How many friends do you have that you know only from the online world? Now, how many times have your online friends acted like your offline friends, in terms of both interacting with you when they do not need something and interacting with you only when they need something?

Online, more people tend to try to manipulate others

For the past few days, I have been getting a lot of MySpace and Facebook friend add requests. I like adding and interacting with people, so I add a lot of people. However, as time passes, I also observe people and find out which people simply wanted to add me to build their contact list, and which people simple wanted to add me in order to communicate solely with me in any manner.

Same is the case with online people that we meet through instant messengers and different blogs. People come close, say they are your friends, ask for advice and get advice or simply pass time, and then they immediately pull away. Then, at the same time, they keep telling everyone else about how much they appreciate friendship.

How many people actually do what they say?

How many A-list bloggers you know that communicate with you on an almost daily basis simply to keep in touch? I can count 4 right now. How many A-list bloggers do you know who tell others on their blogs that they appreciate people, that they want to help others, that they value readers, and blah blah blah, yet these people only interact with others when it is beneficial for themselves? I can count 7 right now. It seems everyone is calling themselves a blogging professional, or a professional blogger, and yet most of them are actually professional illusionists. I have been blogging for almost a decade, and most of the people I know who have been blogging even longer than me or better than me in one form or another do not call themselves blogging professionals. But of course, if you want to make money, simply keep calling yourself a professional, and some poor fool will follow and worship you.

Kottke, oh kottke.org!

Kottke, the famous Kottke.org Kottke, has been blogging before many of the now blogging professionals knew that one could make money online. Kottke is known by the actual, real bloggers who started the blogging blogging phenomenon through personal blogs. Yet, Kottke does not go around calling himself a professional blogger as far as I know, and when he decided a few years ago that he wanted to earn money through blogging, he famously announced it publicly and let everyone know everything about why he wanted to make money, about how he would be quitting his job and rely on his blog for money and thus would post more solely to gain more readers and would do his best to give the best personal content of his life, how him blogging more will make money, and how he hoped his readers will take more action so that he could blog more in order to make money. He did something to spark a small interest, an honest interest. Many liked him because of his honesty, and majority of his readers wanted him to succeed through donations.

In contrast, look at most of the “blogging professionals” today; all you hear about is words, words and no real motives. All we want to hear is money, money and more money. The 16 year old kid working at Borders bookstore and helping me find a book early this morning knew about Darren Rowse and Chris G, yet he did not know, among several others, about Kottke, Valerie, Xanga, Wannbe Girl, LoobyLu, Pskratch, and a few others including The Penguin Chronicles [that's me!!!]. He did know about some Ronald, but not the Ronald I was referring to. People appreciate many bloggers today simply because of the money they make or how they can tell others to make money.

But of course, many people will not admit the fact that they respect and give priority to someone because of their popularity. “What is a Kottke?“, and “I’m not interested in penguins……you like penguins or something?“, as the Borders kid responded today. If John Chow stops blogging today I can bet you some may feel like crying. LoobyLu has not blogged since February, and is one of the original people to shape the concept of turning online websites into fun places because of extremely fun designs, and no one is asking about it outside of her blog. One talks making money, and the other one is there to have fun and do things without wanting to manipulate others. A new, online business owner vs. a real, original blogger from the pre-”self-proclaimed-professional-bloggers” era. And I wonder why.

To those that say that hearing about money money and more money is nothing bad, I say wanting to hear those words all the time is bad. Do you think about using your wife, husband, mother, father, son, daughter, sister or brother to make more money? Why can we not then make exceptions for more people and actually give more or not give at all, if that allows us to not manipulate others? For example, is it not better for me to not keep in touch and also unsubscribe from all RSS feeds than to show fake appreciation to a fake person? Of course, if you are a self-proclaimed professional blogger who just jumped on the blogging wagon, you will think that it is better for me to simply keep subscribing regardless of non-blogging, non-online, ethical values and concepts.

Who are these new professional bloggers anyhow? Did we not learn while growing up that labeling ourselves as professionals in something without actually acting and exhibiting such professionalism means we are full of it? Any blogger who calls her or himself a professional blogger without actually being professionals earns a “haha” or a lot of analysis and ignoring from me. Can you think of some bloggers that you know who call themselves professional bloggers? Heck, I have about 15 or 20 online titles on my mind but I feel too weird to proclaim some honor onto my own self, and thus have been waiting for ages to have someone else notice those traits and titles. Maybe I am dumb and should instead start claiming myself to be a lot of things, since apparently you aren’t noticing or you are also too shy to realize the kind of person I am. “Haha“, no?

My question to you: What would you do?

Here is my question: What would you do if you saw an online person who is faking appreciation and friendship in order to manipulate others? Would you point it our privately? Would you point it out publicly if they do not listen? How can you change trends or things if you do not expose them openly and work on them?

I already know what needs to be done. How about you?

Thank you for reading.

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