I Got Trolled by Angry Electricians on Facebook

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Imagine completing the project that you didn’t think you had the aptitude to do, but you learned (with the right mentor to help), grew your skills, and accomplished it.

The pride that swells through you is palpable and you can’t wait to share with your friends and family the work that you successfully completed but didn’t think you could do.

So you post it on Facebook, explaining what you learned and how you did your project, giving people a sneak peak of when the project was partially complete.

That’s what I did a couple weeks ago when I shared a few quick 30-second clips showing my Facebook community a series of Reels to explain what work has already been done and how to understand the basics of electrical wiring 101.

After all, I took two electrical wiring classes at my community college for my Carpentry program, so I wasn’t a complete novice. I understood the concepts that my instructor taught. And this project was finally an opportunity to put to use that which I had learned in the course. 

In fact, I hired my electrical wiring instructor to oversee my work, and he would do the connections to the sub panel.

You see, when COVID hit in March 2020, our Residential Wiring class was cut short. We were in the midst of learning how to run wiring in a “tiny house” in the lab of the electrical department. After running a few wires, classes were moved online and the learning stopped.

So when my 16′ x 26′ shed was built earlier this year, I didn’t feel I had the skills to do any of the wiring. That is, until my instructor agreed to provide some “professional hand holding” and oversee my wiring in the interior. This was the perfect way to continue learning that which I didn’t get the opportunity to learn to in class!

It was the project of a lifetime and I couldn’t wait to get started, with his help!

 

 

Halfway through the project, I shared with my Facebook community some of the things I had learned along the way.

I shared the difference between the colors of the wiring I used. 

I shared how I was instructed to wire the receptacles (also known as the outlets).

I showed how the feeder wires running from the house in a 24″ trench will be connected to my shed and buried.

It was pretty exciting to be able to explain what I had learned and to show the progress.

Yet, that’s when the backlash started unexpectedly. 

Imagine having strangers (AKA internet electricians) watch a single 30 second clip of your project, without any knowledge of its scope, and fire off comments to you like: 

“You should just STOP making videos. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“You have so many code violations.”

“Just wait until you get sued when someone burns their house down.”

“You should just post a potato salad recipe.”

“You’re going to burn your shed down like Cheryl.” (Now that one was pretty funny…. )

 

 

These trolls insisted that I am not qualified to teach people online, that everything I did was wrong, that the feeder wires from the house to the shed must be placed in conduit in the trench no matter what (despite the fact that the National Electrical Code 300.7 advises that wires can be direct buried at 24″ inches, as was my trench).

They provided all kinds of advice that wasn’t relevant to my project, some of which was in direct contradiction to what my electrical instructor provided.

As if I should believe an internet electrician who saw a 30-second random clip of my project versus my electrical instructor who I discussed, at length, the scope and nature of my project.

(Not to mention that local jurisdictions can have differences in requirements; these men had no idea where I lived or in what county).

 

 

My first reaction was to clap back, to explain myself once the angry electricians started blowing up my direct messaging with insults and insisting I should have “hired a professional” without even asking if I did hire a professional.

I even tried turned off commenting on the clips because the responses were plentiful and overwhelming.

It felt like a disturbing mental blow, like my character was being attacked (I was told I only posted the videos for likes; and if you know Thrift Diving, you know I do nothing simply for “likes.”). I was even accused of lying about the rough electrical passing inspection.

It felt like my electrician’s reputation and experience was being slandered.

It felt like the inspector who came and approved the rough electrical was being thrown under the bus.

They commented on things like the framing of my shed; I was told it “looks like sh*t” as a way to insult me, since he assumed I built it.

I was made the butt of their jokes for the fact that I called my shed a “shop” because according to one guy’s opinion, a “real shop has concrete floors. You just have a big shed.”

I was even told that I made a mistake putting up recessed (potlights) lights, as if making such a choice was egregious and a huge design flaw on my part (I was well aware of the reason for my decision).

The mansplaining was insane.

 

 

I tell you all this for one reason: be kind.

There is a difference between making genuine comments or criticisms online to help someone grow or to consider new ideas versus cutting someone down in an attempt to denigrate their work, their project, or their integrity.

I appreciate the electricians who messaged me and asked questions about my project so that they could make a fair assessment of the project and to offer (what they thought) were helpful suggestions. Those discussions may have earned me some new friends and contacts to bounce ideas off of! 🙂

If you’re someone who finds themselves telling someone online that their projects are “ugly” or that they “did it wrong” without offering any reference to what you think they did wrong, etc., then re-think how to handle yourself online. 

And if you see someone bashing someone unfairly online, stand up for that person. I appreciated the few men who stood in my defense and acknowledged the cleanliness of my wiring, and that everything looked to be per code.

Be the person who supports and encourages instead of attacking. 

 

The Perfect Revenge

I have to tell you the there is a happy ending to this story. Not just the fact I now have lights and electricity in my shed (yay!). (Oh, and I’ll be posting the other electrical wiring video to my channel soon. In the meantime you can watch this one). 

We bloggers and “influencers” (as we are known) have lots of opportunities with brands and companies that like to compensate us for our content that we create. I am a part of a Facebook “bonus” program that aims to help Facebook grow their Reels. As part of this program (which ends at the end of January), Facebook compensates me for each view that I receive on my Facebook Reels.

Well, because the electricians are going crazy with the insults and shares on my Reels, I decided to join that bonus program to monetize those video clips with my participation in the bonus program. 🙂

And because of all the frenzy, I’ve earned a whopping $974 over the past 2 days simply from the “viral-ness” of my videos. HA!

Some of those men called me stupid. One even called me a “moron.”

Who’s the moron now? I just figured out how to make a profit off of mansplaining. 😉

Happy New Year! 

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