Boy do I love the fact that no one reads this blog. And to the few people who are exceptions to that general rule -- thank you for being so supportive!
I just hit two or three web pages in a row (TechCrunch, Digg and the Meebo blog) wherein each post I read had 80+ comments that reminded me why I rarely ever actually read comments.
Haters, trolls, flamers, spammers -- whatever you want to call them, the internet is ridden with people who are filled with spite and rage. The funny thing is that in no other forum (except for perhaps while driving) are people this cruel to one another. It's just not socially acceptable.
I realize that e-hate isn't a new problem: in fact, it dates back to the early days of UseNet, Netiquette and the ol' "do we allow AOLer's on the internet" debate. While doing some fact-checking on wikipedia, I was really amused to read about Godwin's Law, which sums up what I'm talking about better than I ever could: "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."
We all know the Kathy Sierra story. I'm glad she had a thick enough skin to re-emerge in the blogging world and on Twitter because the world is a better place with her contributions than it is without them.
We all remember The Great Sarah Lacy Twitter Massacre of SXSW 2008. I recently met Sarah at a tech event in DC and, believe it or not, she doesn't have horns, literally or figuratively.
Jason Calacanis recently "retired" from blogging. When I read his post, I immediately thought that it was just a PR stunt, but I'm beginning to realize that I can sympathize with his viewpoint. I really don't want to ever be an A-list blogger or "internet famous" because it's just like painting a big target on your own ass.
I love my family and close friends, I love the physical neighborhood in which I live and I love the virtual networks that have developed around my career and my passions for the past 15 years or so that I've been using the internet.
But honestly, a big part of me doesn't want anyone else to read this. Not because I don't take criticism well. (I don't, but then again nobody does.) I just wish some of the same general rules that apply to social interactions -- at say, a cocktail party, a baseball game or at the supermarket -- would apply to the internet.
Comments welcome. Just be nice, ok?