After about a month of vacationing in the lovely town of Durham, N.C., I decided that my hiatus from blogging had gone on long enough. Previously, I had been ministering to, and entertaining, a crowd mainly composed of internet marketers who, at one point or another, felt the "sting" of the hype from the work-at-home (WFH) "gurus." With my quick wit and ability to absorb all the marketing data and concepts at light speed, many people began to find a sort of refuge here - a small, kindly place amidst the rubble of the WFH battles they'd just been through.
After all, it IS a war. And there ARE battles. Darwin IS alive and well and almost everyone is COMPETING. Although victory will still go to the most flexible and creative.
Which brings me to the point of this article and for which I must thank the 26th U.S. President, Teddy Roosevelt...
"Walk Softly And Carry a Big Stick"
Having finally decided to dip a toe into the social media scene, the Sam Freedom way (follow me on Twitter), I began to get the eerie feeling that "as much as things change, they remain the same." In fact, I encountered new waves of wanna-bes, all excited to think that they were on the cutting edge of something new, something that was supposed to empower them, something that would set them free... to what...? express themselves more? The movers and shakers were speaking as if it were simply more power going to "the people." How noble, right? And who would dare challenge or question a notion so intoxicating and pleasing to masses of power-hungry individuals impatiently waiting their turn at the mic? Who would dare?
Like ANY technology, the positives are stressed AD NAUSEUM by both those who KNOW they are in the ripe position to gain handsomely from it; as well as by those who are utterly naive in IMAGINING they might POSSIBLY gain handsomely from it. So the battle lines get drawn and each begins to fall into rank as to what kind of soldier they're going to be in this new "social media" vacuum, this same old, same old war for POWER. After all, does any sane person honestly believe that 6 billion people can all REALLY express themselves freely without conflict?
The fact that there are so many new variables coupled with an actual dumbing-down in our formative school years, has left people vulnerable to the phenomenon of recurrence.
"Ouspensky and Mouravieff write about recurrence. Recurrence is a mechanical replay of mechanical circumstances...." Cassiopaea Glossary
And the urge to BELONG, so deeply-seated that people almost have no other choice but to behave like lemmings and just dive into a large, boiling vat of belonging; just another carrot slice or potato cube in the faceless bowl of social media soup. And they do so happily - happy that their icon, and all the emotions they've crammed into it, are being viewed somewhere... by someone... by anyone... maybe, or maybe not.
Where Are My Fellow Knights?
Lest I become as a disembodied observer watching the whole affair from the tip of a crescent moon, I have had to take a role in this matter, as well. Like bodhisattva, I have intentionally chosen the role of knight - hacking and slashing at the braids of lunacy or psychosis by which men unwittingly become entangled in their frenzied desire for more... more power, more sex, more belonging, more fame. And yet it never amazes me to see such people return for yet another jaunt through the marketplace of desire, wanting to feel the rush of the herd sweeping across the internet tundra and, again, become entangled in a web of ignoble deceit.
Like Sir Percival, I too hung from Morgana's tree until an errant spur cut free this errant knight. Tempted, I was, to become an active member of everything under the sun for fear of not belonging. If I were only a member of one social media round table then I clearly felt the lesser than someone who was a member of two social media sites. And if I were a member of two? Then I felt the lesser of one who was thrice.
The Risk of Resisting Temptation
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| Graph by D. Armano |
And pray tell, what if I did not Sphinn or Digg enough? My articles, no worse than anyone else's and, on Tuesdays through Fridays, clearly the better, would not be Sphunn or Dugg in return.
And if I did not state the obvious, such as
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how to comment on blogs for more attention; or,
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how to NOT comment on blogs for more attention.
Or refused to taint this blog with
I would, no doubt, be cast into despair! Cut off! Fragmented! And lonely beyond repair!
Were it not, however, for my faith in virtue.
Redemption
So whomever you are... wherever you might be... and however you might be encountering these words... you may always remember, and rest assured, that....
| You've Got a Friend in Me |
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