PonGoad's Newsvine Philosophy

Current Status: Published (4)

Change Status:

By PonGoad

Wed Oct 31, 2012 3:09 AM

Discuss:

__________:/\:=:\/:__________

Articles vs Seeds

Personally, I prefer written articles. Written articles add a viner's personality to the topic discussed which I find adds to the topic. Seeds are OK, but just not the same.

------------------

Groups-Nations

I see groups-nations as two-fold…

1.) to be an active participant in all the group-nation has to offer, or

2.) to be a place to put an article that is written within the scope of the nation's-group's theme.

------------------

Commenting in General

1.) I am absolutely not interested in straight-up political articles…and that shall we say is that.

2.) Long comments are welcome in my book. I am known to write long comments at times, myself. It just depends on what the topic is. Breaking up my long comments so they are easier to read is something I am still working on. Some of the ways I do this is by using blockquote, lines, or even breaking up my comment into multiple comments.

3.) Grisham-town. Because Grisham writes a lot of articles on a topic that lends itself to controversy and requires thought on my part to respond, many times my comments tend to be long. Writing long comments, limits me, though, on the amount of time I have to read articles from a variety of viners.

PonGoad's Newsvine Modus Operadi (MO)

1.) I do not come to Newsvine to make money. I wasn't even aware you could do that when I first joined. If I make any, that is a benefit.

2.) I read and comment in articles that catch my interest and hope that someone finds my articles and comments interesting enough to read and comment back.

3.) I like the social aspects of Newsvine and the interactions with other viners when in constructive discussions or just casual conversations.

4.) For the most part, I have an obscure sense of humor so sometimes it may be difficult to recognize when I am making a joke.

5.) If I am interested in a particular author's work, I put them on my watch list and visit their column outright to see what they have written instead of attempting to search for their articles which, at times, are never found with the way articles like to play hide 'n seek around other parts of Newsvine.

If I have time and am still inclined, I will check out Newsvine's category pages, then my favorite nations-groups, and lastly, other nations-groups.

6.) Rarely do I ever look at the front page or comment in anything that has been written or seeded from any of the official sources. Like the Olympics has, I prefer to hang out in the 'village' of Newsvine.

PonGoad's Newsvine MO 'Ughs'

1.) I hate to admit this, but I have more trouble trying to come up with a comment to make on articles that are object-related than I do in the more philosophical-opinion-controversial type articles especially when all aspects of the object have been covered by the rest of the comments in the article.

2.) Talk about frustrating...I could spend a lot of time writing a comment in a word-editing program or in Newsvine's comment box, reading it-modifying it-correcting wording and mistakes multiple times and then after it is posted in Newsvine and cannot be edited anymore, I see a glaring blooper. I always wonder why I never see it before I can no longer edit it. This happens time and time again and I don't expect it will change. If I could change it, it wouldn't be happening.

3.) There are also times when my thought processes are ahead of my writing and I neglect to write extra words that I should. When this happens, usually what I say takes on a different meaning than what I intended. Believe me, I have had quite a few embarrassing moments because of it as it never occurred to me that someone wouldn't understand what I meant until comments were made. Ugh!!!

4.) What's even worse is when I write a comment in the comment box -post it, read it again and realize it's about the most awful thing I could have written. I click on edit and Newsvine hangs up. When I am finally able to get to the comment, it has permanently posted and there for the world to see. And then to put insult on to injury, those are the comments that are never ignored whether directly or indirectly. Double UGH!!! :/ UGH!!! :\

I guess it's just one of the hazards of being PonGoad.

Commenting & Friends

It's nice to come online and see a NV friend's comment in an article I have written especially from viners whom I respect and admire. When there are no comments from anyone, it feels sad. If you have been around Newsvine for a while and are considered a 'big dog', I think you will always have a following. If you aren't a 'big dog', more than likely it is just hit or miss even if you are on a watch list.

The way I see it is that you have vine friends (acquaintances) and then you have true vine friends. I don’t expect that we would have many true vine friends, but I believe that most of us would hope to have a few.

A true vine friend's column…

IMO, feels like it does when visiting a friend's house on ground. Working both ways - at first you visit, talk for a while, then go home. After a number of visits, your friend's house seems like home and you come in and out knowing that you are respected for who you are, not just for what you can give or bring with you.

------------------

A true vine friend to me is someone who…

1.) likes your online personality the majority of the time.

2.) you can expect to interact with you whether it is through their own articles, your articles, or responding to a comment you made somewhere on the vine or all of the above. This does not necessarily mean all of the time, but at least enough to know that you have not been forgotten and hopefully when something is important.

3.) respects your opinion even if it differs from their own.

4.) cannot be swayed by others' opinions of you.

5.) will not leave you hanging when the chips are down.

6.) does not see or use you as a vine friend for marketing gains only.

Vine Friend Etiquette

I've always lived by this and even taught my sons this that just because a friend of yours or even a spouse or mate does not like someone or becomes enemies with someone you both were friends with, it does not mean that you still cannot be friends with that person whether they are male or female.

---From my pre-teen years on up, I always hung out with the guys as I was quite the tomboy and still am in many respects (climbing trees, making forts, jumping off of buildings, played co-ed competitive soccer-hockey-volleyball, was a member of a co-ed competing gymnastic-dance team, etc.). I had girlfriends, too, but my best friends were guys and I was their best friend too (no sex involved whatsoever when we got older). We had a camaraderie that was unsurpassable.

---When I joined the military, I was in one of the first women's platoons that trained directly with the men. Our barracks were even in the same building. I guess with all of the very physical & interactive co-ed things I have been involved in - this might be where my friend etiquette philosophy came from. I see nothing wrong with being friends with someone of the opposite sex even if they are married or in a relationship with someone and have maintained opposite sex friendships (no sex) throughout my life. I think the same philosophy can be applied to Newsvine.

Because of the type of interactive website Newsvine is, we learn a lot about each other through our writings and, IMO, even more so in the comments we make than in the articles we write. If you are an active participant in Newsvine, you may be buddy-buddy one day with a viner and then find yourself angry at your buddy for some odd-ball reason or another and want no parts of them for a while.

---Does this mean my inner-circle should dislike this buddy because I am out of sorts with them right now? IMO -No, it doesn't. I have seen good viners burnt and disappear because of this kind of thinking and the actions that result from it -my inner circle doesn't like them, so I don't. On the flip side of this, just because an inner-circle friend of mine likes someone, does that mean I should like them too? Again, IMO -No, it doesn't. You can feel a personality conflict even in Newsvine, at least I think you can.

Newsvine gives me the opportunity to hang out with people I would never be able to hang out with on the ground. People from other countries, people from different cultures and walks of life, philosophers, scientists, doctors, lawyers, sports celebrities, people off the streets, geeks, people with extremely high intelligence, educators, probably politicians, people from different religions, people who live in the woods or near the ocean, and who knows who else, etc. Goodness, some of them probably wonder where in the world I came from.

---One day I found myself in the middle of a debate in one of Socrates1's philosophical articles and halfway convinced one of the debaters to change their description of blue to blue-ness within the scope of the discussion. Boy, did I feel intelligent for a second.

The point is I can learn things from most active viners not just the ones I like. Many times the things we 'hear' are taken at face value and if we would take the time to hang out with a viner in their column and-or read the comments they have written around the vine, we might find out something entirely different than what we thought and might even go so far as to admire that person and their actions.

Older Articles

I feel myself going off on a rampage here. I think the mindset of not commenting in older articles is ridiculous. Give me a break! Who cares about the date of when it was published! Newsvine still allows viners to have access to those older articles and, for God's sake, some of the articles that are considered 'older' are even still in some viners' column's front-page article line up.

If you can't get online due to work, home, illness, vacation or other reasons and when you are able to get back online you find an older article you wish to comment in, why is it frowned on by some viners to post a comment?

1.) First of all, viners can still enjoy and-or learn from those articles.

2.) Second, it allows the author to know there are viners still interested in the topic the older article addresses and they might decide to write a follow-up one.

3.) Third, it lets authors know you are still around if the new articles they have written don't interest you.

4.) Fourth, new discussions may start up again in the older article possibly adding new voices and thoughts on the original takes, and

5.) Fifth, for those who are interested in the marketing aspect, these new comments will add to your total comment count thus adding to your take-in even if only a few pennies here and-or there.

Moderation

Outside of the official Newsvine moderators, I believe it should be the responsibility of the author of an article to decide whether or not they want to report a comment - not a commenter or a passer-byer who may not know a viner's track record or the history between viners on the vine. Also the column is the author's column and by the CoH (at least the interpretation I read), they are responsible for their own moderation, not the rest of us.

---If a viner is in the middle of a debate and is egging another viner on, I think the practice of reporting them for a CoH violation for responding by using a 'word' to a snide remark that the reporting viner made is just in poor taste.

---To add to this - the gang-up approach by other viners that sometimes goes along with it, IMO, is awful and turns some of the commenting sections into attack mode against the reported person instead of commenting to the article, itself. I'm not saying I think all comments should address the article - no. I am guilty, at times, of not addressing the article, myself. What I object to is the attack-mode that seems to discriminately go into effect once some realize a viner might be on an imaginary @!$%#-list.

---If the 'word' came out of nowhere and not in the middle of a heated debate, I believe it should depend on the circumstances as to whether or not it should be reported and, even then, by the author of the article, not the rest of us.

---I find it even more in poor taste when other viners that a commenter seems to like uses similar 'words' during a discussion, but because those other commenter's are viners they seem to be cozy with at the time, they are not reported, but those that it appears they do not like and-or seems their friends do not like are reported.

As far as I am concerned, this practice is bias and selective reporting. This means to me that the commenter who did the reporting under the above set of circumstances and-or those who commented only in attack-mode against the reported viner are not objective and appear not to be open to differences of opinions outside of what seems to be their inner circle of vine friends and-or who is popular at the time.

Money

I think there is room for every viner.

1.) Just by the course of events, if you write and-or seed a lot of articles, you will naturally have more articles available for viner's to read and to comment in if you post after each article is written, so I do not see why it would be necessary to piggy-back or stack multiple articles other than for financial gains or for group-nation owner-admin responsibilities.

2.) To purposely piggy-back or stack a barrage of articles on the most popular days and-or in the most popular categories and-or nations, sometimes with links back to your own articles in the piggy-backs, IMO, is going against what Newsvine is really all about and not allowing time for other viner's work to be seen.

Newsvine prides itself on being a site to learn things and allows for various sources to do that with. To always see the same source when you are in the mood for variety, I believe, just defeats Newsvine's purpose. You can always use your watch list if you want to see the same source day in-day out or hour after hour.

I believe, though, there are some singular themed group-nations that are different than other singular themed groups-nations in the sense that they are a theme that cannot be loosely interpreted (Atheism-Agnosticism is as Agnosticism-Atheism does, Religion is as Religion does , etc.) and are not general in nature.

Even though you can relate the theme to many facets of life, it still remains the same specific theme. If you take out the atheist viewpoint in an article on child-rearing, then the article doesn't have atheism in it at all and unlike other themes that can be generally interpreted, should not be placed in a group having to do with atheism. You can't even by any stretch of the imagination see where the article should be placed in an Atheism group-nation without the Atheist slant to it. These types of singular-themed groups-nations then, IMO, are very limited on the ability to post to other theme nations-groups. Anyone who writes or posts a lot in this type of topic might find their articles piggy-backed or stacked without even trying, etc.

For Example:

             If I wrote an article on my camping (singular theme) experiences and placed in my article pictures of the various scenes I ran into along with a pictorial graphical design I created involving camping, I could place this article in quite a few nations** and categories** without changing the article's meaning as each element discussed can also be interpreted independent of the article theme (camping), independent of the group-nation (camping) theme and still relate to the main theme (camping)...

   - - - Camping (general theme of article) (popular for those interested in the field)
   - - - ARTgallery (graphic design) (semi-popular)
   - - - Newsvine Photographers (photographer skills) (popular for those interested in the field)
   - - - The Free Press (Catch-all) (popular-general population)
   - - - Geography-type nations (Rock formations, waterfalls, mountain skylines, etc)(popular for those interested in the field)
   - - - Geography categories (popular for those interested in the field)
   - - - possibly a History nation (age of campground-RV Park) (popular for those interested in the field)
   - - - possibly History category (popular for those interested in the field)
   - - - Nature-Plant type nations (plant-life)
   - - - Nature-Water type nations (tides, waves, ambience, etc)
   - - - Nature-Sky (rainbows, sunrises, sunsets) type nations
   - - - Nature type categories
   - - - Animal-fowl-fish type nations (popular for those interested in the field)
   - - - Animal-fowl-fish categories (popular for those interested in the field)
   - - - Travel-Destination categories (RVs, Resorts, Campgrounds, RV Parks), etc.
   - - - Sports categories-Watercraft sports (semi-popular)
   - - - Safety (campfires, hiking, First Aid, etc.)
   - - - and let's not forget to include those elements of scout skills that might be mentioned in the article (cooking, cold-weather & wilderness camping, dress & behavior for weather conditions, etc.)

---------------

  Now take this article - what nations** or categories** could I post it in?

   - - - Newsvine category (popular-general population)
   - - - Personal Narratives nation
   - - - The Free Press (popular-general population)
   - - - ARTgallery (graphic art) (semi-popular)
   - - - Philosophy nation (popular for those interested in the field)

---------------

  Let's look at articles written on atheism-agnosticism and religious philosophies…

   Agnosticism, Atheism (singular themes respectively)

    - - - Atheism nations (popular for those interested in the field)
    - - - Religion category (popular for those interested in the field)
    - - - Politics if in the news (IMO, rare when no presidential election coming up) (popular-general population)
    - - - The Free Press (Catch-all) (popular-general population)
    - - - possibly one other nation depending on what subject in life the article is addressing relating to atheism-agnosticism.

   Judaism, Paganism, Christianity, etc (singular themes respectively)

    - - - Religion nations (popular for those interested in the field)
    - - - Religion Category (popular for those interested in the field)
    - - - Politics if in the news (IMO, rare when no presidential election coming up) (popular-general population)
    - - - The Free Press (Catch-all) (popular-general population)
    - - - possibly one other nation depending on what subject in life the article is addressing relating to the writer's philosophical beliefs.


**(Not News category - a place to publish articles that don't even loosely fit in the criteria of any group-nation or category, at least, this is the gist of the interpretation I read for the Not News category.)

So what do I say?

1.) Be fair. Publish our articles after we have finished the actual writing of them as a rule of thumb -not wait until all are written and then publish them back-to-back-to-back.... Of course, if you are a nation owner or admin, you might have a series of articles relating to the runnings of a nation that are necessary to be posted consecutively.

2.) Spread the wealth around. Don't worry so much about how much money we will make. Newsvine should be a place for all viners, not just some viners.

---------------
---------------

3.) Publish what we are interested in and not necessarily what we think other's are interested in. If we end up with no comments from other viners, we can then decide whether or not we want to continue with that topic...

  - If it's just to educate without interaction, then keeping with the topic might seem right.

  - If looking for social interaction, then maybe changing the topic might be the ticket.

  - If something is just too much work to publish without any commentary from any viners, then I would say it probably is not worth it.


I guess it just depends on our reasons for publishing.

---------------
---------------

4.) Publish at various times during the week, if possible, not just the most popular days. Some viners work and their days off are weekdays and not on Friday, Saturday and-or Sunday so it is difficult for them to participate in real-time conversations occurring on those days when many viners are bonding.

5.) Also, publish at different times of the day, if possible, as many viners may work shift work and, again, are not available to join in real-time conversations when many more viners are online.

---------------
---------------

6.) Be willing to share center stage with multiple other viners and not just our inner circle of vine friends.

7.) Allow a variety of ideas from a variety of authors, not just the ideas of the ones who are in our inner-circle of vine friends, of those who have the time and-or the know-how of marketing techniques or those who are popular at the time.

Communication Differences

Cultural.

One of the things I have learned over the years when dealing with people of different cultures and from different countries is that sometimes what we think is rude or obtuse, really is not. Sometimes it is a language barrier. If a person is new to the English language and is still using school-taught English and is searching for words, it may come across stilted and formal causing your dander to rise because of their choice of words and the sound of their voice. The English language you learn in an educational setting and the English you were raised in and use every day are two different things. I believe it is that way with any language you speak.

---After having contact with more people that are of the same culture, I also realized it is probably more so having to do with the cultural way of talking and acting they were raised in based on the country they live in, the part of a country they live in, and even the county-city-town (US) they live in and not so much an individual personality thing. Many times mannerisms, words, and tone of voice we think mean one thing may mean something else entirely different in another culture, country, or a different way of life.

---Take the United States, for instance. We have all kinds of cultural differences in the way we communicate. Country folk, rough and ready rednecks, the young adults of today many of which have a non-friendly look and in-your-face way of communicating, the direct no-holes-barred communication of city residents, the respectful and considerate seniors, the nose-up-in-the-air jocks and beauty queens, the upper echelon I'm better than you mannerisms, words and mannerisms specific to ethnic groups, and so on.

---I have found if I can communicate in their way of thinking even going so far as to use some of the same mannerisms they are, they become more relaxed and what they are saying starts to become clearer. Sometimes I have to try to figure out what they are talking about and ask questions before I can respond, but if I keep my cool, I am usually able to hear and communicate with them fully. Of course, if you have an almost complete language barrier, hand motions go a long way.

The other thing I have noticed is when I do talk and treat people from other cultures like human beings and not as if they are trying to get into my crawl, there is an appreciative look on their faces. They then come to me if help is needed or just to have a casual conversation because, IMO, they realize I understand the possible language barrier and-or cultural differences and am willing to accept it.

Interpretative.

IMO, you can no longer judge a person's educational level, income bracket, or intelligence by listening to them talk. Take me, for instance. I used to have a much higher verbal vocabulary level.

---Because of working in various positions where having to explain things so people could understand what I meant, I had to downgrade my vocabulary when speaking. And…I am talking about adults, too - not just kids. Many times an adult has asked me what I meant by a certain word.

This has now carried over into my writing style -to be as direct as possible using the most understandable words as possible and using the least amount of ambiguous words as possible that might blur the meaning of what I am trying to say.

          Another thing is that you might pick up the lingo used in the field you work in. My son -I call him my chameleon. Some of his clientele are inner-city rappers. He will take on the dress, mannerisms and lingo of inner-city rappers. Some of his clientele are into metal. He will take on the look, mannerisms, and lingo of a client who is into that genre.

                 ---If he has business affairs to attend to, he can clean up and speak just a good as any other educated business person. Sometimes, though, he just looks like a bum off the street when, in fact, he has earned a bachelor's degree and spent five years doing it taking a semester off in between to recoup and re-evaluate his course of study.

          You would never know if you casually overheard some of his conversations when he is in street-mode character that he has earned a bachelor's degree and did it entirely on his own.

I just had a new thought to consider while writing this. I wonder what we are saying in our articles and comments to those around the world who are using computers in their native language that is other than English. I am assuming Newsvine is using English since, I believe, it originates out of the US.

.interpretation the understand can you if, different be to interpretation the causing wrote you what of meaning the to close come even doesn't sometimes translation The. about talking am I what know you, language different a into translated written have you something had ever have you If.
---------------

Writing styles, I believe, are dated, location specific, and-or scholar specific.

---------------

So, IMO, based on my real-life experiences, I think sometimes the way a viner writes -their meaning and their thought processes can be misconstrued because of language barriers, interpretations whether our own or someone else's, writing styles, cultural mannerisms & verbiage, what is the normal way of communicating in the locations we live, work lingo that has been incorporated into our every day conversations, and the type of language we've learned (high, low, or street).

When I am reading articles and comments on the vine, I attempt to keep these things in mind. Now I can also add a new one, translations.
---------------

---------------

I think I have written enough for now. There are other areas I have thoughts about, but I am still thinking these through. I hope you enjoyed reading PonGoad's Newsvine Philosophy. What's yours?

__________:/\:=:\/:__________

_______________________
Credits…

The following graphic artistry-designs** used in the above article was created and enhanced using Adobe Photoshop CS3, Microsoft Office 2007, and-or Windows Paint by ©LadyGs™ Decoratives & Graphics 2012. All Rights Reserved.

**Fonts used in the above graphics are courtesy of Windows 7 -"Kunstler Script" ©The Monotype Corporation, "Monotype Corsiva" ©URW, and "Arial Black" ©Monotype Typography, Inc.

keyboard shortcuts: V vote up article J next comment K previous comment

PonGoad

In these nations: