
Who Cares What People Write? - peter123
http://blogmaverick.com/2009/05/31/who-cares-what-people-write/
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vaksel
a) seems like a major portion of this article is dedicated for Cuban to coin
the "outtie" term.

b) Its pretty striking how Cuban's message is pretty much 180 degrees of Gary
Vaynerchuk's, one bends over backwards chasing down the most obscure
blogger/twitter to try to repair his brand, before it gets damaged, while the
other pretty much ignores the little guys until the problem becomes mainstream

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madair
I write because I like to participate. I think lots of people do. Not everyone
cares about being "discovered". Not everyone is hungry. Some of us just want
to participate.

~~~
Confusion
That does prompt for some soul searching: why do you 'like to participate'?
What is your motivation for spending time and energy to pen down your
thoughts?

You may not feel the need to answer that question. If (not 'when') the moment
comes when you wonder about it, you should realize that 'I _just_ like ...'
cannot possibly be the ultimate answer.

I think that in the end, most of us (read: I) simply seek confirmation. We
like nothing more than approval. That is probably why I actually feel bad when
someone shreds my argument or when I'm voted down. If the participation itself
was gratifying, that wouldn't be the case. If I was out to teach, I should be
happy that someone corrects me.

There are many possible motivations for participating online, but only your
deepest feelings surrounding your participation can identify your actual
motivation.

~~~
bendtheblock
For me, writing/commenting is a great way of improving my own understanding of
the topic, since it requires focus and some research. So in keeping with that,
blogging is simply good QA for my writing. Publishing is like the difference
between running a site with a large userbase and one that doesn't - in the
former you feel more pressure or responsibility to do your best.

Confirmation is something that we all seek but arguing online and with friends
has also taught me that being challenged can only ever be healthy for your
beliefs, to use Mill's words in _On Liberty_ , it yields _"[a] clearer
perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with
error."_ \- whether the error is the opponent's or my own

~~~
Confusion
I fully agree that discussions are often very educational and can change your
beliefs for the better, but sometimes you aren't so much corrected and taught
as disregarded, ridiculed, admonished or beaten down. That doesn't sit well
for a short while, even if I agree it was an appropriate response.

~~~
madair
I agree with what you're saying, it's tough, and more tough than is necessary.
It's hard to see how it can be "fixed" but I do think that the more social it
gets and the more we begin to recognize each other even in the more relatively
anonymous forums like HN the more civil and easygoing it gets.

Plus, doesn't it seem that online culture is growing up? Even if very slowly?

But we'll never quite shake the fact that all of us come from different
perspectives. We don't often talk about what I think is one of the most
different of them all...AGE :-) Hacker forums will always have a percentage of
pimply-faced 14 year olds, idealistic 21 year olds, cynical 36 year olds (me)
and smug 45 year olds, and chilled out 55 year olds :-D

(Please don't aim all those big guns at me, I'm way over-generalizing and
having fun at the same time, just to make a point: Age is a factor :-)

------
madair
It will be interesting to see whether history proves him right or wrong in his
admonition to not bother responding.

The invisible separation between the famous and the not so famous is getting
thinner. The cost of not engaging with the commoners may be high. Mark Cuban
himself does somewhat engage, perhaps not as much as it might appear he does.
However, it's a crowded field, and only getting more crowded, and the ones who
do engage may end up with more influence.

It's all abstract speculation though, and I think only time will tell.

