Comments on: Azazel & the Peril of Vanity http://keithgoode.com/2008/12/24/azazel-and-the-peril-of-vanity/ The personal philosophy of the thinking man's man. Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:14:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: keith http://keithgoode.com/2008/12/24/azazel-and-the-peril-of-vanity/comment-page-1/#comment-1478 keith Sun, 04 Jan 2009 04:26:26 +0000 http://keithgoode.com/?p=50#comment-1478 Perhaps I didn't express my thoughts clearly. I don't think that <em>everyone </em>that takes advantage of Web 2.0 is narcissistic, just like I don't think people who've kept journals for however long people have been keeping journals were narcissistic. I don't think I said that anywhere in the blog post. However, I do think that the ease-of-access to an audience of millions combined with personalities trained their whole lives to think the world revolves around them is a dangerous combination. Studies suggest that the number of people "afflicted" with this narcissism is increasing significantly. While I do have a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook account, a MySpace account, a FriendFeed account, etc., my motivation for starting most of them was business-related, trying to learn about social media and SEO. -- My blog is my way of recording my thoughts. My Facebook is now my way of keeping up with old friends. The rest, I could live without. But, frankly, I do ask myself, "Who the hell do you think you are? Why would anyone want to read your thoughts anyway?" I have no delusions about my popularity <strong>or </strong>my importance. That said, there are personalities out there that crave the attention (dare I say the name Tila Tequila?) and really don't offer anything in return but self-promotion. They aren't experts on anything, but they'll spend hours in front of a webcam spouting off about something trivial on YouTube. On Twitter, every day, I receive a tweet from someone saying, "Hey, I'm trying to get to 1000 followers by next month. Help me out." Why? Why should people follow you? Right? Okay, now to the human nature issue. ... I agree. I readily agree that when human beings aren't faced with <strong>real </strong>challenges for survival, when they can sit around and not worry about poverty, plague, or sabertooth tigers, it is very easy to become self-absorbed. If you want to find someone who's really got a grip on the importance of family and community nowadays, find someone who lived through the Great Depression, if you still can. And yet they are some of the most humble people you'll meet as well. ... Correlation? I think so. Thanks for the comment. ... By the way, what are you doing reading my stupid nonsense anyway? There are a lot more important people than me out there. ;-) Perhaps I didn’t express my thoughts clearly. I don’t think that everyone that takes advantage of Web 2.0 is narcissistic, just like I don’t think people who’ve kept journals for however long people have been keeping journals were narcissistic. I don’t think I said that anywhere in the blog post. However, I do think that the ease-of-access to an audience of millions combined with personalities trained their whole lives to think the world revolves around them is a dangerous combination. Studies suggest that the number of people “afflicted” with this narcissism is increasing significantly.

While I do have a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook account, a MySpace account, a FriendFeed account, etc., my motivation for starting most of them was business-related, trying to learn about social media and SEO. — My blog is my way of recording my thoughts. My Facebook is now my way of keeping up with old friends. The rest, I could live without. But, frankly, I do ask myself, “Who the hell do you think you are? Why would anyone want to read your thoughts anyway?” I have no delusions about my popularity or my importance.

That said, there are personalities out there that crave the attention (dare I say the name Tila Tequila?) and really don’t offer anything in return but self-promotion. They aren’t experts on anything, but they’ll spend hours in front of a webcam spouting off about something trivial on YouTube. On Twitter, every day, I receive a tweet from someone saying, “Hey, I’m trying to get to 1000 followers by next month. Help me out.” Why? Why should people follow you? Right?

Okay, now to the human nature issue. … I agree. I readily agree that when human beings aren’t faced with real challenges for survival, when they can sit around and not worry about poverty, plague, or sabertooth tigers, it is very easy to become self-absorbed. If you want to find someone who’s really got a grip on the importance of family and community nowadays, find someone who lived through the Great Depression, if you still can. And yet they are some of the most humble people you’ll meet as well. … Correlation? I think so.

Thanks for the comment. … By the way, what are you doing reading my stupid nonsense anyway? There are a lot more important people than me out there. ;-)

]]> By: Siobhan Welch http://keithgoode.com/2008/12/24/azazel-and-the-peril-of-vanity/comment-page-1/#comment-1477 Siobhan Welch Sun, 04 Jan 2009 03:36:59 +0000 http://keithgoode.com/?p=50#comment-1477 While I see what you're saying about this next generation, and ours, and our parents[ and how they can be considered the "Me" generations, I tend to see a pattern. I think this self absorption is more of a reflection of human naturethan a cultural shift. And while the venues of expression available to us have increased in number, people have always kept diaries, written memoirs, taken photographs, etc. and expressed themselves artistically on what one might call an amateur level. That said, I find it interesting that you seem to condemn Web 2.0 and people who take advantage of its capabilities when you have a blog, a twitter acct, a facebook acct and Flickr acct. But would you say you are self-absorbed because you write a blog about the subjects that interest you? Probably not! While I see what you’re saying about this next generation, and ours, and our parents[ and how they can be considered the “Me” generations, I tend to see a pattern. I think this self absorption is more of a reflection of human naturethan a cultural shift. And while the venues of expression available to us have increased in number, people have always kept diaries, written memoirs, taken photographs, etc. and expressed themselves artistically on what one might call an amateur level.

That said, I find it interesting that you seem to condemn Web 2.0 and people who take advantage of its capabilities when you have a blog, a twitter acct, a facebook acct and Flickr acct. But would you say you are self-absorbed because you write a blog about the subjects that interest you? Probably not!

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