums alone so far with negativity 🙂 thanks for all the things that actually do work in hattrick (if you take a sober look you will even notice there is a lot that works just fine) i been there many seasons and its still a nice game to play. i promise from now on to be more appreciative and much more focusing on the bright side of things. 🙂
So true, a positive attitude and a little bit appreciation in general would be in place. Especially supporters expect a ‘perfect’ product, but a perfect product is still a personal perception. I enjoy this game a lot and it takes less than a second when I have to make my mind up to extend my support. And I am happy with my credits.
maybe a bit offtopic, but on the other hand…
if this aint art of appreciation, then nothing is…
being 4-0 down and still singing for the team…
most teams would get booed of the pitch…
It’s wonderful that you were able to celebrate the anniversary of Hattrick. And I take great pleasure out of the game – week after week. So thank’s for being around and thank’s for doing a great job on the game.
If there is one thing I do not appreciate – from a professional point of view – it is your communications. Like that post of yours. The deal in any business is performance for money. To expect from your ‘clients’ an emotional reward for a rather arguable present is an expectation beyond common business sense. Don’t get me wrong: I applaud the intention. But the execution was – in my humble opinion – nurtured more by what you wanted than by the needs of your clients, the community. Conclusion: no (almost no) response to your offer is the inconvenient, bitter but true receipt of the market – just like in any other direct marketing campaign. Whining about the ingratitude of todays consumer – your clients – won’t bring you better results next time. Better ideas, better results! 😉
Sometimes this blog is more about us (me) than being about Hattrick. Like this time. I just decided to share something I think a lot about on daily basis, why we so often see positive things as “this is how it should be” and thus not appreciate them for what they really are. And then put a Hattrick spin to it. But sure, I see what you mean (but then again, it’s not like I had any intention to change the world (or improve company results for that matter). I just wanted you to know me a bit better tbh.
*lol* I can imagine a team being created called Thankyou United, whereby each match they lose, each goal they concede, each team that finishes above them in the league gets a congratulatory note of thanks… and then when Thankyou United score they take a moment out to present a bouquet to the opposing goalkeeper, manager and who knows… both sets of fans after the game! Just brought a smile to my mind, which is what all good articles and topics for discussion should do. Thank you kindly.
Why do not these publications also put them in Spanish? Are there tens of thousands of members of LatinAmerica and Spain that we would like to read them without having to read in English
I understand what you mean, but because of the nature of this blog (not really being about anything that important, it should rather just be fun and nice to read if you want to know a bit more about us) we only offer this in English.
“we live in a time when everything is amazing but nobody is happy”
So true! I believe that seeing the negative is mainly due to the scandal-seeking media we are being exposed to on a daily basis, good news just don’t sell, not to mention raise an eyebrow. On the other end, perhaps as a form of compensation, on social networks everybody is super happy, prozac-positive and likes everything! 😀
What a bizarre world 2.0…
well i never even realized that we got some free stuff. So a big thank you
Do I get a little credit for asking the question? 😉
It was certainly not the response I expected after our history, but it was great to read.
Cheers!
Good words Tjecken, good words!
Your example matches on many threads in the forum of HT.
If someone posts a good idea, improving the game – there are a few posts with “I like it” or “+1”. Usually there will be no more than 20 posts.
But if you read an idea which is not so good and not very sophisticated, there are hundreds of postings bashing the thread opener and his idea.
First of all I agree with you that everything would be nicer if we focused on the positive things instead of the negative things. It’s a strange phenomenon and I think we realize how big a gift it is to stay positive, the older we get 🙂
But that’s not the only thing imo. Let’s twist it a bit and set a new scenario.
Imagine a company with around 10 co-workers. In this company a new system have been implemented and every co-worker has to do things in a certain way to follow that new system. One of the co-workers makes a mistake, but thinks that since he only made that one mistake in 10 actions, it’s really no big deal. That goes for the rest of his colleagues to; “I only made this one mistake, so it’s gonna be okay”.
But the boss sees it another way as he now has 10% mistakes in the system and he tells the employees that they make to many mistakes.
What is it that I want to tell you, with this story? Well I think that I want people to look a bit further than their own nose tip – and realize that many small units become a big unit and the impact from it has a consequence. I’m not talking specifically about hattrick, it is more a ‘society thing’. Small communities, big communities, nations, well let’s say it out loud; the whole world.
Some people are born with the gift to think positively, others learn it on the way. So basically, I think it has to do with peoples ability to look beyond there own nose tip 🙂
But one thing is to see how things are and another thing is to see why it is like that.
I personally think that things are like they are, because, we as people in general, are so spoiled. We are used to that everything is possible – and ironically that’s positive that we think that way isn’t it 😀 – but the side-effect is, that we appreciate things less and start demanding, instead of appreciating.
I’m no better than others (not at all!), but I have grown older 😉
I don’t know how much of the above crap you get, but somehow it makes sense to me 🙂
Hey I just read your article, and this is crazy but, thank you for the gift so keep up the good job maybe.
Perfectly agree with you…i’m quite in the same situation with my CHPP application… :/
Tjecken, there’s a very important reason that complaints are more common than praise: When someone complains, there’s a chance that the person will get more. If that person would give praise, normally no extra effort will be put in afterwards by the one receiving the praise.
It’s a ‘survival of the fittest’ thing; By complaining or being negative, others often try to work harder to please the unhappy person, resulting in more success for the one complaining.
I’m happy with the game. So I’m a supporter
It’s has been improving since I started, in 2007.
We feel the difference, please always continue your good (team) work.
You’ll find in the forums the feedback to improve some things.
The good opinions will be still said, but more between friends…
so, you get some positive feedback and you go and write an article about lack of appreciation… am I the only one seeing some irony here?
There’s an old saying: You do thousand things well, and no one will not speak long about this. You do one thing wrong – and no one would not forgive you that to the death…
Thank you very much:)
I agree with you in a global contest.
About Hattrick I think that I am one of the first to be critical about bed things (e.g. staff changes), but I also say my appreciation when things are well done (e.g. tournaments).
My opinion is that credit are used only by few people and that’s why you get few appreciation compared to your vision.