More on sharing and why push is going away

Feel kind of old these days at 45, which makes me part of what is often called Generation X, and I focus a lot on unlearning, which is about trying to figure out new things that arrived with the web, as first you have to unlearn old stuff from the 20th century.

Like I still get fascinated by having visits from all over the world, but am finally unlearning the old view that says that was mostly impossible except for the rich and famous, and learning the new view that sharing useful content quite naturally pulls attention from people who can use it--wherever they may be.

That's a great thing, and it's removing push, at least definitely for me, and push is what I grew up with, where you have someone forcing content at you, including advertising, knowing you have limited places to go. And when I was a kid in the 1980's we didn't even have cable, and could really just get NBC, and PBS ok through the antenna, and CBS fuzzy, and that was television for us. If you didn't like what was on, all you could do was cut the television off and maybe read a book, which I did, often, but a lot of the time I just watched what was on.

Talking about these things is important as I got stuck for years feeling silly sharing things without knowing what benefit it was except being nice, until started getting those web analytics, and then started trying to process possibly being known--if anyone was curious enough to see who produced the content they were downloading--from over 150 countries.

Which is something I talk about a lot but less lately as I'm trying to process it. And process that information throwing out my old point of view, while bringing in the new 21st century view.

The numbers haven't been there though, which is where I'm still trying to learn. It's just kind of fascinating to have 1 visit from so many countries as you ponder, why this one visit registering from a country with millions of people online?

But things are improving as I improve my perspective, and as I unlearn bad notions from the past, like trying to make people do things. On the web, people sense that immediately and in my experience tend to do the opposite. And I'm the same way! When some person or organization starts trying to herd me, it's SO much easier just to wander off instead.

So I'm learning things. And I think, it IS different for people in my generation who have to unlearn and then learn again. Human beings aren't exactly built to do it that way. Supposedly you get taught things when you're a kid to last a lifetime. But it can also be lots of fun. And can open up a world of sharing options.


James Harris