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Digging up a previously written article from the days of Themestream and writtenbyme.com
BACK THE NET! HELP EVERYONE! – Call me a Jonah But…
I recently read the strangest email, I have ever received headed " BACK THE NET! HELP EVERYONE!"
Is that asking me to 'help everyone' or am I part of a worldwide collective of an 'everyone', whereby we 'everyones' have to help the 'NET'?
Either way, if this clarion call was counting on 'me' personally, then the 'NET' and or the 'EVERYONE' were in deep doggy do-dos! It's not as if I am the 'apathetic' type, but how (and why) should I help something that I really don't understand?!
The very opening line left me bemused: " Fueled by a 'viral lack of confidence', the Internet economy has slipped into a recession."
I don't understand economics, let alone the 'Internet economy', and what is a 'viral lack of confidence'??!
Who lacking confidence in what (or who)?
I consider myself a pretty confident sort of guy, and am fairly consistent. But, this whole 'confidence thing' when it comes to economics is a mystery to me. I have yet to find a grocery store who will charge me more or less on any given day, based on how confident I felt when I walked in and asked for a pound of potatoes! "Oh dear, Mr. Taub, you don't sound very confident today, and you look quite pale. That bag of potatoes will cost you an extra 50cents today…. Come back tomorrow with a smile on your face, and you can have 10% discount."
The Internet economy has slipped into recession… I never touched it, honest! I just pay my charges for internet access/use and leave all the mega wheeling dealing and trading to those who seem to know what they are doing. Or at least I assumed 'they' knew what they were doing, but apparently not because of the confession: " The Internet is very young. Some mistakes have been made."
What mistakes? Who made the mistakes?? It seems that whoever made whatever mistakes they made, I was supposed to rally to their rescue (maybe they need a kick up the posterior?) by doing a number of things which would have: " Send a signal to Wall Street that Netizens will not abandon their favorite medium."
Like I said, I pay my bills, but to dig Mr. "Made a mistake" out of the doggy do-dos, I was supposed to, " visit your favorite online store(s) and make at least one purchase. Or buy 10 shares in a company you admire."
Let's tackle the 10 shares bit? A company I admire?! I admire many things in this world, but corporate companies are not really that high on my "Things I add admire" list. And the thought that "Wall Street" would give a rat's-posterior concerning any signals that I should or could personally give them (would that be smoke signals or the 'bird'?) is incomprehensible to me. I am not (watch my lips) NOT a share holder, stock-broker, corporate mogul, wheeler dealer… I am a simple writer.
But here's a deal I am prepared to make…. If an admirable company would like to rush out and buy 10 copies of mine or my wife's books, I might admire them enough to ask how I go about buying 10 of their shares.
Regarding making a purchase from a favourite online store, I did that once last year. In fact, I thought I did really well considering I personally like to physically see and touch what it is that I am about to hand over my cash for. I know, I know… I'm not part of the "D" generation. O.F. for old fashioned, me. But can you blame me when, apparently, all the time I thought these economic Internet-cum-financial-gurus knew what they were doing, they were actually making such almighty screw ups, that the Internet is about to collapse around our cyber-ears.
I don't recall ever knocking on the door of some internet corporate guru explaining, "Look pal, I've screwed up on a deadline and overshot the word-count for my next article. What I need is for you to do some editing, perhaps a spot of proof-reading and buy 10 copies of my book which I will autograph. This will really send a great signal to the editor who will know we are 'all in this together'…"
My suggestion is you (the sender of the email) gather up all those who made 'some of the mistakes' slap 'em upside the head and fire them. After all, those mega shareholder wheeler dealers who suddenly wake up in the morning 'lacking in confidence' don't seem to worry too much about their actions that result in thousands being 'downsized' without a 'by your leave'.
This writer is not going to clear up your mistakes, your doggy do-dos and any other mess you made (who-ever you are). And before you even say "You simply don't understand…" you are right, which is why I never got involved , nor caused the 'mistakes' in the first place.
[Note: since first writing this, and having previously posted it on Themestream.com, then Writtenbyme.com, both of which 'bit the dust', it appears that the cyber world lives on; I have now happily found authorsden as my new 'online home for posting various work', and Wall Street never did get my signals!]
Copyright David Taub (UKpoet.aol.com), March 2001
David Taub is a member of
The British organisation 'National Union of Journalists' (NUJ);
Columnist for the UK magazine 'Poetry Now';
Freelance writer for various UK and USA magazines;
Co-author of Language of Souls (listed on amazon.com)
Website: www.ukpoet.cjb.net
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I wish the people who forward these messages would check them out first... USE the damned 'Net to verify the accuracy of the information, for a change!
Its dear old come in the wrong door Tomas again.
Made the mistake of clicking on to you this morning,just before I was due to go out.
And was thinking about the acticle's that you had posted under poetry.(my mistake was not reading the heading,thought I was still in poetry)was in a bit of a hurry.
So I thought you being a big international what ever it is,had anyone had the nerve to indicate to you that the poetry page was indeed for poetry.
And those excellent articles such as you have presented so far,have their own section (called funnily enough stories or articles)
But having posted them,by all means let them remain.(no complaints from me)
I was thinking since your welcome arrival at Authorsden,and your obvious skills as a writer/journalist.
Having been original enough to have set the ball rolling so to speak.
Would care to give your views on events that are tangible and foresee able.
Like for example the UK goverment's stated intention to allow their agencies to access email messages.
Or even worse to take advantage of Microsoft's hidden chip.
This is a wonderful site,free and virtually self governing,but it is no free lunch.
If you post here you invite a reader to comment on your work,everyone is equal be they high or low, all can fall at the stroke of a pen.
Originality is an input welcomed by all.
Your very good friend,
Morchuis.
ps since arriving back and tried to find your lastest article under poetry,
I discovered it had never been in poetry but in its correct section under articles
So please except my humble apologies.
Could I give you one last thought to consider if you may,consider the speed that poems move off the page,some poets get very upset about that (not me)
Suppose that is an thousand points deducted.
One last little story,I once had chap used to buy old pianos from me,who earned more as a street busker than some top classic pianist