I’ve been surfing the net for over 10 years now.
I’ve been chatting, getting information, doing my financial business and all the other basic stuff most people use the internet for.
Since one year I’ve tentively started discovering the world of social networks and about two months ago I started blogging on and off.
As a rookie entering the big, unknown world of blogging and microblogging, I didnt really know what to expect.
I guess I assumed I’d be meeting open-minded people, who were feirce believers of “freedom of speech”, who firmly believed that the internet is a place where you are intitled to express your opinion, as long as it was respectfull.
I guess I assumed I’d end up in a place where you could speak your mind without having your head being bitten off, something that had happened to me quite often in the cruel, vicious chat-world.
But during this last year, I’ve been very often surprised about certain reactions in this world. People were liked until they said something the others didnt like, something they didnt agree with or, god forbid, wrote an article in which they dared to question certain things about this world.
So I started thinking (yes, it happens sometimes). And then realised I had all the wrong expectations from the beginning. I mean, why would the world of social networks and (micro)blogging be any different from the chat world or even the real world ?
No matter which world you spend your time in, you will always be confronted with people, who may or may not agree with what you are saying, or who may even get offended by your points of view. People with feelings, certain experiences (good or bad) and a temperament.
The only downside I see with the “virtual” world is that you risk being misunderstood, because no one can hear intonation, or see the expression on someone’s face (then again, in certain situations that may be considered a plus .. 
)
I guess what I’m trying to say is that maybe the interaction between people isnt that different after all, whether or not we hide behind a screen.
And I’ll try to keep that in mind next time someone bites my head off. Or tries to at least
