Wordy C: My Cow Pie Is Bigger Than Your Cow Pie! Is Not! Is Too! Nope-nah! Uuh-huh!

My Cow Pie Is Bigger Than Your Cow Pie! Is Not! Is Too! Nope-nah! Uuh-huh... Yeah, it is. No it aint. Bite me... 

Today's Cow Pie Talking Point is ANTITHESIS. Antithesis is simply an opposing argument. Had I titled it that you wouldn't be curious to see where this is going (LOL). We are going somewhere a few of you may not want to step so get real comfy because Wordy C is in the house and Cow Pie is about to be served... ;-)

Ever watch a social media spat across cyberspace? It can be mad fun watching your sociology class come to life. If you are really careful you can map a time line of theories by collecting and rearranging the comments to reflect who is pro and con on the subject being debated. Can't collect this stuff willy-nilly. You really have to pay attention to who is talking to who (parallel, primary conversations) and who is reacting to who (secondary, spin offs who don't follow the entire thread, just pick a line of reasoning and/or a person to support or attack). You can't have fun while learning something if you don't pay attention to the players spinning the game. All players have a strategy. It doesn't matter what line of business you are in or what the product is that you are selling. When writers start writing it is because they have something that they want to share with you. Period. From the absurd (arguing about cow pies while trying not to step in other people ____ ) to the sublime (proving string theory and the existence of God).

Social media is a game. Don't let anyone fool you. It's a tool to advance your agenda and agendas can encompass anything you like. Doesn't have to be serious. Doesn't have to be fluff. It just has to be you looking to dialog with another person in a way that they can relate to what you are advancing. Weapons of mass destruction? Staplers and restraining orders? The subject isn't the game. The presentation of the subject is the game. If strategy, diction, professionalism and prose make you feel better, feel free to substitute those words or the words of your choice but don't ever forget interpersonal communication skills are personal choices we make to convey what we intend to convey.

I like thinking of blogging as a "game" because gaming requires fluid thinking and multiple levels of skill and strategy. It's dynamic. It's organic. It never stays the same. The military plays war games to prepare the troops for the reality of battle. Bloggers play writing games to stimulate dialog while showcasing their points of order they wish to present to the reader while taking the reader on a journey down a path of thoughts we'd like them to explore. The best writers are the ones who are transparent. They are the ones who can find a way to make their cat's litter box a relevant analogy to the state of the economy with such a natural flow you don't blink an eye when you get to the end of their prose. 

Blogging is a bloodsport. Heart, sweat and tears go into being transparent because we take a huge risk in exposing our inner selves in the context of another person's perception of reality. Writers are attempting to create a meeting of the minds. If we do our jobs well you may laugh or cry. You may agree or disagree. You may rant or rave. If we do our jobs well you will respond by initiating dialog with your friends, family, share the link, leave a comment, subscribe, etc... If we do our jobs right you will return again and again although you may never leave a comment... 

Writers expose themselves by what they do and don't say. Can't fake truth. Can't teach funny. Can't hide mean. Can't duck the consequences of your actions (and on occasion non-action when a response is required). 

What is in a person is going to come out one way or the other. Stick around cyberspace long enough and you will soon realize when someone is being serious, teasing, trying to make a point, share an idea or is just determined to spend their days pushing a button. These things are not mutually exclusive. You can have it all in one blog post or a series of missives (LOL).

If you are lucky you will subscribe to writers that hone their craft and grow. If you are unlucky, you will find yourself wondering why you keep coming back for more of the same crap you thought this person was over and done with. After all, they said they were done with it... yet some people don't know when to let a subject go. I see that in a lot of people who digitally foam at the mouth when responding to religious and/or political posts (LOL). It's like they go trolling for trouble because they have to have an argument to prove they are better or right rather than the other person.

My kids are learning disabled and they are monitored for milestones. Sometimes, they age out of a program when they reach a certain point in their young lives and/or development and we, as parents, have to enroll them in something more appropriate in relation to their level of functioning. When I wander around cyberspace I find myself routinely comparing grown people to my wee people because I respect the process that allows me to manage them.

Applied Behavioral Analysis is a beautiful thing. Everyone human fits the profile because we all have points of leverage that can be triggered to influence us (LOL). Hang around a bunch of therapists long enough and you will start incorporating their way of thinking into your blog posts. ;-)

You'd think experienced bloggers would be "aging out" as their craft matures. For the uninitiated: aging out is the theoretical process delineating when and how individuals reduce the frequency of their "offending behavior" as they age. ABA is all about self corrections and rewarding socially acceptable behavior. Socially acceptable behavior has a pretty wide spectrum and no one has cornered the market on it's predominate culture or intercultural ramifications.

Social media fascinates me in this respect... So does spoofing about Cow Pies because we all know it's just a politically correct euphemism for "Bullshit" so why pretend one word is more correct or socially palatable than the other? If you are conveying what you intend then all else is an illusion, a fallacy, a bit of sophistry from someone else who wants to change the meaning of your work and dilute your words from being a pithy, relevant remark to bland milk toast imagery.

You don't have to be evil to say what you mean, you just have to be honest enough to mean what you say. It has been my experience that most people recognize and know the difference even if they don't like or agree with you every single day. At least we respect each other enough to come back and try to have new conversations. That is the fun of blogging. Never knowing what you're going to get and never knowing what you are going to share until you have the nerve to go there...  

One should always blog like a child seeking to age out and experience a new adventure. One should also be careful not to step in other people's cow pies while fertilizing the blogosphere with their own organic material (LOL).

This concludes our Cow Pie lesson for the day. Until our next organic adventure, play nice in the electronic sandbox people. ;-)