The good, the bad and the quirky in the Twittersphere
Many years ago now, I was speaking at a conference in the Indian city of Guwahati, in the state of Assam. After a busy schedule, we had a day off, and we were taken on a fascinating trip down the mighty Brahmaputra River. We visited an island temple set about with Frangipani trees and golden monkeys, we floated alongside some fishermen as they fished, and we visited a small village on the far bank. Walking through the village, a small gaggle of children in our wake, our guide pointed out the largest building in the village – an open hall with no sides. When we inquired about its purpose he said it was the ‘Gossip Hall’. Each day people would gather in its semi-open space to share news, views, and gossip. Maybe the digital space is just such a location? Let me tell you about my time in the gossip hall yesterday:
- Over breakfast I read a blog post whose theology was good, but whose writing was so bad it made my eyes water. I expressed this opinion, and an hour or so later (whilst doing the weekly shop) an erudite friend rightly reminded me that on such a basis I would probably have rejected large parts of Mark’s Gospel in the original text.
- I also had an interesting exchange with a representative of a business network who used the following phrase: ”Givers Gain®” As a Christian, I could hardly object to the positive sentiment about giving. However, it was the ® which troubled me – how can a phrase which urges generosity be a protected trademark? The original tweeter went away to think further about why the phrase was protected, and I introduced him to a recent PHD student’s body art – a foot tattooed with the symbols for creative commons, by attribution and share alike.
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The rest of the day was spent doing other things, and I dipped in again just briefly to find that someone at a Christian conference had been ‘laying into’ Christian bloggers, accusing them of saying things online which they would never say to each other’s faces if sat in the same room. Of course, if that were true it should stop immediately. I prefer to think of the ‘same room’ as being more like the ‘Gossip Hall’ though. If I remember that the sides of this room are not only transparent but non-existent, then it acts as a positive inducement to keep the conversation open, positive, engaging and without malice – since EVERYONE can hear it. Care to join me in the Gossip Hall today?