To toll for hours for thee by my sole self!
New! the fancy cannot post so well
As we are told to do, digital shelf.
New! new! thy informative anthem fades
Past the near forums, over the data stream,
Up the server-side; and now ’tis archived deep
In the fray, a search-bot wades:
Was it a calling, or a pipe-smokers dream?
Gone is that drive:—Do I drift to sleep?
-Original satiric poem, adapted from "Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats
I feel it. The desperation. The loathing. The brewing hatred for all you consumers. You consume my sweat. My searching. My intellect.
Shame on you.
Every forum admin, group founder and blogger has his or her own version of this lament. You feel what I feel. That dirty, sweaty sock under-the-bed feeling. The feeling of being used. You created a blog, a forum or a group to share. All you have to show for it is Take.
Nine members, 50 members, 100 members strong; few give. Few share. Most take.
They take your insights with every, "Great post. Informative." They take your side with every, "I agree. Good post." They take offense with every, "How dare you!? Moron." But it's worse when they take your time.
"Nice topic you posted, admin. We'd have more to say about it if you take some more time to post more of your opinions."
Okay.
Two hours later, their request has been assuaged. You wait. Two more hours, two more days and maybe even two more weeks. Nothing. They took your time. You sucker. You fell for it, again.
Take heed, users. Takers. We're growing wise. We're seeing through the mock concern, the faux interest and the self-righteous criticism. We're not service providers. We're not here to make a digital storehouse of information for you to pillage. You must share. You will share. You will stop asking questions when you don't care about the answer. You will stop reading and start discussing. You will back up your criticisms with facts from more than just Wikipedia.
Why?
'Cause the jig is up! We're on to you. We're watching you. We have our clicker finger hovering over the ban-stick and we're not afraid to use it.
You've been warned.
2 comments:
It takes alot of effort to write a post, less to post a forum topic, and perhaps even less to write a comment. I've been thinking about why people don't leave comments after all the hard work is put into a post. They've already got what they wanted- something to think about and they go away and think about it but it's quickly replaced by the next thing.
Mission (nearly) impossible.
I usually comment but then I don't get any response to my comment so that makes me less likely to comment next time. I agree the silence is horribly deafening and creates space for all kinds of questions.
@Heather- I totally agree.
I wrote that post after feeling frustrated at the amount of profitable information I'm hemorrhaging for free on blogs and forums.
Most people don't think about it, but as a freelance consultant I know that folks are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for my advice.
Regardless, I started a blog and a forum group. Now the advice and opinions I charge for are freely given in a topical format and I get crickets for the effort.
Now I see why some bloggers require you to register to view content.
Anyway, I digress. Thanks for the comment. It's nice to know I'm not alone on this one.
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