It’s just the Internet, not ball cancer.
Posted by Mitch on 28th July 2015
On social media I can be a number of things.
I’m occasionally cynical, often sarcastic and sometimes a bit of a monomaniac.
I say what I think and I’m rarely intentionally rude, unless I’m talking about very large corporates, which I generally hate. If a very large corporate asked me to recruit for them, there’s a reasonable chance I’d tell them I’d rather stick needles in my eyes.
I’m active in a lot of discussions about recruitment; an industry I’ve dedicated 26 years of my professional life to.
And I am aware that I can come across as opinionated and blunt.
The blunt thing is partly down to my being economical with words and my reluctance to use smileys – both of which I’m proud of.
Having said all of that, I accept that I’m probably nicer in real life.
(insert smiley face here)
But some of the things I’m not are 1) a troll or 2) anonymous.
I don’t make personal attacks on people. I may disagree with whatever argument or sales message they’re punting and I may have sometimes criticised some of those points of view, but it’s never personal.
I play the ball, not the man.
Equally, I’ve been on the receiving end of criticisms, sarcasm and a few personal attacks, all of which I accept is part and parcel of getting into debates with people online, most of whom you don’t know and have never met.
The only people I have ever blocked online have been fake profiles, spammers, pornographers and trolls. And I’m talking real trolls here, not just people who regularly disagree with me. Removing people from my LinkedIn connections or my Twitter feed is not the same as blocking them.
Most of the time I remove connections, it’s simply because I’ve grown tired of what I think is the monotony of their posts and sometimes it’s to protect them from seeing mine too often, if they’ve shown themselves to be a tad sensitive.
Sometimes they remove me as a connection. Quite regularly actually. I accept that as unavoidable given everything I said at the start of this blog.
Blocking people however is a whole other story.
Ultimately, I think blocking real people online is an admission of failure.
You’re basically saying you don’t like debate, being asked questions or being disagreed with.
That you think the Internet should welcome your broadcasts with open arms and not answer back, unless it’s to proffer gratuitous and anodyne praise.
Basically, blocking someone who isn’t a spammer, pornographer, troll or has a fake profile is the social media equivalent of having a spoilt 4 year old’s hissy fit.
Have you ever blocked a real person on social media?
If you have…
Grow a pair. Seriously.