Blogosphere and The Real Life
****(I've finally decided to stop apologizing for taking so long update my blog. I mean, this is my blog, I'll update it when I see fit.****
Sometimes, I wonder, what are the lines that separate the blogging world/virtual reality to our own world. What defines the real world from the blogging world?
Naturally, one would be quick to draw up the conclusion that the differences are rife. Th persona you portray on your blog can be representative of your real personality, but it can also be in diametrical opposition to your real character. After all, no one is able to observe your actual demeanor, all they see are words on your blog; from there, they gain a peek into who you are, and the rest is inferrence. In other words, if you choose to portray someone totally different from who you are, not many people will be able to discern the fact you're putting on a mask in the virtual world.
Traditionally, actions in the online world did not carry such weight to it as it does in the real world. The repercussions to irresponsible actions on the net were not as harsh as those in the actual world, or in worst case scenarios, there would not be any repercussions at all.
However the more I think about it now, I begin to question the differences between the real world and virtual one. I mean, to think that one would know a person's real personality and character even through one-to-one interaction has to be an erroneous perception. The fallacy stems from the fact that people believe they would be able to discern a person's emotions from his words/facial expressions etc, but then again, a person can easily put on a mask even with his friends. Doesn't that make it similar to the situation when one is online? Of course, portraying a different persona from your real character online is to a certain extent acceptable, since no one actually knows you, and it wouldn't be in any way cheating anybody. Besides, many write to entertain and educate, so giving people misleading perceptions into their personality is not necessarily a bad thing.
As for consequences of misdemeanors online, look at it: SarongPartyGirl posed up a nude photo of herself with her face blurred and the whole media ruckus commenced. Isn't that a really harsh consequence? And Xiaxue got stick a little too bad. Seriously she should have been more tactful with words regarding the whole SPG issue, but I think a little slip of the tongue doesn't warrant her getting a whole truckload of hate mails right?
I hate this, but I thought blogging/reading blogs/engaging in the blogging community is supposed to be a cathartic activity? Where we achieve a sense of relief, where the comments of other sympathizers serve to vindicate you? Idealist if you call me, but I always thought the blogging community was supposed to be nearing a utopian society, you know, where most of us got along together. I mean, differences in opinions are naturally unavoidable, but at least differences could be resolved through empathy, and voices of dissension would not arise.
However of late, I've been seeing a lot of ugliness in bloggers. Aside from the whole SPG tussle involving SPG and XX, I've been seeing arrogance and mockery in the blogosphere. All of this, coming from reputable bloggers.
A couple of weeks ago, a certain Tomorrow editor ( one of the lower profile ones) dropped by Nicholas Liu's blog, of which I visit a lot, and slammed him with an insult, saying he had an "elitist narrow-minded perspective of the world". (If you guys really want to know which tomorrow editor it is, check out the comments of Nicholas Liu's May 31 post). Following which, that Tomorrow editor continued to create a big commotion on Nicholas' blog by posting lots of inane comments. And then some time ago, another Tomorrow editor, of whose blog I visit a lot too, went on to great detail about how we all want to be Tomorrow-ed, though I construed that whole post as a self-aggrandizing speech, like "hey, I'm a Tomorrow editor, and Tomorrow rocks, so move along".
Firstly, not everyone wants to be Tomorrow-ed. I've said a million and one times that I always hope that I'll get a higher readership, but I do not want to sell my soul to secularize my blog and make it commercially viable or go all the way out to appeal to readers. I know my blog is rather offbeat, and at times self-indulgent, but hey, as I've said, this is my blog after all (ok, so it's shared, but who cares), I'll do as I see fit. Seriously, being Tomorrow-ed brings with it great benefits; firstly, you feel your effort's been appreciated, secondly, there is increased awareness to your blog. However, with all the pressure mounted on our shoulders, will we crumble and turn out blog into a site filled with vacuous trash? I mean, I visit Tomorrow all the time, and I've seen all those one hit wonders that come out of it. They get Tomorrow for once, and then they disappear back into the shadows of obscurity. What's the big deal of being Tomorrow-ed anyway? Seriously, I think there is a lot of interesting content/articles on that site, but the idea of being Tomorrow-ed is a little overrated.
But that is another story all together. What I want to say is, why is arrogance so prevalent even in the blogosphere? And I thought perhaps the virtual world was somewhere that we could do away with this whole shit about a sense of superiority. About thinking that YOUR OPINIONS are ALWAYS right. Sure, I like to be patronised a little on my blog, I hope most people agree with me, but sometimes I really welcome differing opinions you know, so that we get a whole range of perspectives on a matter. Bah.
Anyway Finicky Feline wrote a great article here. Go read it.
Sometimes, I wonder, what are the lines that separate the blogging world/virtual reality to our own world. What defines the real world from the blogging world?
Naturally, one would be quick to draw up the conclusion that the differences are rife. Th persona you portray on your blog can be representative of your real personality, but it can also be in diametrical opposition to your real character. After all, no one is able to observe your actual demeanor, all they see are words on your blog; from there, they gain a peek into who you are, and the rest is inferrence. In other words, if you choose to portray someone totally different from who you are, not many people will be able to discern the fact you're putting on a mask in the virtual world.
Traditionally, actions in the online world did not carry such weight to it as it does in the real world. The repercussions to irresponsible actions on the net were not as harsh as those in the actual world, or in worst case scenarios, there would not be any repercussions at all.
However the more I think about it now, I begin to question the differences between the real world and virtual one. I mean, to think that one would know a person's real personality and character even through one-to-one interaction has to be an erroneous perception. The fallacy stems from the fact that people believe they would be able to discern a person's emotions from his words/facial expressions etc, but then again, a person can easily put on a mask even with his friends. Doesn't that make it similar to the situation when one is online? Of course, portraying a different persona from your real character online is to a certain extent acceptable, since no one actually knows you, and it wouldn't be in any way cheating anybody. Besides, many write to entertain and educate, so giving people misleading perceptions into their personality is not necessarily a bad thing.
As for consequences of misdemeanors online, look at it: SarongPartyGirl posed up a nude photo of herself with her face blurred and the whole media ruckus commenced. Isn't that a really harsh consequence? And Xiaxue got stick a little too bad. Seriously she should have been more tactful with words regarding the whole SPG issue, but I think a little slip of the tongue doesn't warrant her getting a whole truckload of hate mails right?
I hate this, but I thought blogging/reading blogs/engaging in the blogging community is supposed to be a cathartic activity? Where we achieve a sense of relief, where the comments of other sympathizers serve to vindicate you? Idealist if you call me, but I always thought the blogging community was supposed to be nearing a utopian society, you know, where most of us got along together. I mean, differences in opinions are naturally unavoidable, but at least differences could be resolved through empathy, and voices of dissension would not arise.
However of late, I've been seeing a lot of ugliness in bloggers. Aside from the whole SPG tussle involving SPG and XX, I've been seeing arrogance and mockery in the blogosphere. All of this, coming from reputable bloggers.
A couple of weeks ago, a certain Tomorrow editor ( one of the lower profile ones) dropped by Nicholas Liu's blog, of which I visit a lot, and slammed him with an insult, saying he had an "elitist narrow-minded perspective of the world". (If you guys really want to know which tomorrow editor it is, check out the comments of Nicholas Liu's May 31 post). Following which, that Tomorrow editor continued to create a big commotion on Nicholas' blog by posting lots of inane comments. And then some time ago, another Tomorrow editor, of whose blog I visit a lot too, went on to great detail about how we all want to be Tomorrow-ed, though I construed that whole post as a self-aggrandizing speech, like "hey, I'm a Tomorrow editor, and Tomorrow rocks, so move along".
Firstly, not everyone wants to be Tomorrow-ed. I've said a million and one times that I always hope that I'll get a higher readership, but I do not want to sell my soul to secularize my blog and make it commercially viable or go all the way out to appeal to readers. I know my blog is rather offbeat, and at times self-indulgent, but hey, as I've said, this is my blog after all (ok, so it's shared, but who cares), I'll do as I see fit. Seriously, being Tomorrow-ed brings with it great benefits; firstly, you feel your effort's been appreciated, secondly, there is increased awareness to your blog. However, with all the pressure mounted on our shoulders, will we crumble and turn out blog into a site filled with vacuous trash? I mean, I visit Tomorrow all the time, and I've seen all those one hit wonders that come out of it. They get Tomorrow for once, and then they disappear back into the shadows of obscurity. What's the big deal of being Tomorrow-ed anyway? Seriously, I think there is a lot of interesting content/articles on that site, but the idea of being Tomorrow-ed is a little overrated.
But that is another story all together. What I want to say is, why is arrogance so prevalent even in the blogosphere? And I thought perhaps the virtual world was somewhere that we could do away with this whole shit about a sense of superiority. About thinking that YOUR OPINIONS are ALWAYS right. Sure, I like to be patronised a little on my blog, I hope most people agree with me, but sometimes I really welcome differing opinions you know, so that we get a whole range of perspectives on a matter. Bah.
Anyway Finicky Feline wrote a great article here. Go read it.
