When I was in the first grade, one of my classmates was a witch and I had no reason not to believe her. Every day on the playground I would swing on the swings and watch her cast spells on the little kids during recess. She never cast one on me.
It was a very scary time in my life for many reasons. One was having been forced to moved to Troy, Michigan from Pennsylvania, where all my Sunday school and Kindergarten friends were. I didn’t know anybody in Troy. This was in the early 1960′s after the Korean War, which was still discussed by the adults around me. Somehow I knew 2 things for sure. I hated war and I hated passing judgment on anyone.
This is why the little witch girl left me alone. I let her be a witch. In fact, I became one of her only friends because I wasn’t afraid of her and I knew enough to not anger a witch who could cast evil spells on first graders.
Print and Photos
By 1968, I had hippie blood. I was 10 years old then. LIFE magazine and a black and white TV were my access to the world. LIFE published the horrors of the VietNam war. One day it arrived with a cover photo of a naked Vietnamese girl running in horror towards the camera. Another time, there was the famous photo of a man being shot point blank in the head. I didn’t care who the man was. He was a human being, just like me. And the girl? I was 10 years old. We were close in age. I was reading about her terror from the comfort of my living room.
I would later read in Readers Digest the story of the Kent State killings and Neil Young became my hero. I hung onto his every word and every song, including “Ohio”. Had I been at Kent State then, I would have been one of those kids fighting the war.
Today, print magazines and newspapers are being replaced with the Internet and I question whether or not this is a good thing. Rarely, if ever, am I moved by anything on the Internet in the same way I was by the old large-paged LIFE magazine. Rarely is there a song by today’s musicians that pains the soul like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s aching “Ohio”, where Neil sings, “What if you knew her and found her lying on the ground.” One of the 19 year old’s who died at Kent State that terrible day was Allison Krause. My daughter is a Krause, and she is also 19.
Today, we know that someone can signal for help via Twitter or Facebook and nobody will respond to help. Some have died.
Internet, Social Networking, Distance and Being Anonymous
It’s been a few weeks since the news came out about the Startup Nation win. I debated whether to permit myself to feel anything at all. Nowadays, there’s this strange confusion over success and sharing it. The mere second someone achieves a goal they fought hard for, there is this odd group of people slithering around waiting to bitch about it. And they can do it because of the Internet.
I admit that I feel like an outcast in this new world where technology has become a weapon rather than a tool for peace. My name, “Cre8pc” means “Create Peace” (everyone now calls it “Create PC”). I saw the potential for creating world peace when I signed on to AOL in 1994. In my naive mind, I thought that if we could talk to one another, we’d learn we are All worth knowing and caring for, no matter where we live.
But this is absolutely NOT what happened with the Internet.
I’ve written several times about the death threats I would get in the 90′s for standing up against rip-off SEO’s. With each personal achievement I made has come some form of hatred from somewhere on the Internet. I’ve had to hide where I live, change the locks on my house, get police protection, get an entire school district alerted to protect my kids from kidnapping, and I even lost a web host because someone said I was a spammer. Which was untrue. I never used that host for email. A representative from that ISP admitted to knowing I never used their email services, “But somebody complained and we had to delete your account.” I found out they did because one day I went to Cre8pc.com and it was not there.
In the Internet world of business, there is no safe place to be. I’ve noticed that more and more of the people who have been in business online as long as I have, no longer are on Twitter or Facebook. Perhaps they are so successful they no longer need talk to anyone or promote their products, services or sites. Or, maybe they get the same odd things I do, like blog comments from fake email addresses (such as Microsoft) that are intended to destroy confidence. Mine come in the form of “Your fat” and/or “Your ugly.”
I’m also paying for my daughter’s college and son’s braces, their Dad was layed off and they’re laying off where my husband works and we never know from day to day how long he will have a job. I have a lot of pressure on my plate, but nobody cares about that. They don’t want to know about that. They want to destroy, hurt, and do whatever it takes to reduce someone they dislike into a target for hatred. They mistakenly think I have it made or have somehow done something to them. As if I could possibly have the time to hunt for anyone to tear down. Nor would or could I. But you’d have to know me to know that.
We Are No Closer
This is what amazes me. I felt closer to my world when it came to me via print. Books and magazines helped form my beliefs. I didn’t need religion to know it’s wrong to kill anyone and of course, it is the religious who find the reasons to go to war. I didn’t have a reason to pick on the witch in first grade. So what if she was different? So. What.
If she were to go on the Internet and be herself, she would find other witches and find comfort with that, I suppose. She would also be subjected to the types of people who complain every day about something. Those who consistently bitch attract others who do, and I can’t understand where the thrill is for them. How can pushing people away be a good thing?
We Are Not Doing Better
I live near the town where the woman faked an abduction with her daughter so she could go to Disneyworld in Florida. This woman claimed to have been kidnapped by “two black men”. So many things are wrong with this, beginning with her stereotyping people and passing her bias onto to her daughter. Another is the media hoopla. The event was on Twitter, Facebook, TV and newspapers and will be covered in news magazines. Initially, the media was focused on the little girl and put out an Amber alert. This is a good thing. But because of our ability to spread news so quickly, this became an “important” story and an even juicier one since it turned out to be a hoax. The woman can claim it was hormones that made her lose her judgment and call it a day.
We’ve created a situation where there is no need to take responsibility and being anonymous offers the freedom to do and say anything.
This isn’t what I had hoped for when I chose the Internet as my base for doing business. I understood and accepted from the start that I would be working and corresponding with people from around the world, from all walks of life. I work hard for anybody and a good portion of my work comes from referrals and return clients. There has to be a very strong element of trust when conducting business on the Internet. Claims have to be proven, but sadly, they are not. Many businesses and people are presumed guilty and have to prove their innocence, rather than the other way around. Search engines and social media web sites have been turned into weapons of mass destruction and reputation management manipulation.
I don’t like where the Internet is going and how social networking is separating and dividing people rather than bringing them together.
In so many ways, I’m reminded of our songs from the 60′s and 70′s. It was so easy and popular to laugh at those who danced and died for “peace and love”, but they were fighting for the right things.
Some of us always will.
Of course, Kim, since you and I are very close in age, we share some of the same types of past experiences and history. In addition, I think you and I are alike in many ways. And while I agree that the internet hasn’t created peace, nor has it eliminated crazy, insane, or simply “bad” people, I don’t agree that it hasn’t helped forge peace in many ways.
I can’t give concrete examples but I do believe that many, many people are much more tolerant of different types of people and different cultures because of the internet. The fact that we communicate, every single day, with people all over the world – people we would NEVER have gotten to know in any way – via our internet travels HAS TO affect how we feel about people from those places. Doesn’t it? Surely it does.
I don’t totally understand other cultures, but I sure as heck “get” some things I didn’t “get” 10 years ago. I’ve always considered myself to be extremely liberal, extremely tolerant, and tried hard to understand that which I didn’t understand about other cultures, but since I had little to no actual contact with them, it was more of an ideal than a fact. Now, it’s much more a fact. And I’d wager a lot that most of the people I interact with on a daily basis has undergone similar changes as well.
Yes, there’s a long, long way to go. But I believe the internet has brought us all a HUGE AMOUNT OF POSITIVE CHANGE, even if it’s not always evident in the day to day tragic news stories.
Peace, y’all.
I want to believe that the Internet has contributed to peace but I’m not seeing it. I see where it has helped to bridge cultures and create conversations, yes. I see how it’s helped women in enormous ways, especially. But the more I’m “out there in public”, the more I see the risks of being on the Internet.
If the technology continues, we can imagine we will all be chipped, followed, and the stalking that exists now will only get worse. As a forums owner, we block most people from joining because after a dozen years, we know what people are like and what they do. We have it set up now so that only 2 or 3 of us there even knows the type of crap we get there, to protect the sanity of everyone else. But I’m jaded
I’m sick of being accused of things I’ve never done or would never do and it being okay for people to do this stuff on the Internet. I’m sick of hearing “Get a thick skin” when for god’s sake, I’ve had to take measures to protect my life and the people I love just because I’m on the Internet.
I would like to believe that there is improvement and maybe for some areas and some people it exists. Having tested webs sites that are built on lies and fake claims, I’m jaded. Peace is not on the minds of those folks. Ripping people off is.
Positive change would be people rising up against deception and asking for proof for accusations they read about. Positive change would be responding to blog comments without an attitude and be willing to listen to other perspectives. Some blogs do. Some don’t.
I’ll sit and chat with you on any topic any day and be honored to hear anything you have to say
Human nature is what it is. No amount of technology is ever going to turn those who choose to deceive, or lie, or hurt, or maim into responsible, caring people. And yes, perhaps the ability to connect with so many, so easily, gives them access to us in ways that didn’t exist before. There aren’t more of them – or less of them – but you are aware of them more than ever before, because they can reach you when then might not have before.
But I think what the internet has enabled is the ability for people who are basically good, but perhaps were misguided by being brought in a sheltered atmosphere, to grow. Those same people might have turned into someone who would be willing to strike out at someone for being different because they’d never encountered anyone like that before. But now, they may have a chance to reach out, rather than strike out, and it’s those little steps that lead to peace.
Well, that’s my hope anyway.
Gah, would be nice to be able to edit my own typos. LOL.
they can reach you when then might not have before
s/b
they can reach you when they might not have before
and
being brought in a sheltered atmosphere
s/b
being brought up in a sheltered atmosphere
Kim, I think it’s important to note that most people are able to sort the truth from the lies, and the good from the bad. You don’t give them enough credit if you think that most believe the crazy lies and attacks.
I have begun to feel the same way about the world of social networking and social media. I have wondered if the investment of time and effort are worth it, and more importantly whether there is actually anything constructive to be gained in the process. The gall, audacity and potential instability of some who participate in social circles, particularly those doing so anonymously, are disconcerting and often frightening.
On the other hand, when I stop to think of some of the people I’ve met in my Internet social circles – like you, Kim – I’m incredibly thankful. Without the Internet, without the rise of social media, without Twitter…I never would have met you. Without these open lines of communication, I’d still believe that people like me don’t exist. I’d still fear that I might never meet others who believe that every action demands a reaction, that every choice bears a consequence and that every decision has a ripple effect…I’d still believe that rational, decent and truthful people were truly one in a billion.
I haven’t given up on the potential for the social evolution of the Internet to have a widespread positive impact on the world. As Donna pointed out, we’ve taken strides toward bridging the gap of unfamiliarity with people on the other side of the globe. That, in and of itself, is a big step in the right direction.
There have always been crazy people. The twisted minds and hate-filled souls have never and will never cease to exist. Before the Internet, though, we had far less chance – statistically anyway – of ever becoming one of their targets or coming into contact with them in any way. The online world exposes every individual, potentially on an almost a celebrity-like scale, to every sick and lost soul on the planet. The only real question is: does the good still outweigh the bad? For now, I believe it does…
I disagree with Jill, though. While those who know Kim – those whose opinions truly matter to her – DO dismiss the false claims and allegations made by crazy people, the world at large doesn’t. Sheeple believe what they’re told. What they hear and read repeatedly become their opinions…their beliefs…their truth.
We live in a world where the repetition of a lie somehow makes it true, telling the tiny part of the story that illustrates a point is acceptable and context, fact checking & integrity seem to have become obsolete. It is the nature of selling propaganda. The Internet provides an unprecedented opportunity to spread information, truthful or not, to an exponentially larger audience than ever before.
The magic of “wireless telegraphy” brought with it similar promises and hopes of better understanding through increased contact and exposure.
Looking without to find hope to improve the within is, I believe, useless.
The problem with mankind is not that we don’t have enough information and therefore we let wars happen. It’s not that we’re not educated enough and therefore we commit heinous crimes. It’s not that we’re not connected enough, fed enough, are rich enough, safe enough, etc. etc.
Crimes, violence and other acts of hatred are rarely, if ever, commited for any of the above.
When I look at the nature of some acts, I mark it with the ancient but valid notion of Evil.
More often though, it’s just a case of us children trying and failing. Of people being people, of mankind being human and not god. It’s a case of imperfection being the very nature of our being; a notion known to us in the West as the idea that we’re all sinners.
It’s our desire to defend what’s Right and this goes horribly wrong. The concious choice to be more patient and then lose it.
Paul 2000 year-ish ago puts it so well, frustrated almost; “I want to do what is good, but can’t. What I end up doing isnt’ the good I wanted to do; no, the bad stuff, that I keep on doing! So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.”
I recognize that because so often it’s the small stuff that starts it. Being Right. Defending something you believe in. Accusing those who are wrong.
But at the same time there’s this beautiful thing going on; the display of good in us, a glimpse of what’s beyond — and just like we feel “It” when we sit in awe before a grand display of nature, we feel “It” when we look around and see how we children can be endearingly sweet.
Because the kind of things you mention in this post are SO rare that when they happen, we publish about them. They’re the exception, not the rule.
The vast majority of everyday people go about their lives trying not to be The Bad Guys.
Look at this stuff (from my Good News Blog): Volunteers Dig Half Mile Long Path: Horses Rescued, In Time of Financial Crisis, Passers By Give Back Lost Money, Honesty: What would you do?
So, look at your kids again; that’s us, that’s all of us. We trying to become good folks but we fail — often. The essence is good but sometimes we mess up, the fuse is too short, we’re too stubborn.
Treasures in jars of clay
Aly gets it.
There are those who already know that magazines like People, Star and entertainment shows on TV that go to great lengths to make a story out of nothing, are looking for eyeballs. They’ll do and say ANYTHING to create a story where none exists. The same goes for people on the Internet who want people to look at them, acknowledge them, etc. If the way to do that is to consistently complain and critique and put down people, this is what they do. And there are those who love and adore people who bitch for a living. Most conservatives who are the most famous and followed are miserable and depressing people (Ann Coulter, Cal Thomas, Phyllis Schlafly, Rush Limbaugh…). They may be fine outside their written words, but I’d never know that. All they let me see is their venom.
I’m asking….does the mainstream public want to continue to worship those who want to keep injecting hatred and bias? I think they do and this is why I’m disappointed. We have this new tool…the Internet. When you see someone saying something hurtful, wrong, hateful, and who is a consistent complainer and whiner, ignore them! Question their motives. Use some wisdom when reading and linking.
Every one has their own experience. Jill was one of the first in the SEM industry to take some serious heat on the Internet. It was painful to watch. All she did was express her opinion and do her work, but the freedom of the Internet allowed anyone to say some of the most disgusting things I’ve ever read. It’s to her credit that she stuck it out because it was ugly.
Kathy Sierra had a stalker and her life was threatened. She chose to close up shop and I don’t blame her.
People need to know that being on the Internet is risky if you become well known. Suffice it to say that I’ve had to set a few things in place, in the event I am harmed. It should NOT be this way. But it is.
I can’t candy coat this for anybody.
I can say, however, that before I got out on the Internet and started my business, I was surrounded by peaceful, holistic oriented friends and family. In my work, I have made even more like-minded friends, with DD being one example. Peace oriented people do find each other and stick together. They never threaten anyone and they listen really well. They’re open to different perspectives and respond to respect. They don’t force anyone to do anything. It doesn’t occur to them to do that.
I’d love to showcase more of this behavior, and point things out like Ruud did. On those days when I feel beaten up, it’s a relief to know there are 50 things out there that are good, thoughtful, kind, productive and targeting peaceful living.
The hatred and nastiness is nothing new. Celebrities have always had to deal with it, as it is the price of fame.
The Internet has enabled regular people like me and Kim to become “famous” in our own little niche. People who become well known are always the target of others. They could be people who used to be well known and aren’t anymore, or others who want to be well-known but don’t have real skills. It’s typically people who crave attention in one way or another, however.
So your choice is to go underground and not be a voice of your industry (because surely you will offend someone) or do what you do and say what you say and not worry about the jealous wackos.
@Aly I agree with you to a point. While sheeple do sometimes believe the lies of others, in Kim’s case, it’s not like there are tons of people out there calling her names or hating on her. Smart and rational people look at all the information available to them and can easily see who’s crazy and who’s not. And quite frankly, those who can look at the crazy stuff and actually believe it are probably not the sort of people any of us want to work with or be friends with anyway.
I am probably just naive, however. I believe that most people are good and kind and mean no harm. My world is still full of rainbows and unicorns too.
I think “the” mainstream public could care less about most everything, one way or the other. It’s not indifference; it’s irrelevance. What happens to person A in country B is often of no direct consequence on how busy it is at work and how little time we get to spend with our kids.
You say; they hype it up and people buy the hype.
I tell you — Kim, don’t believe the hype yourself then.
If you realize that what “they” are selling is fake sh… stuff — then don’t use what “they” are selling to proof or argue how popular it is.
Don’t let them fool you.
Hype: rape, murder and mayhem! Fact: the USA has been getting safer for most for most years, with especially serious crime usually on the decline. Don’t believe the hype.
Hype: faith is out. Fact: the vast majority of people indicate they *do* believe, *do* pray. Don’t believe the hype.
Hype: worship those who want to keep injecting hatred and bias. Fact: …?
From where I’m sitting you’re falling in a media-logic trap.
I’m not sure it’s really all that bad a thing that you’ve “had to set a few things in place, in the event I am harmed”. Had you not been threatened by a whacko, you probably wouldn’t have set those things in place. And yet, every single minute of every single day, we run the risk of being harmed – by someone, something, or just nature taking its course. It may be that you needed a “reminder” of that so that your family would have those “things in place” when needed.
Yes, I love peace. But guess what I did yesterday? I received certification so that I can get a license to carry concealed weapons.
Yes, I’m a peace-lover, but I’m also a realist. I know what can happen. I’ve had wills made; I have all important info (pwds, etc.) on exactly how to run my business well documented and ready for my family to deal with if something happens to me, and I’ve kept these things current for many years.
I can promise you this. I wouldn’t have weapons at all, or wills made, or documentation kept current, if I hadn’t been gang-raped 30 years ago – long before the Internet was a factor in anyone’s life. I learned then that bad people will do bad things to good people. I learned then how important it is to know how to protect one’s self – and the ones we love. I’ve spent the last 30 years making sure that I know how to do just that. I’m as prepared as I can be for any bad people (or animals) that cross my path. None of that has any bearing, however, upon the internet, or how I feel about people or peace. It’s just a reality that we all must face and that we should all be prepared for.
The reality for me is that we should be aware and be prepared, but without becoming jaded or prejudiced. Just because one group of people who look alike, or sound alike, or come from the same area do bad things to someone, doesn’t mean all people who look like that, or sound like that, or come from that area will do bad things.
I strive every day to remember that on the whole, we are all good (with a little bad thrown into each of us for good measure). The truly bad seeds among us may actually be there to remind us of the realities of life – or to contrast the goodness all around us so that we don’t become completely desensitized to the good. I don’t know. I’m not smart enough to know.
All I do know is this. Every moment that we strive to see the good in ourselves, others, and the universe, we get that much closer to peace. But it doesn’t hurt to wear steel-toed boots while smelling the flowers, just in case a deadly snake lies waiting nearby.
A very thoughtful post from you, Kim. I agree with your points, and simultaneously, have a different take on this.
Peaceful actions tend to be the result of choice based upon education. In the Western world, people make their most non-peaceful choices as a result of a lack of education. I see the Internet as an extremely powerful antidote to ignorance. I could provide a ton or real-world examples of this, but I’ll just give one.
My own quest for peacefulness is based on books I read as a child and teenager. Books that asked questions about typical Western assumptions and choices. I have continued to read such books, but with the Internet, I have been able to actually interact with the people who wrote these books and the people who read these books and have had their lives permanently changed as a result of them. I have been able to access updates to the topics of social conscience covered in these books, via websites, newsletters and YouTube videos. I have been able to go from the static page to a living, live world of real people making real choices.
My example is this:
Currently, hundreds and hundreds of farmers are committing suicide in India due to the failure of genetically modified crops they were strong-armed into growing by an American corporation. This is modern day colonialism and is perhaps even uglier than America’s colonial slave trade because of its global implications. As you read about this, the same names keep cropping up – the names of the corporate people and the names of the Indian people who are trying to fight it. Sitting in my home, thousands of miles away, I want to know what I can do to aid the fight of the Indian people. Can I do anything?
This is where education steps in.
As a result of the books I’ve read, the people I’ve talked to, the websites and videos that are being published, I know what I can do, even thousands of miles away.
I can stop supporting the corporation that is responsible for this debacle by not buying their products or the products of the companies they hold shares in. At the same time, I can plant heirloom seed in an attempt to save the biodiversity that the corporations are trying to put a dramatic end to. When it comes to world peace, I can do both of these things in solidarity with Indian farmers and American farmers so that pockets of goodness are being generated around the globe.
Without education, I would not know what my choices were, or even that it was important to make conscious choices about something like this. Thanks to books AND the web, I have the information I need.
If you are not finding yourself moved by what you read on the web, keep looking for new things to read. I watched a documentary on YouTube a week ago that made me cry and storm around my house, it was so moving. I went to bed that night and dreamed about it. I woke up the next day full of reaffirmed resolve to seek education so that I could make peaceful choices in my small, daily life that really can make a difference. I know this is possible. If you are feeling a longing for the kinds of movements for peace you experienced in your formative years, Kim, keep hunting. They are definitely here on the web.
Really enjoyed your article.
I hear you DD. I also feel you had made choices to survive and carry out your life with kindness, love and fairness, despite the horror of your ordeal. This is important. When I read of women being tortured, raped and killed in other countries because they were born female and have no rights, it keeps me motivated to stay strong.
Miriam…you reminded me of the time I saw a story on orphaned Russian children and there were 3 toddler brothers featured on TV. I was so upset and wanted so badly to go get them and bring them home. I’ve never forgotten them. You make a perfect point that we can make our personal resolve and choices on a daily basis to be positive and helpful.
Ruud, the whole hype thing…a friend of mine insists that global warming is a hoax and hyped up chatter and has been sending me links to sites on it. Hype certainly has power. So how do we ascertain truth? Esp when there is so much information on different sides of so many issues.
I know what I use, but I work better in the physical. The Internet is where I do the least trusting.
Jill, and mine has puppies, dolphins and fuzzy navels
I’m lucky to have such good friends who will set me straight and steady me when I need the support.
Apply the science news cycle to anything you read
Thing is, once you know media sells best on Big Stories and that small stories can be hyped into Big Stories — from that moment on you should no longer use what “the people” are saying or doing according to “the media” as a given. Your perception that people love to take people down or feed into hate posts is media based, mainly. Don’t believe the hype.
As for ascertaining… I like to use commonality truth, what I also call The Lottery Test. Works great on many fears too. How many people do you know *first hand* who did this/think this/believe this/won this? If you’re a bit social, apply the same to your neighborhood.
Your identity can get stolen, your ATM PIN skimmed, and swine flu will kill you. So, how many folks do you know who had this happen? Apply the same to any form of cancer. See the difference?
Sister, you suffer from Slow & Steady Changes The World Deficiency Syndrome: impatient for The Change to finally happen. Give it over for the moment, sis’; you can’t carry it all — and if you try, you end up carrying nothing, none of us, none of them.
One final thought from me: Remember this Kim. YOU brought peace to any number of people via the Internet. I know because I’ve felt peace from you myself, and I know others who have said similar things to me about you. That in and of itself, is proof enough to me that we can use the technology we have to AFFECT and ACHIEVE peace, even if it is a little at a time. Little ripples spread far. Peace and love, y’all, and hugs to all.
Bingo! DD hit the nail on the head. That’s exactly it! While there’s good and bad in the Internet and everything else, you and I and DD and Ruud and Aly and others also can bring good. Both to people’s lives and businesses.
Surely you must get those same emails I have over the years from those who’ve read your words online and whose lives have been changed because of it? We do make a difference, and it’s in a way that wouldn’t be possible without the internet.
What more can we ask for?
I echo both Ruud’s and Donna’s sentiments. You have a greater influence on the people in your virtual world than you might think. It’s a “pay it forward” kind of thing…the ripples you send out just never come back to the point of origin – you. So you don’t fully appreciate your own impact.
I agree with many here; in fact, I am reminded of the famous quote by Solzhenitsyn:
“If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”
I have never stalked anyone or made threats against them, but I have most definitely hurt people in my life through my words and actions (usually motivated by pride).
Sometimes it can be hardest to admit our own part in making the world a less peaceful place, even when we are completely committed (intellectually, at least) to making the world a more peaceful place.
Great topic for discussion, if just to hear about the *good* ways that people are using the Internet to help other people. It keeps the few bad apples from spoiling the whole cyber bunch
Sorry, I hate to be a bugger but the Korean War was in the early 1950′s and not the 60′s. As for social media and SEO…I agree that there are many out there that love to give good SEO’s a bad name and I applaud and thank you for fighting the good fight. If you hadn’t the profession would have died and I wouldn’t have a job in this industry today.
With social media, if used like it was intended it does bring people together. However, I see so many people resorting to automatic software that manages their social media profiles or auto-pings me when I follow them with a default message.
I’ve considered this myself, but I fear that it will take the social out of social.
I was born in 1958. My best childhood friend, who lived across the street, didn’t know her dad for many years because he was still in Korea. When he came home finally, she got a baby brother when we were in the second grade – early 60′s.
I was too young to understand the particulars about where her Dad was, other than her mother was alone with her and older brother, who was a year older than us. The adults just told me he was in the Korean War and they were waiting for him to come home. That left a big impression on me – a friend not having a dad at home because of this thing they called “war”.
@Columbus, of Detective Columbo…I just checked up on the dates for the war and you’re right. It ended in 1953. So now I wonder about what I was told about my friend’s dad. I know he wasn’t there and all, but at this point, can’t be as positive it was the “Korean war”. Hummmm. I’ll go fix the post
thx!
I can’t control where the Internet is going. I can’t control Social Media.
I can look at what I can do, what I would enjoy and feel good about. When I pay more attention to that, I see more opportunities for myself and others. When I don’t, I don’t. Maybe because I spend so much time online, if I don’t keep my attention on what I want to help, see, do, the negativity that is also out there can make me physically ill.
Let’s face it: the Internet brings the world into our living rooms, and the world is a lot of different folks, with a lot of different standards for behavior, in a lot of different situations. It’s like the 6 o’clock news playing 24 hours a day, without filtering or professional editors, peppered buy spammers trying to make money from it a click at a time. Who could tolerate all that crap pouring in, without some personal filtering, or simply turning the silly thing off? You have to keep your heart on the good-possible, and provide your own filters and translators.
If I told you to go play in traffic, would you imagine a car wreck, or fiddling with your web stats? You could plug [traffic] into Google search and get evidence that “traffic” is the car wreck kind, but I think you know I’d rather go play with the stats.
Aside – my dad was in both Korea and Viet Nam. Maybe that was the case for your friend’s dad, or he could have been stationed there after the Korean war.
@Liz “If I told you to go play in traffic, would you imagine a car wreck, or fiddling with your web stats?”
That just totally cracked me up!
And thx for the Korean war thing…I was little. Daddies went away to war. Daddies came back. Babies came!