Should We Think Before We Post or Speak?

I'm sure that many of the people in this community and around the nation have heard about Abraham Biggs. The news of this tragic event has inspired this blog post, and my thoughts and prayers go out to those he left behind.

Any loss of life is tragic, but upon hearing the circumstances surrounding this loss, I was greatly troubled. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that humanity has lost the realization that, no matter how small, our actions and words affect those around us. Just think of how someone else's bad or good mood affects our own mood. With the written word, our statements can be taken in a totally different manner or context than we which we mean them, all depending on the individual reading them.

In today’s medium, those around us no longer include just those that we physically or verbally come into contact with but globally as well. As we interact with potentially hundreds and thousands of people through e-mail and various other means via the internet, a large number of the world’s population post images and information to the unknown masses without hesitation.

Everyday more and more people, both young and old, are learning to access cyberspace. There are news reports out about companies, who as part of their hiring process, investigate potential employee’s Facebook and MySpace pages as part of background checks.

It is my belief that we should be responsible and think before we speak or post. We should ask ourselves:

Is this something I want my employer, parent or child to see?

Is this worth losing that potential new job over?

Would I want this said to my child or loved one?

To Quote Tolstoy - "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

Tags: humanity, posting, responsibility

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Comment by cleosmlbx on November 26, 2008 at 7:08am: Shtanto - Thank you for creating a great and interesting quiz!

Kissa - I came in as I look, then leap as well.

Thank you all for your thought provoking comments!

Comment by Kissa on November 25, 2008 at 10:43pm: I look, then leap.

Well done! Even though it can be tempting to instantaneously reply to what you read as in a real life conversation, you know the Internet is a little different. Taking even a few moments to consider what you think and what you should say means you write informed, intelligent sentences. This makes you a valued member of forum boards and chat rooms. Just don't forget to loosen up now and again. Nobody is perfect, and we're all entitled to make mistakes now and again.

Comment by Shtanto on November 25, 2008 at 10:08pm: 2 hours later: The quiz

Let me know what you think. I'll make suggested changes.

Comment by Shtanto on November 25, 2008 at 7:19pm: Yeah, I try to avoid it. It's mostly noise. What hath God wroght? ;)

Got me thinking though. I was just over on quizzila passing some time. Most of the quizzes seem to have been written for cheerleaders.

We're already inheriting a flawed value system from advertising. The Internet is doing some funny things to society. I wonder how the founding fathers would have worded the declaration of independence or the constitution if they'd known the Internet was coming?

Twitter is like pure free speech without any censorship. Free media gung ho. I just wish there was something worthwhile to say some of the time as opposed to things unnecessarily said most of the time.

Comment by Chris Pirillo on November 24, 2008 at 11:23pm: Twitter is the worst... no filters.

Comment by Shtanto on November 24, 2008 at 10:20pm: Well, I'm an unemployed techno hermit pasokon otaku, so those questions don't really apply to me. Besides, the anonymity of the internet means I can just set up a new gmail account, register it here and be a new person in a little under 15 minutes.

I could actually be Chris, or any other user logging in with a spare profile. I can be anyone I like :)
Everyone can. It's all ghosts and mimes around here :p

The Internet is tangible freedom, merely for its lack of control. The only thing with true value is a true identity. Thus, the only thing worth remembering is who you are.

Is that what you meant?

Comment by Sol McNally Aka : Dmitri Girl on November 24, 2008 at 10:16pm: Negativity begats Negativity. As for most of the world. I can say that I think there is not enough people that understand the real importance of positive thinking. :)