A blog post that John Scalzi wrote a few years ago really stuck with me. It was about communicating on the Internet, and it made a lot of sense. One phrase really struck a chord: “The failure mode of clever is “asshole.” It suggests that if you’re reaching out to someone online for the first time, being polite instead of being clever is the better option. The intent to be clever could be misunderstood as something negative, even if the intent is positive.
I’m a shy person by nature. I’m working on NOT being shy, but that’s a discussion for another blog post. That shyness extends to the internet, which is why I’m blogging, and posting this nonsense on social media. Very rarely do I “engage”, which is part of the blogging ecosystem.
So, there’s my shyness, and the excellent Scalzi advice. I’ve wanted to reach out to several writers on Bluesky, but I’m hesitant to do so. Its easy for me to be polite, as I’m polite by nature. I also want to seem “interesting”, but I also don’t want to come off as clever, or worse… fail at being clever.
Until I work that out, I’ll hold off at reaching out to my favorite writers and artists.
