This is the true story… of millions of strangers… living online… communicating together… find out what happens… when people stop being polite… and start getting real.
Looking at the last 10 months of Epiblogger, it occurs to me that I have been entirely too clever. There really isn’t a lot of diversity in what I have said. I have found new ways of saying the same thing over and over again—which continues to tell me that I am bound for a life in radio, but that’s beside the point. I have been beating the idea of Organic Blogging to a green-mash. But everyone needs a bit more fibre. Keeps us regular. So, I am going to do my darnedest to be a bit more practical and try to keep my head out of the clouds.
The reason for this shift in thought? Well because I am changing and two weeks go I was laid off which forced me to completely deconstruct my thinking. Last week, I read one of my favourite bloggers was removing comments and I am disappointed.
After I was laid off and feeling like the world had just failed me (or vice versa), I watched the Band of Brothers mini-series to complete my feeling of utter disappointment and to validate the thought that the world is a bad place. Alright, so I had an ice cream and Julia Roberts day. Except it was nachos and explosions and the utter depravity of humanity captured for my viewing pleasure. One of the great things I understood from watching the series is the nature of leadership. The best leaders, the best teachers, the best bloggers are those that are in shoulder-to-shoulder in the muck.
There’s a problem with that analogy. It’s not completely true. Obviously, if we follow through with the military analogy, the Generals aren’t getting their feet-wet. However, if they are the best leaders, then they will realize where they came from. If I started a blog where I lectured you on topics A, B and C and had no comments from the start, that would be fine. However, if I started a blog, building a community and reputation through comments and communication, then I pulled a Caesar on you—it feels disappointing.
I didn’t start this blog at the top. I started shoulder-to-shoulder with people in similar stations. And if Lee and I ever get to the top, I hope we never consider removing the community’s—who’s been so gracious as to spend their time with us—voice.
I get that some people are assholes. Some have bad advice. Some just like to give you a bunch of useless knowledge interwoven with a new practical spirit *cough*. Some people want attention. And some genuinely want to discuss and converse about the nature of the topic at hand. When it comes to community and comments, you can’t shut out the same people who support you and you have to deal with all types of people.
In retrospect, now that I have my friends and family helping me find employment—even though I lost my faith in humanity momentarily—I have seen the bad side, but I have seen the best side from people that I don’t even know. People who want to help in anyway they can. I promise that as long as I believe in humanity, I will believe in conversations.
Ultimately, there are bad people out there, but I believe that more-or-less most people just want to help. It would be prudent for yourself to accept that help. I know that Lee and I are not going to go anywhere without you.
You take the good and take the bad… and I think we all know where this is heading:
Photo by Sammis Co
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