creative pollination
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tales of an Observer
Though I can absolutely agree with the inherent participatory nature of the internet, I'm not sure whether my part of the web culture is playing a vey active role.
There are a handful of websites I frequent regularly such as The Daily Beast, Reddit, and the obligatory Facebook. My observation of events is just that--I like to remain unseen in most anonymous forums. Reddit is particularly inventive and engaging to the technology generation. Short attention spans and information uptake rates are catered to wholly, and for those Redditors with the time to do so, commenting is highly encouraged. In fact, the amount you comment relates to a numerical score called your "comment karma". I've been on Reddit for some time, and my comment karma remains at a bleak 2 points. I'm not sure why I question my intellectual input in such a broad ranging forum. Heck, half the posts on Reddit are of cats in batman outfits or by guys with a less-than-dismal love life. Why do I clam up when it comes to posting my digital two cents?
For the same reason I debate any and everything I publish to the internet with harsh personal criticism, I believe I am letting down my end of the participatory aspect of new media. The one area I relate to most would be music, yet I've never written an album review or opinion that could benefit anyone else. Maybe the insecurities I've had since high school echo in my tech-chamber. Admitting to my unusual stance on web authoring does brighten another area of how I participate--the repost.
When I stumble across a story or website that really moves my thinking, I typically share the site via Facebook for my "friend" circle to observe. This tactic, however, doesn't mean I'm actually publishing anything to a newsfeed; I am simply regurgitating someone else's blurbs that I pined over for 10 minutes, contemplating whether or not I wanted that particular site to be a badge of my personal taste. Half the time the site makes the cut, the other half I rule out as offensive or unworthy or open for too much critique.
Part of me is starting to take more technological risks. Just last week I made my very first post to Reddit and got 70% approval ratings with 62 upvotes and 21 downvotes, woohoo!
I might assign fresh meaning to my online language as of now. Maybe I should stop hesitating. I don't know why I take my input so seriously in a community of proverbial web junkies who sit around all day dreaming up things to post. I think it's my ego.
Maybe this is why I'm getting an education :)
1 Comments:
Unknown said...
Remember that Power Law....
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