Comments on: Opinion or Fact? What’s Better??

By: SEO Consultant

SEO Consultant — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:34:08 +0000

Nowadays, actually no, we must watch for examples of opinion masquerading as fact, in newspapers and magazines. Sometimes even in high school textbooks! There is nothing wrong with mixing opinions and fact together in an argument, of course … it’s done all the time. What is important is that the reader be able to distinguish the fact from the opinion, in order to make a sound judgment about the information they are receiving!

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By: Ntarugera François

Ntarugera François — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:12:29 +0000

Mike:

The blog comments from different sources has brilliant ideas.
I encourage everyone to continue like that by contributing more to white paper whenever needed be. That will allow everyone of you meet more experts you knows how to plan for their business success rather meeting bad mouth who doesn’t contribute anything to our business success.

Ntarugera François

By: Paula

Paula — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:23:02 +0000

In dealing with opinion the reader has to trust who makes the opinion. Is it from an expert, someone they know, or a total stranger? This all factors how they will weigh the value of the opinion.

With a fact the reader does not need the expert opinion to “seal the deal”. A fact is true, no matter who says it. Therefore a fact is probably stronger, but does not mean opinions (from the right sources) are not valuable.

By: Goran Giertz

Goran Giertz — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:46:55 +0000

Well usually facts have much value over opinion. But when it comes to a very social issue, then opinions may render more value than facts.

By: Natalie Brahan

Natalie Brahan — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:20:12 +0000

From my point of view facts possess more significance than opinion

By: Owen

Owen — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:47:18 +0000

continuing the thought that was stopped by a computer glitch….

the thought leaders of the time. This does it not follow that opinion by the thought leadership is the equivilent of “so called” fact;-)

Regards,
Owen

By: Owen

Owen — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:43:03 +0000

I continue to be reminded over my 69 year lifespan of the facts which eroded into fiction as our world evolved. Thus I would consider that a fact is merely a proponderance of current thinking proffered by

By: Michael Stelzner

Michael Stelzner — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:36:15 +0000

Hi Jasmine (and everyone);

I’m not knocking facts. Heck, I think they are very important and use them often.

However, I think too many people pass over the value of an opinion.

Remember that the underlying goal of most white papers is to persuade.

Yes, the facts are very helpful in making your case. But opinions are equally important.

For what it’s worth, nearly ALL of the comments posted here are “opinions” and you can see they are very rich.

BTW, check out Jasmine’s blog by clicking on her name.

Mike

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:41:10 +0000

Hi Mike, thank you for giving me the thumbs up on my blog.

As a B2B technology marketer (and as I’m looking through my archives of white papers), I do agree with you that a strong “opinion” from a reputable source goes a very long way. Most of our white papers do include predictions from analysts or thought leaders on current and future technology trends.

However, 80% of content is still based on facts. 20% on opinions. If the % is reversed, we write it as opinion pieces rather than white papers.

Perhaps it varies depending on industry, I am not sure. Like what Stephan said, you use the tool demanded by the situation. The most important thing is to understand your market and target audience, and write accordingly.

By: Geraldine

Geraldine — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:15:38 +0000

It’s a very interesting question. Rightfully or wrongfully, I always thought this was preciesely the difference between whitepapers and articles. Whitepapers convey an opinion and articles tend to rely more on facts. That said, the line between the two is often blurry and I totally agree with Owen, the best whitepapers I ever read were almost always opinions.

You could also argue that facts are not always exact and is there such a thing as “pure facts”? It’s like saying there is only one truth. Truths are often a matter of perception, not to mention facts can be quoted out of context or based on some flawed research. I don’t think that people argue less about facts - look at any political debate!

In my view, it doesn’t really matter as long as the writer clearly differentitates facts from opinions in his/her whitepaper whith words like “in my view”, “I”, etc. and of courses quotes the sources of the facts.