The wider public gets even wider

It's so convenient when the Washington Post reads my mind and writes an article about what I was thinking. This past weekend, the Post somehow got in the shower with me when I was thinking about reality shows and blogs and websites and how they're becoming an unexpected social force for personal and business responsibility, and then they go and write an article about it. Thanks, Post!

What I was specifically thinking about as I was lathering up was how, between email, blogs, and the increased availablity of online photo galleries and video, there's is a movement towards an all-seeing Big Brother, but it's entirely social. Some may call this voyerism, but I was thinking it's a good thing. I don't want the government deciding what's right and what isn't, and there is something annoying (at least) about feeling judged in everything you do, but it seems like it's a step towards people being personally accountable. It's one thing to shrug off what one or two people think, but when some irresponsible behavior gets broadcast all over the world, it adds a whole lot more shaming.

As long as it's kept in the public world, I'm all for it. Companies have a lot more to fear than an angry letter to them or, at worst, a report to the Better Business Bureau. Irresponsible and rude people get their nastiness spouted out to the whole world. Of course, the converse of this is: what if you're doing something you have absolutely no problem with and others consider objectionable and then you've got hordes looking down their nose at you? If that's the case, then it just means you have to be more confident in your actions, comfortable enough that you would be able to shrug off any wider scrutiny.

It reminds me of a piece of advice I once heard: never write in an email what you aren't comfortable with sharing with the whole world. It's an exaggerated piece of advice, of course, but with the ease of forwarding and publishing anything, it's always wise to remember that what you're doing could be shared with mass amounts of people.

Sorry for the slapped-together quality of today's post. Busy and all.