Hubpages: Socially Correct

Now that I have been a member of Hubpages for over a year and a half now, I see a perfectly normal social experiment remain fractiously typical. Let me preface this by stating my gratitude for the amazing work put into this website. As a social medium designed to promote all walks of creative life, sans the opportunity to earn a living wage, Hubpages is a fantastic exposé for the global community. Furthermore, I fully acknowledge how self-promotion is a rather dubious task when looking to gain faithful fans.

I wish to discuss with you how Hubpages proves there will never come a day of complete peace and unanimity among men and women. The awesome power of the internet coupled with absolute marketing genius, Hubpages is taking advantage of a global platform to promote ideal hobbies and interest in an all-inclusive manner. Such inclusion of this project has opened the door for nearly all types of opinions and facts to manifest themselves in menu form. Anyone with a love for poetry has access to request input on their latest work from closet professionals and pseudo intellectuals alike. Anyone with a hankering for political fodder just has to ask the wrong question to receive a virtual floodgate of animosity. This brings me to my point about peace.

I cannot speak for the creators of Hubpages, nor can I assume original intent, however, I can critique the before, the now and the after. Before true social media, individuals with their many interests usually had to be members of local groups or world travelers to share mutual interests. Generally these groups had limited reach no matter how rich or influential. Because the breadth of the sharing was typically specialized and intimately discussed in smaller venues, dissent and heated arguments were atypical. The era of Facebook, MySpace and Hubpages has ushered in vastly radical ideas regarding public exposure of very private matters. Many individuals have lowered their inhibitions with strangers, sharing life experiences that would normally be reserved for spouses or therapists. But something hasn’t happened…

Here on Hubpages the only true requirement is the command of the English language…no, scratch that, the only requirement is that one can write something in English and hit “publish.” Yes, that was meant to be sarcastic, but it really isn’t that far from the truth. While it is a low bar to measure for sure, its simple application offers access to some ~565 million internet users worldwide. That is quite an abundance of available opinion. One need not look beyond the forums to witness the ugly side of uninhibited behavior. What a perfect experiment in global collectivism…hobbies, opinions, passions, professionalism and idiosyncrasies abounding, bottled and ready for dissemination. So why the constant divisiveness?

Acting upon wisdom requires an individual own common sense and knowledge. There is an inner dialogue in which the individual runs down scenario’s that may or may not happen based on given options. Need, desire and selflessness battle with maturity, waging war against the psyche for better pecking order. Every individual has been brought up and raised with life experiences that are not exact in every form; every individual is born on a continent different from 7 others, in a society different from thousands of others, to parents different from billions of others. There are no short roads to unity; moreover, there are no programs in existence to overcome chromosomal complexity. The phrase “I beg to differ” is inherited from my genes.

The naïve never stood an ice cubes chance in the Sahara. When we disagree with those whom are members of our community, share our same religion, our same reproductive rights, our love for family, right on down to the same dreams, how does one expect us to find unity and peace among those with a thousand opposites? Case in point, I have written a fairly diverse number of hubs and have gained followers through supposed like mindedness. I have noticed a number of early followers drop me from their list after I have broadened my palette of planks. To take it a step further, some whom I never received an ill word from have given me the cold shoulder. I see them interacting like all is normal within specific topics we share, though I have yet to understand the silent boycott. Others troll around in packs trying to discombobulate newcomers of a different variety, hoping to discourage an evening of the odds per se.

I conclude with these thoughts. To introduce difference of opinion excites the mind and thus promotes dynamic interaction, growth and attainment of what wasn’t formerly known. By way of attaining new knowledge does not mean instant elevation in superiority nor divine right to abuse those with a different outlook. All members of Hubpages represent what we find in every country, every hamlet, home and mind. Our unity ends after classification of the same species. The next time you read a hub for which you grossly detest, try to remember that the member whom wrote it has billions of reasons why their conclusion is different from yours. Thank you Hubpages, you are perfectly normal in my book.