Marcel Legros - Play the Game of Life

I’ve learned a lot of life lessons and a lot about people in my years on the computer and on the internet. That may seem like a paradox, but the Internet is a perfect reflection of our beliefs and values. People express their inner thoughts and feelings more openly when under the cover of anonymity; and through online exchanges, our inner worlds become exposed. Some of these observations aren’t pretty, but I believe they’re accurate. Here is what I’ve learned:

The Good

• People want answers to important questions as it relates to them personally. Human beings crave learning and love to share their knowledge with others, even if there is nothing in it for them financially. The huge success of Wikipedia is testament to this fact.
• People change the world - corporations and governments do not. The internet has brought every human voice within reach of a world audience. On the internet, a highly motivated, organized, and passionate individual can easily win against a big corporation. Strong individual voices are human, corporate mission statements are not.
• Uncompromising work ethic and dedication to a goal is still the best way to success. The most dedicated and uncompromising rises to the top, in any field.
• Simple ideas executed well, change the world. For every one big blockbuster there are 100 smaller successes that contribute to our collective achievement.

The Bad

• People want sex. Lots of sex. Random sex. Sex with anything that moves. Anything for immediate self-gratification. The Internet is a giant porn machine. This is an ugly truth. If people weren’t watching and paying for porn, the millions of debasing sites providing porn would not exist.
• People don’t generally understand you can’t get rich quick, get fit quick, or get smart quick. Millions of books and web sites cater to that naiveté and sell products that promise quick and easy results. You cannot master anything in 30 days and you cannot buy success.The Ridiculous
• Many people don’t understand that YOU DON’T NEED TO SHOUT ALL THE TIME. You’re computer has a ‘caps lock’ key, please use it. The same goes for excessive use of bold, !!!!!!!!!!!!!exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!, and underlining everything. Constantly adding emphasis won’t make your statements more valid or important, just more annoying.
• A lot of people can’t spell or use correct grammar. I use the wonderful SEO tool, “Wordtracker” and I sometimes laugh out loud when I read some of the search terms people use to find something in Google or other search engines. My favorite misspelled search terms today were “evolution versuses intelligent design” (13 searches today), and “what do u understand by the term english language” (7 searches today). Most computers have a spell-check function and there are numerous online dictionaries; for your own sake, and the sake of those reading your blog, please use them.

The most important lesson isn’t good, bad, or ridiculous. All people want to feel important, to be significant, and to be loved. This is humanity, online or off-line. If people can’t get a feeling of importance by being good, they get it by being bad.