Category: people and relationships
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On being being universally loved… or not.
One of the hardest things I’ve had to face is the fact that it’s very difficult — and perhaps not necessarily optimal — to be liked, much less loved by everyone, all the time. This may seem like an especially obvious notion, but hear me out 😉 There’s this one fellow I know who is…
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Haunted by words
Yesterday evening, I was reading an emotional and heartfelt apology from a woman who was literarily sobbing her regrets. She had posted nasty thoughts about a (former) friend in an online forum, and she wishes she could take it all back. Two thoughts immediately came to mind:1) Why the heck is she posting this in…
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Where do kids fit on the Internet?
Earlier today, I got an Instant Message out of the blue… from someone who had visited my SmileZone site and noticed the IM address on my contact page. After brief introductions, I learned that she’s nine years old! And surprisingly articulate for such a young kid, too. She was looking to make friends and have…
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A "friend"ly misunderstanding
As I’ve blogged about in the past, I’ve recently become a member of several social/business networks online in an effort to expand my social circle, learn about new areas, see and be seen, and yeah, get a cool job. One of the most useful aspects of these sites, especially Ryze, is the “friends” and “friends…
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Anonymity in online communities
What role should identity privacy play in online communities? In some Internet message forums, participants are expected or even required to use their full names on their posts. However, there are likely far more boards online in which privacy is more highly prized, and often for understandable reasons (sensitive issues discussed, and so on). Here…
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Knowing someone
Can you really know someone without ever having met them? Thousands of people — perhaps millions — might say yes. In contrast, I emphatically believe that it is not possible to truly know someone until you have spent time physically in their presence. Before the advent of e-mail and online dating services and chat rooms,…
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Women blogging, women in journalism
In the comments of this post on Geekdom, Jennifer raised the interesting point about the prevalence of females in the blogging world. I HAVE noticed that there are many women bloggers, and I’m wondering if this has anything to do with the presence or lack thereof of women in ‘real’ journalism. What do you think…
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I am a geek, and it ain’t that bad
Back in high school, I was a nerd.Now I’m a geek. There’s a big difference, at least in my humble opinion. Nerds are: Generally very socially inept Usually quite unfit and also not good at sports Totally lacking in interest in and/or awareness of popular culture Singlehandedly focused on and often very talented in academics…
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Cell phone ban, schmell phone ban… I have BETTER ideas!
Last week, the New York City Council took the brave and apparently necessary step of legislating common courtesy by passing a resolution to ban cell phone conversations in public places such as theatres and restaurants. Surely we’ve all wanted to throttle clueless morons blathering stuff like “Hey, you wouldn’t believe what quiet and tender romantic…
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I can breathe clearly now, the smoke is gone
In a shock to smokers and anti-smoking advocates alike, Ireland’s government has announced a ban on smoking in pubs, effective January 2004. This is, from what I understand, a first throughout all of Europe. Indeed, I selfishly wish other European countries that I frequent (such as Germany and Sweden) would join Ireland in banning smoking…