Everything I Really Need to Know about the Web...
Everything Greensboro News & Record editor John Robinson really needs to know about the Web, he learned from Robert Fulghum's book, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."
Fulghum's list, with his updating:
* "Share everything" -- Transparency is the key. Be open, helpful and say what you know. Plus, make sure you actually have something to say; if what you're going to say seems obvious to you, it may be obvious to everyone else. If that's so, then why bother?
* "Play fair" -- Readers have a good BS meter. You can't fake it. Be honest and sincere. Besides, if you misquote or misinterpret, you can be sure that someone will call you on it. Besides, what do you have to gain?
* "Don't hit people" -- Snark-fests may be fun, but they don't invite people to share or actively engage. And without the active interaction, you're not getting the full benefit of the Web. But you don't have to take the crap -- if you're being misinterpreted or misquoted, correct it.
* "Put things back where you found them" -- Not that it will matter much online. The uses of the Internet are expanding faster than you imagine. Be a pioneer. Experiment and learn something new. Know how to surf the Web? Get a blog. Already blog? Try audio or video. Do that, too? Then figure out how to make money online. Or make search even cleaner. Or to bridge the digital divide.
* "Clean up your own mess" -- You're only responsible for your own words and actions. If you think you can control the what others know and say, forget it. That's old-time thinking, if it ever were true. (In the newspaper business, we may have been the loudest voice in the community conversation at one time, and we may still be one of the louder voices, but that time is fading.) People will go where they want when they want and use what they want.
* "Don't take things that aren't yours" -- The best way to get credit is to give it. Link out. Often and freely. You point where your ideas come from and readers can view your sources for themselves.
* "Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody" -- Well, hello? Screw up -- and you will -- suck it up and apologize. I know that "I'm sorry" are the two hardest words to write, but you win favor and credibility.
* "Wash your hands before you eat" -- A commenter take a shot? Another blog say something inordinately stupid? Drink too much coffee? Get up, walk around the block -- wash your hands -- then come back. Make sure you're calm when you rise to the bait, if you even do. (If you do, then let the big dog eat.)
* "Flush" -- Short writing is better than long writing. Edited writing is better than unedited. Dashed off thoughts and comments are treacherous. Would you be proud if your mother read/watched/listened to your work. Cut it.
* "Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you" -- Why even translate this one?
* "Live a balanced life -- learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some" -- You can learn more real stuff about the world faster out in the world than you can surfing. Well, sometimes you can. Get out there anyway. It's better for your heart and your complexion.
* "Take a nap every afternoon" -- Don't tell my boss.
* When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together" -- On the Web, the world is your community. You have friends in town and Timbuktu. They will challenge you when they should and pick you up when you're down. And you're a member of an infinite number of communities, too. Give and you shall get. While the Web may seem like a wild and wooly place -- Britney Spears wasn't wearing what? -- it's really just an infant. Fear not. You can help create the world you want to live in.
Jan 03, 2006 | E-MAIL | SAVE | PRINT
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