Do We Need Social Media "ASMBOs"?

A strange question for me to choose upon my return from a blogging hiatus, to be sure. However it's highly topical at the moment as I'm sure you'll agree.

Twice this week in the news, stories have broken that directly relate to the antisocial online behaviour of certain individuals that have been directly linked to poignant and painful news stories; both have been given court sentences. Matthew Woods - an unemployed teenager from Chorley, was jailed and given a custodial sentence of 12 weeks following his posting of jokes that poked fun at the desperately sad and highly emotive case of the abducted schoolgirl April Jones. In a totally unrelated case, that stretches back to events in March, Azhar Ahmed was fined and ordered to participate in 240 hours of community service after expressing a desire to see soldiers die and burn in Hell, just hours after 6 British soldiers lost their lives in Afghanistan.

What links these cases of course is the Facebook element. Both used the social media platform to express themselves and in both cases, the authorities saw fit to throw the book at them.

You get the impression that many of those in authority don't fully grasp how social media works and are terrified by the power it gives to those who previously did not have a voice. They understand it enough to use it tactically as a way of gathering information, yet when social media manifests its power in a more sinister fashion (riots, trolling and tasteless comments such as those recorded in the stories above), politicians, police and judges alike seem at a loss to navigate the minefield of civil liberties and responsibilities.

Knowing what is acceptable online behaviour is one thing... getting  a correct and proportionate response when somebody deviates from that path is quite another. In what is still the most prominent social media court case to date - the Paul Chambers Twitter Joke Trial, a judiciary sledgehammer was used to crack a peanut. Chambers in a moment of blind frustration had quipped that he was going to blow up Nottingham's Robin Hood Airport if they didn't sort things out.  After an off duty employee of the airport intercepted the tweet and called it in, the police got involved and things got out of hand.

Of course there is a clear difference between the Twitter Joke Trial and the cases of the young men above, I think we can all be prone to a knee-jerk utterance of ridiculous hyperbole when confronted with a frustrating or trying situation.... but when it comes to events that involve the real-life suffering of others... there's a line that thankfully most of us know not to cross.

Eternal Wisdom

Even then that still leaves us with the trolls. Poignantly, I myself came under attack by a troll on Twitter the other day.  After initially walking away from the situation and "shaking the dust off my feet", I was disturbed to see that the person concerned held so much hatred after an exchange on what was actually a trivial issue (they thought they'd spotted something really clever that undermined the entire Christian faith and yet there were obvious common sense explanations some of which were included in the Biblical narrative). Within minutes of the initial exchange, said person had tracked back to this blog... and drawn the conclusion that I was a ""smugly condescending bigot" "#liar4Jesus" who should try & "fool children of my own mental age". Just a little bit harsh then. As far as I'm concerned, it was their tone and choice of prejudicial language that made them the belligerent party and ironically, the very bigot they were claiming to be exposing. All they needed to do to complete the full set was break Godwin's Law.

Still it brought me back here and got me writing again... for which i am eternally thankful to them.

I'll admit I don't have much time for people who have an aggressive agenda. I don't mind atheists or humanists promoting their own ideologies... but I do object to those who the basis of their argument is the pure denigration of those who think and believe differently. That is a measure I hold myself and all others against. Militancy is a nasty spectre wherever it raises its ugly head. I also don't like others presuming to tell me what I believe on my behalf. I have a brain, I have a heart, I have a soul... I am capable of utilising them all... just because I draw a different conclusion to my detractors... it doesn't give them the right prejudicially label me or file me in a box with disdain.

That's just my experience... and it's just the tip of the iceberg. Across the world, young people are being targeted with callous hateful exchanges which sometimes have tragic and even fatal consequences.... and it seems we are powerless to do anything as the tide advances inexorably towards us, unless we use the full weight of the law.

Perhaps it is time social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook find ways (in addition to their more potent measures)to "soft police" their networks.

A ban hammer and day in court are pretty much nuclear options  and in the case of contextual or subjective exchanges are not always going to be the most sensible way of dealing with unsavoury characters.

So what can be done?

I was thinking about this while passing the time playing "Transformers: Fall of Cybertron" on my XBox 360 when it hit me... gamer rep cards.

XBox Live incorporates a feature on your profile that records when people report you or avoid you and gives reasons why... here's an example I found from a picture on a Google Search:

A Typical XBox 360 Gamercard Showing Rep

As you can see it gives your profile a basic 5 star rating... but it also gives you a breakdown of communication and behaviour that people have taken a dislike to. Perhaps Twitter and Facebook could benefit from installing a similar feature. Of course it would have to be given proper consideration. Some trolls are organised and could launch concerted campaigns to damage the reputation of perfectly reasonable people.

So there are no easy answers but I think this might be a starting point... a place where we can begin to consider how we can police ourselves and warn others of troublesome profiles before Big Brother comes and does it all for us in a horrible, convoluted and heinous manner.

• What experiences have you had of being trolled?
• What do you think can be done to combat malicious online behaviour?

Christian Blogging Redux

Some time ago, I read an entry on a blog that debated the merits of whether all Christians should blog... or just those who are proficient in theology and/or debating skills.

The conclusion that was reached favoured the latter view.

At the time, I remained silent but it has always niggled me because this is the very antithesis of my position.

I do not believe in elitism. I accept that there are risks with every Tom, Dick and Harry writing about their faith... there are bound to be errors of judgement in theology and composition, because we are all on a journey.

I can't accept or sanction the idea that evangelism and spiritual encouragement are only the remit of a select few (many as the people within that "few" are). The apostle Paul encountered many charlatans, heretics and people who were preaching the Gospel for a mixture of motives. Whilst he fought diligently against deliberate heresy, when his enemies preached the Gospel, he did not oppose them... in fact, he actually recorded his attitude towards such people in his letter to the Philippians:

"It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defence of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice."

Philippians 1:15-18

Essentially, Paul didn't care who preached the Gospel... so long as it was preached. In more recent generations, someone coined a famous saying:

"We are not all called to be evangelists, but we are all called to evangelise."

So while many may not be educated strongly in theology or even well rehearsed in scripture, if they have even a basic relationship with God through Christ, they have the knowledge of Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection... and why it was necessary for the salvation of mankind. This is central to the gospel message.

Furthermore, Paul (greatly informed apologist that he was), did not regard eloquence and intellect to be of the utmost importance when it came to his own message:

"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Some of the greatest preachers and apologists the Christian faith ever had... began their journeys hearing the words of some obscure man or woman of faith and being inspired by them. I think we would be fools to limit the field. People connect on all sorts of levels. A man of great wisdom and intellect... even a spiritual man, might totally miss the mark where gentle words of innocence might succeed. Every one of us is unique, we each bear a personal testimony that is not shared by another... who knows what part of our own individual stories might be used by the power of God, in order to inspire the lives of others. Or have you not read the Parable of the Mustard Seed?

I think people are being way too analytical and are injecting human management styles into what is essentially God's work. We are called to sow... we cannot know where the seed falls in the hearts of the people we speak to, we can only be faithful in sharing what we have. Evangelism is merely one beggar telling another beggar where he may find bread... and living bread at that.

To try and control who speaks for God on the Internet, is to put human rules and regulation in the way of the Gospel. My own personal attitude is to fling wide the gates... let all who know Jesus speak of him... and if I do come across anything that is at odds with the Gospel message in my own meanderings on the web... to gently point this out where necessary.

So for those who have been encouraged to abandon their keyboard, I equally encourage you to take it back up again. Your walk with Jesus is unique to you, and you do not know whose heart you may set on fire, simply by sharing it.

Personality Check

I'd forgotten that some time ago, I had joined Youniverse, a website that enables you to assess your personality by choosing images in response to questions that are posed within online quizzes.

Having been away from it for some time, I was drawn back by a recent feature on BBC's Webscape programme on their website. Well it wasn't long before I got hooked into having a go and I was seriously surprised to see that some of my attitudes that have been subtly changing over the past year or so... are really beginning to shine through. Here are some of my results:

Widget... Widget.... A Widget I Have Got.

Just a brief pause in the proceedings to tell you about a new networking widget I've attached to my blog.

I stumbled upon SezWho purely by accident... although, I actually wander who stumbled upon who... because I honestly don't recall requesting a sign up email.

I think what really impresses me about the SezWho tool, is that it enables you - the discerning reader, to go through all my posts and rate them. It also allows everyone - reader and author alike, to rate comments. So even people who haven't signed up... gradually get rated for their contributions on the web.

It looks like the intention is to allow people who blog on multiple sites... or who have a multi-faceted online presence with profiles on a wide selection of social media, to gradually have their entire input on the Internet evaluated by everyone in their web communities.

I'd certainly like to see this expand to include things like Flixster and Last.fm, if it does not already do so.

So take a gander at the stars at the bottom of my posts and if you like them (or loathe them for that matter), let me know by rating me. As I'm all set up now, you can rate people who have left me comments as well.

I really encourage you to get the widget, It's a really good thing to be able to support/encourage one another's input...and this is one excellent way which it is possible.

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

I'm going to be taking part in a preaching workshop on Saturday... which will eventually lead to me going on a short weekly course. I received a confirmation email about it yesterday and there were some preliminary questions for me to answer, to help the people who are in charge of the workshop prepare.

I thought it would be fun to post my answers up here. Now for some reason they thought people would be concerned about the answer they gave to the second question; they said they would not make it public... but I don't really care, it's not an issue for me. I thought maybe I could start it as a Meme, if you want to copy it go for it... though I think there is very little point in you posting an answer to the final question. I've never generated a Meme from scratch before so this'll be a first!

1: How many times have you preached, approximately?

I think about 30 - 50 or so times but not many of them have been recent.

2: Who is the most effective preacher you have heard?

Probably Tony Campolo.

3: Why did you choose them?

I like the way he makes observations from real life stories, personal experience and anecdotes and converts them all into mini parables or illustrations about the point he is making. I also like his philosophy of being "as conservative as God's Law, as liberal as God's love" - I think there is volumes of stuff you can take out of that short statement.

4: What is your favourite movie?

I used to be a media student sooooo many films! I also tend to blog a lot using examples from film...but I'll list a few personal favourites in no particular order:

Lord of the Rings
Unbreakable
Signs
Lady in the Water
The Star Wars franchise
The Miracle Maker
Amelie
Deja Vu
Amazing Grace
The Princess Bride
Starman

5: What is your favourite music? I'll keep this list shorter ;-)

U2
Coldplay
Original film scores and some Classical
Rock/Alternative Rock/Adult Contemporary/Acoustic

6: If you could only take one book from the Bible to a desert island, which one would you choose?

I think it would be John's Gospel...some of Jesus' most potent and outrageous claims/statements are in there. I'm particularly fond of Jesus description of himself as the Good Shepherd as he tells people plainly what is going to happen to him well before time. I just love it that he tells his critics with audacity exactly who he is, why he has come, that it's going to cost him his life and that he is going to come back.

7: What do you hope for from the Preaching Workshop?

I hope to be able to be in a position to use what I learn more often. To have more opportunity to serve God by sharing my own experiences of who he is and what I believe hear him saying, and see him doing.

Have fun... and for the record I'm tagging Alastair, Andrew, Benny, Chrissie, Helen and Milly for this... just to get the ball rolling.

Feel free to poach this!

Footprints

I've been thinking a lot about my "online footprint" in recent days.

A proportion of the British press have expressed concern over Google's future plans, most significantly the Independent, which carried this worrying story on it's front page this week. When I think of all the different sites that I am registered with, all the online groups that I am part of... even under a plethora of pseudonyms, I realise that I have a fairly significant presence. I'd argue that among the people I know closely... none of them is as established on the Internet as myself. I'm not boasting... it is not about any delusions of "celebrity", it's just that I have been much more thorough in exploring the cyber neighbourhood than they have. That is the trouble with being an extrovert trapped in an introvert's body.... you grow rather fond of armchair expeditions.

An example of how worryingly accurate Google's algorithms can be arrived in my statistics page this week. Half a world away from Nick's Sanctuary, I regularly visit a bulletin board under a pseudonym of one of the knights of the round table - Galahad. Now another description of a sanctuary can be "safe haven". The other day, Google directed somebody to my blog simply on the search term "Galahad's safe haven". I performed a search on Technorati and a cached Google advanced search, specific to the url for Nick's Sanctuary. Guess what? I don't refer to Galahad at all... Google knows me well enough by association... the same is true of other handles I travel under - scary.

Google's chief executive has revealed the following corporate vision:

"The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as 'What shall I do tomorrow?' and 'What job shall I take?'."

It is bad enough having a "nanny state" without having to worry about a "nanny site". The Independent has also pointed out that Google has bought up a genetic research firm - 23andMe and is also bidding for DoubleClick - a cookie web tracking software company. It does all sound rather worrying.

However I didn't just want to look at potential corporate Orwellian threats... I wanted to make people think seriously about their blog content, particularly fellow Christians.

Footprints are funny things... you can walk along a shoreline and leave a set of hundreds of personal impressions in the sand, knowing that when the tide comes in... they will all be long gone. Yet there are places on this planet, where footprints endure long beyond the time they were created - in the form of fossils.

The question I wanted to ask is this: when you leave your marks on the web, which ones will remain? Which articles are going to be the ones that people remember and actually have an effect on others... and which ones will simply wash away with time and tide?

You may never know. So I encourage you all to write from the heart, the things that really matter... the more important things you write down... the better chance that your better qualities will be preserved - set in stone.

For Christians this idea carries extra depth. I spoke about former US president Jimmy Carter the other day... in my research I stumbled upon a question that had been a key motivator in his early development:

"If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"

It has become a cliche... but the truth behind it remains all the same.

Now I want you to think about the famous poem "Footprints" - the story of a man walking with Jesus along the beach who at times of hardship and stress, discovers that one set disappears. Jesus points out at the end of the journey, that in those times... he carried the man on his shoulders.

The question I want to challenge myself and any other Christian reading is... of all the experiences I/we write about... do people see two sets of footprints (those of Jesus as well as our own), in our blogs? Also, do we have the conviction to write about the hard times in such a manner that people can see Jesus carrying us through our difficulties?

I'm not talking necessarily about content here... but attitude. There are many Godcentric blogs that make me wretch - one or two even have the bare faced cheek to claim to be speaking as Jesus in the first person in terms of spirituality and also political endorsement. They seriously need a reality check.... they come across like the "super apostles" who Paul had a problem with.

When I visit a blog, especially a Christian blog... I am less worried about the subject matter and more interested in seeing how the personality of the author comes across - and where applicable, how their relationship with God is conveyed in their style of writing.

When I write, I want people to know I'm totally on the record..., yes I want them to see God... but I also want them to know I'm a genuine human being too... I want to relate to others. I want to walk among them not upon them.

Isn't that what you want?

Visual DNA (Nick jumps on the bandwagon)

I'm afraid I couldn't resist having ago, so I clicked on a few images and do you know what? It was pretty close to the mark. It's a lot of fun and it has a few good ideas, especially when it comes to shopping for gifts. Even if you aren't into that, having your personality represented in a few snapshots is quite a cute thing in itself.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Here endeth another light hearted post by Nick.

Codes of Conduct.

Earlier today, I visited a few blogs and observed the tempest that had arisen out of Tim O'Reilly's attempt to formulate a blogging code of conduct.

The task he set himself was Herculean in concept, if only because of the wide scope of definitions that people use to describe blogging. It also turned out to be somewhat of a poisoned chalice. You can analyse his efforts here.

While I appreciate the amount of work he must have put into finding the appropriate wording, I find myself disagreeing with him on various points. My primary objection is the right to anonymity. I can understand in the light of people in similar situations as that of Kathy Sierra, that there is a need to protect authors from vile anonymous attacks... but that does not help someone such as me.

The reason this place is called Nick's Sanctuary and not Nick's Coffee Bar, is so that you - the general public have a forum to voice your opinion on the things I talk about, free from reprisal.

Some of the things I talk about here are deeply personal... and as far as I am concerned, if you are in my territory, on my turf... if what you are saying carries strong emotions that upset you; then I personally feel you have the right to withhold your identity. I'm not Roman Catholic and this isn't exactly a confessional booth, but what is said between you and I here, in my mind carries with it a sacred bond.

I know the risks and I willingly choose to leave myself open nonetheless. That's why I don't require you to enter characters to prove you are human, or require you to belong to Blogger... because if there was even a slight spark in your heart that prompted you to write something, I want you to say it, I want to hear it. Therefore I deliberately minimize the obstacles to you recording your thoughts, despite it offering less security to me.

My other real issue is the matter of trolls... and how you deal with them. Unlike Mr O'Reilly, I do believe in taking on a troll... in the right circumstances. I will ignore and delete repeated profanity that is just a character assault against me... but if the "troll" raises a valid point in the midst of their ravings, I will address that point. It has happened before. In the early days of my blog when it was still on MSN Spaces, I noticed a person being absolutely vile to a 14 year old Christian girl... so I promptly told them to pick on someone with bigger shoulders - namely me. I took the brunt of what this person threw at me. I deleted their posts when they were just swearing and being perverse about my faith... however they let slip a view on one matter of faith once... and I addressed it cordially. From that day on, the trolling stopped. I don't dare imagine they changed as a person... and I can only hope that they did... but they listened. They learned to show respect, not because I traded worthy punches with them but because I turned the other cheek and treated them with seriousness and conviction despite themselves.

Back in 2005 I did come up with a brief set of ideas for my own personal code. I think it may be time for me to restate that in a new way for myself. So I can stand shoulder to shoulder amidst other peoples codes and say "This is who I am and what I do."

Regards and blessings

Nick

Blog Snobbery

I've been noting with interest the rise, fall and apparent demise of the experiment that was 2000 Bloggers.

The short story version of it was that a bloke called Tino decided to take a snapshot of the blogosphere, a sort of first come, first serve scrapbook. The fundamental idea of his project was to showcase 2,000 blogs - warts and all. The more established great and the good, alongside the humble offerings of novices... the interesting eye catching blogs, alongside the mundane everyday ones.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, this began to throw the link valuing system into a little bit of chaos, causing less established blogs to gain ground on the big guns.

I can understand how this can sometimes be a bad thing, the people who would be most likely to look for these sort of projects and exploit them, would be entrepreneurs, viral marketeers and corporate bloggers... and we all know how tedious and annoying those blogs often are (when I use traffic exchange programmes I always filter out business and marketing blogs).

However, I've noticed in the comments of some of the detractors, an air of snobbery and ego. They fear that an increase in ranking terms for the lowest common denominator will damage their readership and will dilute the purity of the blogosphere. In effect what they are saying is "You can't come up here! You aren't good enough, aren't professional enough, aren't intelligent, humorous or insightful enough to join us in the ranks of the elite!"

It's hokum. Worse than that it's a form of electronic fascism. This is not the Roman Empire, we are not divided into patricians and plebeians. We are together, an online example of global diversity.

Don't misunderstand me, there are some wonderful blogs out there... important ones too. Blogs that expose the political machinations of corrupt governments, blogs that seek to expand human understanding between different cultures... and many of these are wonderfully researched.

When it comes to my blog, I have no delusions of global takeover. My hope is that over time, people will be touched by the things that I write about. I don't care if I'm of the moment or on message with the topics of the day, that's nice... but it's just a bonus. What really matters to me is if somebody finds my blog on a search engine in a decade and is touched by something I wrote say... last year, then as far as I'm concerned I've done my job. All I seek to do is pass on what I have learned, or share joy and pain in equal measure... in the hope that future readers may know that they are not alone.

I believe that blogs should be allowed to stand and fall by the quality of their content and not by their reputation or press. If that means that a new kid on the block starts making inroads into the readership of the heavy hitters, simply because they get lucky with a few links and establish themselves, so be it. This happens all the time in nature, the dominant male of many species community groups eventually gets toppled by some upstart, it is the way of things. Similarly how can the saplings in a rain forest grow, if the big trees don't fall down every now and then, leaving a gap in the canopy?

I'm not completely against protectionism with regard to the blogosphere, I just feel it should be like the Galapagos Islands. We protect it from the outside interference of those who are intent on changing it's nature... but when it comes to the natural development of what people blog about and who sets the agenda, let the people decide. If they see something of note, then they will comment on it, link to it and spread the word.

Have faith in the fellowship of bloggers.

On the Subject of Technology...

...I thought I'd point out a few things about the current template design, as well as outline a few of my eventual intentions for the design of this place.

Some people might think I'm a bit of an egotist, because the i in Nick's Sanctuary is the only letter with a colour... this is intentional but not for narcissistic reasons. You will also notice that the other letters in title are block capital - NiCK'S SANCTUARY. What I am trying to evoke, is the need to to retain your individuality amongst the multitude of other people around... whilst not forgetting the importance of humility. I just wanted to clear that up.

Now, I'm a fan of purples and deep blues... but I don't know if they work well here. Is the sight OK for you to read? I can read it alright... but fat lot of good that is, if I have you lot all squinting with bleary eyes... you as the weary pilgrims who wander in here, matter to me. If this place can be better I'd like you to spill the beans.

As you may have gathered I'm not the brightest spark in the fire when it comes to HTML and CSS style sheets. when I visit other blogs, I am in awe of the loving craftsmanship put into some of the designs. It's like walking into people's personal cathedrals. I especially love seeing artistic designs in title bars... and if forced to be honest, I'm envious. I will get round to making this place look a bit pictorial if I can... if you are willing and able to offer a hand, I'd be grateful.

Blessings

N

Sidebar Problems

Haven't got a scooby doo as to what happened to my sidebar. Probably something to do with the length of the last post. anybody got any suggestions?

Apart from telling me not waffle on! :-)

Update as at 26th January 2007:

It would appear my suspicions were correct, my last post was excruciatingly long. In order to maintain the site integrity, I'm just going to keep the number of posts per page short... until the template can cope. If you want to see what I've been talking about prior to what you see before you, you'll have to check the archive.

Why not be totally spontaneous and randomly pick an archive month to peruse... go on, you know you want to!