The Rules

When I was growing up my father would counsel me in moral matters by saying “do the RIGHT thing*” without really explaining what the right thing was. It was expected that by watching what he did and following along (and running in the opposite direction very quickly if I didn’t) I would KNOW what the right thing was.

As I have grown older I have seen what I think is the “right thing” change, mutate and I hope, mature, as a result of life’s lessons. I have gone from wanting to do the right thing by everyone else, to wanting to do the right thing by myself.  This sometimes gets me into conflict with others who have opposing views when it comes to pleasing the herd.

So when I saw today that Tim Ferris has advised that you should write your blog posts like you have had a couple of drinks and are speaking to a friend (rather than being all prissy and trying to please everyone) I cheered.

I can hear the opposition to this comment already. “Of course HE can say that, he is rich and famous” “What would he know, he doesn’t really talk to normal people like US”. Thing is, many everyday people communicate in our blogs like we are at a church picnic with complete strangers. We mind our manners, mouths and thoughts and completely crush who we really are.

Yes there will be people that don’t LIKE who we really are. This is the internet and if you aren’t disliked by at least ONE person then you aren’t being heard. Take it as a compliment if you have ruffled someone’s feathers with your blog posting about which way the toilet roll should go on the spindle (paper over the top!). As long as you are not going out of your way to be deliberately nasty to an individual, or group, for no other reason then you get a kick out of it, then I accept you have an opinion and demand you do the same for me (some things you should demand, not ask for, and reciprocity of rights would be one of them).

So when it comes to blog posts about how to blog post, or how to Twitter, or how to be a man or a woman, or how to Social Network then BAH I say to you.  There are no “rules”, there is only doing what you feel is right.

*funnily enough that became an anti-litter program slogan in Australia for a while… “do the right thing” was followed by “put it in the bin”