Friday, December 17, 2010

Blog Or Not To Blog...

I've got a real problem. I love to read Web logs, write them, review them, critique them, and so forth. I like to see friends' status updates and their day-to-day meanderings. But there's a dark side to all of this that's troubling to me. And that's where the "POST A COMMENT" section comes in. You've seen it. It's that section of a Web page that follows any online article, status update, tweet, blog, etc. Sarcastically translated, it means "LEAVE YOUR UNIMPORTANT, SELF-RIGHTEOUS, JUDGMENTAL OPINION HERE."

And that's where my problem lies.

Yes, I do love to read a great online article. It's one of my favorite past-times. Then I reach the end of the article, only to get sucked into the growing list of reviewer comments that tear through the writer's work like an eighth-grade grammar teacher. It's pathetic, really. Instead of submitting an article to a magazine on their own, these "reviewers" quickly pound out their criticism on the keyboard and send it into cyberspace. What's the point? Do these comments really further the global dialogue of the Internet, or do they simply give us more anonymous ways to be a jerk?

I guess the point I'm trying to make, albeit in a snarky way, is that this "Post A Comment" era of the Internet is a total catch-22. The beauty of the Internet is that the world can engage in open, digital dialogue. The ugliness of the Internet is that the anonymity it provides enables the world to post hateful, judgmental comments without realizing there's a real human being on the receiving end.

Some will say, "Hey, if you don't want negative feedback, then don't post your stuff online." While that's a true statement, it's still helpful to use a little "golden-rule" moral compass in one's life—even on the inconsequential Internet.

Here's the kicker: When I click "Publish Post," the little comment button is going to be right there, waiting for the click of another critic-to-be. Ironic, isn't it?