I’m more moralistic than you would expect. I’m easy-going and non-judgmental on a personal level, but when it comes to groups, I’m like an 19th Century hermetic crackpot who spends years writing a tract about the perfect society, and then gets pissed when no one follows the plan.
During my years blogging, I’ve been a crank at times about “the blogosphere,” as if it was a blueprint for an ideal virtual world where everyone is someone interesting and deserves to have a voice, bitching about cliques and BlogHer and blog networks and gender roles and branding and blog lists and blog widgets and self-promotion and monetization and advertising and integrity and authenticity and photographic manipulation and promotions and conferences and giveaways and even “blogging” itself — pretty much everything else that we all now do and believe on a regular basis without anyone giving any thought to it.
It’s not going to be easy for me, because my basic personality is as ingrained as King Arthur’s Sword in the Stone, but I’m going to try to focus more on my own writing and my own actions, and less on what YOU do. I will be a happier person because of this. When I think about you, I want to visualize you as goodhearted individuals, each trying to do his best for himself and his family, and not as a mob molding a Golden Calf out of melted Etsy jewelry and fornicating with camels, while I’m stuck on the cold mountain, my beard gray and dusty, waiting patiently for the Ten Commandments to be faxed from the main office, missing out on all the fun.
Community is a good thing, but it can also be the source of our unhappiness. I want to remember, that both online, and in real life, the individual relationship always come first, before any grand ideology about the community-at-large, no matter how idealistic the genesis. I need to do a lot of work on myself before I attempt to mold any of you into my image. Because even God did a pretty bad job with that one.
but…but…how will i know what rules to break?
smiling at you. this is good.
i do have to say, not paying attention to everyone around me has definitely made me more happy around these parts.
I admit that I like blog widgets. Some of them.
I support this endeavor.
And the occasional backslide.
Sally forth.
After a lifetime of church attendance and participation in organized religion, I decided I accomplished more good in the world working solo among the people and needs in my own circle. In church, I felt I spent all my time in service to the organization itself and over time it becomes exhausting, dealing with everyone’s agendas and need for control. Thankfully, I’ve never been involved in the blogosphere the way you have. I guess I did learn something valuable in church–what to avoid!
“Because even God did a pretty bad job with that one.” Tell me this brilliant ending does not present you as a moralistic person? 😉
I get what you are conveying. The irony is, at least to me, that every community needs exactly someone like this for it to continue, otherwise won’t we all turn into Lord of the Flies? It’s a burden indeed sometimes to not be able to be oblivious. But do you really thrive in a carefree life? (Sorry if I am being presumptuous since I do not know you… When we comment on blogs, most of the time we are 99% projecting. 😉 )
I see good things coming from this.