It all starts with etiquette.
I know I said this hundreds of times before. Everyone should be careful of what they say, post, like or share on the internet. Whether its facebook, twitter, tumblr or a blog/site. Some people may find the things you post as offensive or annoying.
Etiquette, it may seem normal in day-to-day activities, but we have to keep in mind that etiquette is also vital to our online interactions. Rants about everyday life and to the little-st things aren't necessary. When someone is having a bad day and posted "Having a really bad day" on facebook, people "like" it. What's there to like? Someone likes that the other one is having a pretty crappy day or making them feel that they are having a bad day too?
We might have different attitude towards the internet, but here are some excerpts from reputation.com about Online Etiquette.
- You may have heard the “Golden Rule” from your parents or grandparents growing up, but it helps to have a refresher. Simply put, you should always treat people the way you would like to be treated. These simple words of wisdom are especially important when it comes to what you say and how you say it on the World Wide Web.
- When you’re sitting in front a computer screen, it can be hard to empathize with the people you’re talking to online. In real life, you wouldn’t brazenly insult someone to his or her face (hopefully), so why do it on the Web? Reading hurtful words online is just as bad as hearing them in person. Cyberbullying is a growing problem for children, teens and adults, and it often has tragic consequences.
- Before posting any kind of online content, think about what you’re saying. Is it mean-spirited? Would you be comfortable if someone attacked you in the same way? The Golden Rule works as well on the Web as it does in real life, so do your best to obey it.
Free platform.
The internet has been a platform where everyone can express their opinions or showcase their talents. Lets take YouTube for instance, for the past few months YouTube has undergo changes and whether the users and subscribers like it or not, the change will take effect. YouTube has been the biggest platform where anyone can upload videos. And it has been a place where talents are discovered and information are stored. Some videos went viral and it became the source of formal news.
Blogger, like what I use here in my blog has helped me publish articles and promote myself as a stylist. Other writers used blogger, as their online journal and it is the closest thing to get our ideas and thoughts out there.
Facebook and Twitter is our way to connect to other people, it has been used to call out help when needed and as a basic means of communication.
It saddens me that we have to come to this, because the internet has been a really good platform for me and my business. For more than 10 years that I have been using the internet, it has been a vital part of my everyday life. Putting words together for my blog and making art for my deviantart. Maybe for some, the internet is just something they use, but for us who work mainly through and for the internet, its more than that. It is a platform where we can express ourselves, for free. Without paying anyone to have our works published. Without paying airtime for our work to be shown.
You cannot box free minds.
Artists, sometimes, well, most of the time, they are pain in the asses. Believe me, I grew up with hundreds of them. Whether they are writers, painters, directors or actors. They know how they can go overboard and they are in constant search for something new. The internet has been the destination of these artists.
Film makers, who cannot fund or produce their shorts use the internet as their movie house where they can show their film. Writers use the internet to publish their novels or articles. Painters use the internet as their museum to showcase their art. Actors use the internet to meet people who can cast them.
So whom are we to shut down the freedom in the internet if its the means of expression of the creatives? Whom are we to box them down and tell them to find other ways to put their craft out there? This leads me to another point, which is the benefits of the artists here in the Philippines. I don't want to go into detail about the government projects and programs, because I know for a fact that the Arts here in the Philippines is in the verge of just... giving up. My mom has been an artist all her life, but there we're no benefits or programs to help them get through. My mom is a published artist, she was featured in international books and publications. But she did this by herself.
Rewind a bit.
I remember sitting with my colleagues about this. We we're looking into having people talk about the cybercrimes and the looming issues in the internet. We wanted everyone to have a say on this. We wanted at least 1 person to represent a side and explain the pros and cons. I remember what one colleague said, I can't remember the exact words but I can remember the gist. It's something like.... You cannot stop the internet, It's constantly growing. Maybe a minimum of 100 people join the cyberworld everyday, and it's the destination of everyone.. Something like that. We we're actually talking about piracy through the internet at that time. And that is whole other issue that everyone should be looking at. A month after, we saw how the OPM industry struggled to put their craft out there, and this time, through the internet. If they can't sell cd's at the record stores, they offer song download through the internet in a very minimal price.
I remember how everyone was affected by all sorts of cyber-crimes but no "big guy" stood up and voiced out. Everyone tried to make their own little steps. All we can do now is to tell everyone to use the internet responsibly because the internet will never be controlled...
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