Re: echo chamber and doing it right
If you missed the whole "echo chamber" thing, here's the short story. Someone posted about how Bear Blog feels like an echo chamber, and they said people here are writing about revelations they should have had as a child. In my opinion, the language in the post was mean-spirited and condescending. Sure, most of us are stark amateurs here. Isn't that to be expected?
Over the next week, a few people wrote replies to that post. I think the gist of the replies was: if you don’t like it here, please feel free to read something else!
It occurred to me later that I appreciated something about this exchange: the pace. Conflicts on social media, if my crufty memory is accurate, seem to burn brightly and then end in a near instant, like flash paper. People have to rush to get a word in before the collective attention span moves on.
In contrast, this exchange unfolded leisurely. Response posts rolled in over several days or even weeks. People had time to reflect and then to choose their words thoughtfully. What a boon to reasonable discourse!
As for my response to the original post, I’ll cite Manu’s latest entry, which provoked me to finally write all this down: Blogging: you’re doing it right. If you’re blogging, you’re doing it right. There will always be haters. Don’t burn a single emotional calorie on them. Pat yourself on the back for putting in the effort and having the courage to share with the world. As a fellow amateur, I salute you.