stii.za.net » Blog Archive » When did we become such pussies?

When did we become such pussies?

Mar 17

pussy Disclaimer: Pussies as in cute, furry kittens!

One thing you will always get within Social Media (or any kind of social establishment) is differing opinions. This is a good thing. It allows for (somewhat) healthy debates. Sometimes these debates breaks out in fights. That is also not necessarily a bad thing. Friends do fight. Hell, my wife and I fight like cat vs. dog sometimes! It does not mean we hate each other! We simply differ in opinion and we sort it out over an undisclosed period of time using various tactics. (Of which the “silent treatment” tactic is B’s favorite! ) Nevertheless, it is not a sign of sickness, rather it is a healthy sign.

With the SA Blog Awards, every year without fail, you get “arguments” with a somewhat unhealthy element. You get these pussies (as in cats, remember) that spray bullets in the sky with the attitude “if the shoe fits…”. Not very helpful. It is exactly that “if the shoe fits” mentality that gets us nowhere, since no-one wants to put on that shoe if it was not specifically meant for them, so NOTHING is resolved at the end of the day.

I’m talking about this post of Jarred Cinman on Thought Leader. The post is laced with innuendos of certain “entrepreneurs” who are working out of their bedrooms in their parents’ house [sic] which is a shoe I can fit on dozens of people. Even on my own foot to some extent. The thing is, I do not particularly think Mr. Cinman aimed at anybody specific (though, he must have been thinking about some folks specifically at the time of writing it), although if you look at some of the comments on Muti, people’s perception is different:

people [are] sick of all the egomaniacal crap that goes on from certain ‘players’ in the industry.” and
“Once again timbloem - ‘players’ Stop beating about the bush and actually name them. ” and
“I’m waiting for a blog post on who these “players” / “in-crowd” / “big heads” are. Everyone quotes the above sayings, but no one ever names them. Why? Scared? ” and
“I propose the following formula: Count the number of times the blogger has “web2.0″, “entrepreneur”, “seo expert”, “new media strategist” in their banner and add it to the number of photos they have of themselves on their blog, add another point for any “vote for my blog” icons and subtract the total from 10. This is the “South African Blogger Expertness Score”.

So why not simply say it? What are people afraid of? At least it would give the “players” the opportunity to defend themselves! Surely that is only fair? To label a bunch of people as these so called “players”, but no-one knows who these elusive “players” are is kind of stupid?! Its like saying “the illumenati is a bunch of wankers”. No one will take that serious!

pussy in box People have a lot to say about Richard Catto’s troll tactics, but at least he has the balls to say “Stii is a doos” (”doos” as in the Afrikaans version of a “box”… tsk tsk tsk…)

Clearly there are a bunch of people who dislike another bunch of people for undisclosed reasons. How can they begin to know why if they’re not even sure who? In the end, all that will happen is that people will start to ignore these “innuendos” and stay out of the “debate”. As noted so many times, we’re a fairly young movement in Africa. We tend to still take this shit seriously. This too will change as it gets bigger.

Now I can hear it already: “So what you are saying is that whenever I talk of a certain group of people I now have to mention who I’m talking of?” Sheesh, don’t be silly! I cannot tell you what to do! Gmf…

What I will say is this: If you do not have something good to say about someone, don’t say it. If you do say it, say it so that person can at least defend himself/herself. Have some balls, FFS!!

Peace! Out!

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14 Comments to "When did we become such pussies?"

Justin Hartman said: On 03/17/2008 at 8:31 am
Excellent post dude. You hit the nail on the head!
Stii said: On 03/17/2008 at 8:35 am
LOL, thanx man.
Colin Daniels said: On 03/17/2008 at 9:08 am
Hear Hear.

It seems like a new level of petty ugliness is brewing in the SA blogosphere/online space & I personally want nothing to do with it.

My view is if you can’t be constructive then keep your mouth shut…
JBagley said: On 03/17/2008 at 9:21 am
Some of those muti comments are by me - and I totally agree with you Stii - the okes that go about talking about this elitist crowd seriously need to name some names.

And its always these muti trolls that get upset and freak out about these “players”. It’s lank irritating.
Stii said: On 03/17/2008 at 9:25 am
Thanx @Colin. You’re right, it is coming to our online space and I think it is an inevitable part of evolution. You get it all over and due to the fact that we’re in our infancy, we’ve been lucky until now. What a pity!
Stii said: On 03/17/2008 at 9:27 am
@Jason Dude, you were a significant inspiration for this rant! I read those comments on Muti and it just irked me something terribly!
Jarred Cinman said: On 03/17/2008 at 10:08 am
For record, I had no specific individuals in mind. I see the Johncom guys have been active in congratulating you on this post here, and I take it from comment’s I’ve picked up elsewhere that they feel particularly victimised by my post for some or other reason.

Let me be clear then:
a) I have no beef with Colin or any of the guys at Johncom, most of whom I have never even met.
b) I also have no specific beef with any particular individuals in the “expert” community

That said, my general comments stand. You can all browse for yourselves around the forums, blogs, conferences in this industry and write your own representative list of names.

As a matter of fact, everyone EXCEPT industry-insiders have written to me telling me they know exactly what I mean, with their own anecdotal additions to my story. This is indicative of a general phenomenon, rather than something particular to any group of individuals.

So here are some suggested markers of this “industry”, such as it is:
1) There are lots of young people involved
2) Many of them have very little experience compared with the roles they are filling
3) The term “expert” has been thrust on people very quickly, considering the length of time many of them have been involved in the business

That’s actually all I’m saying. If you, or your employers or conference organisers or corporate customers want to factor that in when engaging this industry, great. If not, then that’s great too.

As a postscript, I have clearly scratched open some wounds that existed long before my post. Whether this shows itself up as healthy competitive energy or destructive infighting is not for me to say. But on this count, I would request not to be the messenger that took the bullet.
Stii said: On 03/17/2008 at 10:44 am
@Jarred duly noted. I did speculate saying “The thing is, I do not particularly think Mr. Cinman aimed at anybody specific (though, he must have been thinking about some folks specifically at the time of writing it)”

I was right then on the first account and wrong on the second. Thanks for clearing up that matter. It was more aimed towards the comments left on Muti.

You are exactly right in saying: “I have clearly scratched open some wounds that existed long before my post.” This is not the first time comments/issues such as these saw the light of day. This was the most recent, therefore I used it as an example. I don’t want you to be the messenger that takes the bullet.

As for this: “I see the Johncom guys have been active in congratulating you on this post here, and I take it from comment’s I’ve picked up elsewhere that they feel particularly victimised by my post for some or other reason.” This is exactly my point They don’t know.
Vincent Maher » Ancient and murky archaological discovery names the dreaded A-list said: On 03/17/2008 at 1:53 pm
[...] new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This week, again, there has been mention of an elusive, secretive, closed group of A-listers who are either made out of lizards or who own [...]
Kevin said: On 03/17/2008 at 2:35 pm
Your wife’s hosting account has been suspended
Kevin said: On 03/17/2008 at 2:44 pm
I don’t have much time for blogging, so I haven’t been nominated for an award, lol, but I am really keen on good spelling:

“parents’ house” with the apostrophe after the s is not necessarily incorrect if the intended meaning is that the house is owned by each parent separately, and not the parents collectively However in common usage, yes, it’s probably not the ideal way of writing it.

Glad I’ve now thrown in an aside to the whole blog awards thing.
Stii said: On 03/17/2008 at 3:26 pm
Dear God Kevin! You’ll have a serious heart attack if you get worked up because of spelling and grammar reading this blog!

Ye, she blogs too little.
Richard Catto said: On 03/22/2008 at 10:29 am
I’ve never called you a doos. I don’t know where you get this from.
Stii said: On 03/25/2008 at 8:36 am
@Richard lol, sorry man. I know that, but it was meant as an hypothetical statement. An example, although maybe a bad one as it indeed never happened! Apologies mate!