Monday, June 30, 2008

Unsocial Networking

I looked back and the reason I started this blog was to psyche myself up for a marathon that no longer exists. I'm not sure a nine second PR (or anything in this blog since that time) justifies having a blog.

I actually started the blog as well because I had clients I was encouraging to blog and didn't feel that I should have them doing something I wasn't all set with myself. These days, I have blogging, Facebook, Flicker, Friend-Feed and Twitter all down fairly well, so for a 43-year old, I'm pretty well socially networked even if I don't have an expansive social network.

However, I've read about how bloggers face abuse, threats, sexually degrading remarks and more. But the first time I was exposed to that second-hand was today.

I'm a huge Battlestar Galactica (re-imaged) fan. I've been following a really cool blog The Science of Battlestar Galactica: Revamping. The blogger is a writer for Wired, a very talented writer- and the blog has been excellent. Some of the questions he's asked- and answered- have been kicking around in my head, but having a history degree and what could only be described as a weak grasp of both physics and chemistry there were times I was not sure how to even frame, much less address the questions that he posed.

Apparently, someone was harassing this blogger. He didn't provide any details, but he did make it clear that 'one jerk' was stopping the whole process, and putting his goal of writing a book at risk, which was what the blog was supposed to stimulate.

One jerk. one less blog.

The peril of the internet- at its best democratizing. At its worst, one loud voice drowns out a symphony of ideas...

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