Digital Common Sense

This was posted just a year ago in response to conversation about that illusive yet non-existent A-list, but it seems appropriate for repost (and a chance to pull it forward from the MT archives into WP).

Reading online this morning made me think about this again. It’s something I hate thinking about. It’s counterproductive. It leads to stratification of our community of interest. It’s childish. Like Orkut, it’s playground rules. It’s second grade all over again. There is no A-list. Some people think there is. Some people think they’re on it. Some people think there’s a club with secret handshakes and a password…a grand conspiracy to keep the rest of us out. People on the inside of some circles believe this just as much as some who feel they’re outside those circles. This is a reality of life as much as a reality of the blogosphere. There is no A-list in real life either. Only people who think there is. All people are created equal. No one person is of greater value than another.

The problem is people don’t understand circles. Overlapping circles. Concentric circles. Intersecting circles. Just like ripples in a pond, we are the sum of our circles. Some circles overlap. Some intersect. Some are smaller circles inside larger circles. Some circles never touch. And yes, some circles…jerk. Welcome to our world.

Our circles of interest intersect at some points, but think of the ripples in a large lake. The intersecting circles on one side of lake have such a miniscule impact across that body of water that it’s nearly immeasurable. Sure there’s impact, but the laws of nature weaken the kinetic energy of the ripple as the mass of the water diminishes its strength. So too is the blogosphere a large body. Ripples sometimes make it across and make small differences. Some folks make a big splash are are gone. Every person cannot expect to affect every other person in this world. Reasonable expectations are key. We all exist within our circle of influence and our own community of interest. If we want to move to a new community, we make the necessary adjustments.

Some folks ripple like a bubbling brook, always spilling out something we enjoy. It might be useful information. It might be cheerful good news. It might be tidbits of wisdom about productivity tools. These folks are a fountain, every renewing our spirit and keeping our water fresh. These folks don’t care about lists. They pay attention to their circles of friends…their community of interest. They are focused outward.

Some lie quietly like a sleeping giant. A body of water at rest is quiet and peaceful until the eruption of frenzied activity. These folks, erupt like a waterspout, blasting new ideas into our consciousness at unexpected moments. These folks care about making a difference in one area or another. They seize ideas they think are important and blast out thoughts. Their circles coverge and split and merge and change continually. They too are focused outward.

The quiet ones are just there. Think of the 20th century female poet, J. Sydney. Who said “He poured so gently and naturally into my life like batter into a bowl of butter. Honey into a jar of honey. The clearest water sinking into sand.” They pervade our daily life, having some small affect on our thoughts and actions every day, but we never really realize or appreciate the impact they have. Their circles overlap and intertwine (intertwingle) with one another. They come and go and make quiet friends as interests evolve. Like the others, these friends keep an outward focus.

Then there’s always the boistrous fat guy doing the cannonball. You know the one always hollering “look at me….watch me.” Yep, he’s there and he has an affect too. It’s not a lasting affect. Let him splash in your pool and look an hour later. His ripple are gone. He’s an aggressive, but ephemeral agitant. He’s the self-aggrandizing one who isn’t nearly as important as he thinks he is. He’s the one who thinks there’s a n A-list and thinks he’s on it. I’m here to tell you a secret — he’s wrong. These are the folks who are looking the wrong direction. They look inward to me, my company who I am, what I can do, how popular/important/sexy I am. The center of their universe is different.

I rarely feel like I’m one to offer advice. Rex Hudler said “be a fountain, not a drain.”

Ken says

Then again, as someone walking by just told me, maybe I’m all wet…

Filed by Ken at 8:13 am under General