Final Portfolio: Electronic Communication

I have really discovered something the last few days, although it's a relatively well known fact: the internet is full of trolls. I'm not talking about the ones that hide under bridges and eat children (well, maybe some of them), but the ones that purposefully try to annoy posters and belittle your beliefs. The internet may be a great way to get out your beliefs, but it's also a great way for these guys (or girls) to really get under your skin. One major reason for this is that most posting on the web is more or less anonymous, so it's a lot easier to state some radical and crazy beliefs without knowing who said what. Not only is this really annoying, but it also kills real, insightful conversation; Eventually, everybody takes an extreme side and just snipe at each other over stupid issues.

Free speech is a great ideal on the internet, but that doesn't mean that you have the privilege of being a jerk. The best way for electronic communication to improve is for everybody to respect their peers and stop all purposeful sniping and flaming. To be perfectly honest, this will never happen, just like it doesn't happen in the real world; But it's another great ideal to strive for. Kind arguments are more likely to win over your enemies than name calling any day.

I enjoyed writing my blog entries. I enjoyed broadcasting my views and writing interesting articles. I especially like the informality that most blogs bring to them, since I never liked stuffy writing. I enjoyed everything possible about this assignment, actually, since I like the more intimate writing that came with that project. I know that the internet might be a hectic place when it comes to putting out your opinion, but I would like to brave it anyway. Heck, if anything else, I might get a good discussion out of it.