Musings & Meanderings

The 5 things meme going around during the past few months has been entertaining, and some of the posts really wonderful. As parlor games go, it’s a cute add-on to the blogosphere, but also got me thinking about how little I feel I know about many of my favorite bloggers. Here are 5 things that I’ve learned about others through long term forum
interaction over the internet. Will blogging eventually morph in a way that will make it possible to ‘get to know’ others to the same extent here?

1. Where is your sense of humor?
• Is it relegated to a ’sub-folder of your personal os’, opened formally for sharing in safe and familiar relationships only, or are you open to banter and repartee wherever and whenever a connection clicks?
2. Do you basically like people?
• Not a question of whether you’re shy or gregarious, but rather whether you’re friendly. Are you genuinely interested in others without pre-judgment, or do you actively limit yourself to interacting with people in your own predetermined categories?
3. Do emotions scare you?
• Whether you are male or female, and the bearing that has on our different ways of seeing and expressing emotion, doesn’t matter here. Do you have to feel really safe to be comfortable with getting a hug? Have you ever given a virtual hug to a stranger?
4. Are you open-minded?
• Are new ideas and points of view something you develop personally and privately? Do those closest to you mostly agree with you on everything substantive?
5. Are you brave?
• Brave doesn’t mean stupid or self-destructive or disrespectful. It does mean you’ll venture into uncharted waters for a good reason. Do you stand up for what you believe in, for yourself or for others, when it matters?

Maybe blogging is a place in which people feel safe precisely because they don’t have to reveal such things?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007 at 7:36 pm and is filed under Personal, Internet Society, Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.