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Offline people knowing about your blog:

If your offline contacts know about your blog, your friends or family can probably easily find out about the business you do online, about the things you write about, about the way you express yourself to the online world, etc. Your offline contacts may also know that you write good or bad things about them, even if you use nicknames to describe them.

Offline people not knowing about your blog:

If your offline contacts do not know about your blog, your friends or family will not know about your online activities. If they search for your name, search engines may not show up any result since you may have worked hard to ensure that your site stays away from any search engine radars. You can blog about the people you know in person and they will not be able to easily find out that you are writing about them, even if you use their real names. Simply Precious is an example where a blogger is trying to blog while maintaining privacy from the offline world.

So, do you want your family and offline friends to find out and know more about your blog? Or do you want to keep your blog hidden from your offline friends? Do you want offline people that you know to visit your blog?

Please let me know, thank you.

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1. Getting into arguments with other bloggers

   Arguments in the offline world can result in married couples and best friends hating each other forever, so it is no surprise that even the smallest of online arguments can result in powerful grudges. Just like any argument, just because you argue logically or think you are right does not mean you will be appreciated for voicing your opinion. An argument itself should be avoided, since forcing someone to agree with you contradicts the idea of making someone believe in something voluntarily. Also, bloggers should try to disagree with arguments, not with people who argue.

   If you argue online for business reasons, it is better to end the argument as soon as possible and to move on, since continuous arguments about something mean that either the issue should be ignored or the business deal should be reconsidered. Getting into an argument with someone, where the blogosphere sides with your “opponent“, can result in you and your blog being sent to the blog hell, resulting in you getting less attention, fewer blog comments, and even fewer ways to find inspiration to build back your affected reputation. Sometimes, it is very hard to improve a damaged reputation because of the way the online world looks at how or why you argue in arguments.

2. Punished by search engines

   Search engine optimization [SEO] is something that many bloggers, if not most, focus on. If you pay close attention to many prominent blogs and their bloggers, you will realize that they usually focus more on SEO than their readers or even their content. While such a thing may seem evil, consider this: if a blogger upsets one reader, that blogger can rebuild that relationship, or replace it with another relationship with some other reader; it happens regularly, even if that sounds evil too. However, if you upset a search engine like Google or Yahoo, you may end up losing most readers forever since it is hard to rebuild good relationships with search engines.

   Some blogs get more than 90% of their readers and commentors through search engines, because many people find those blog through their search engine searches. If a search engine bans or punishes your for any reason, you may be in a blog hell because you will have to start depending on other sources to bring in more people to your blog. Imagine having a bookstore on a street where the only way you find new customers is through newspaper ads. Now imagine all newspapers not placing your ads anymore for some reason. You will probably worry that you might run out of business. That is how your blog can be if you upset search engines for various reasons.

3. Being criticized by a famous blogger

   For many bloggers, there is nothing more shocking than having a very famous blogger criticize them in public. If you are a blogger who is suffering the wrath of some prominent blogger’s anger, you may have said or done something on your blog that the other blogger may not like saying or doing themselves. Take the issue of MyBlogLog banning Jeremy Schoemaker, aka ShoeMoney, because he posted MyBlogLog security exploits in public. Arguing about something or having issues does create tensions, though when the entire blogosphere joins in, reputations can go either up or down really fast. Overall, MyBlogLog was criticized more heavily than Jeremy, and one of the reasons for that was because the criticism was started publicly by Jeremy first. One way for you to avoid such a scenario is to avoid telling someone that they are wrong.

   If you get criticized by a famous blogger, you may feel the blog world crashing on you. Your reputation may be on the line, and you may feel the need to either accept all blame and apologize, or to go out fighting like an action hero or heroine. The way MyBlogLog tried to correct the situation was by Eric from MyBlogLog posting an apology to ShowMoney online, and by explaining briefly how his action was justified, and how he could have done some things differently. Sometimes, accepting a criticism after fighting it for a while can be a good thing also, if you feel that not giving up on something may be hurting other more important goals in the long run. If you are worried about a small criticizing comment left by someone, you may want to refer to the Art of Reacting to Criticizing Comments for further guidance.

4. Technical issues resulting in loss of the site or readers

   This is something that allows many people to regularly visit the blog hell for a few hours or even for a few days. Such technical issues can range from your domain name expiring to you accidentally deleting all your older posts and comments on your blog without having a backup. Sometimes, your host could also simply go down for even a few days, resulting in many frustrated readers and commentors of your blog to never come back.

   Technical issues can also result from sites getting hacked due to exploits in software like Wordpress. Whatever the reason, your site may be down and your blog readers may not be able to access or comment on your blog. It can be a nightmare for you, and the time you spend trying to worry or fix the problem is actually the time you are in a blog hell. You just feel the heat more mentally than physically, unless you have the heater on.

5. Losing interest in your own blog

   This is the point that allows most bloggers to be in denial that they are not in a blog hell. Many blogs that you see today will have their owners losing interest in blogging within a year. After a long time of staying away from blogs or even posting random stuff just to fulfill the obligation of blogging, they will start gaining interest in blogging again. Many other priorities in life result in many bloggers focusing less and less on blogging, and many bloggers could simply be having writer’s block for a long time, resulting in loss of interest in blogging or even writing. By the time a used-to-be-a-blogger wants to reclaim the blogging fame that he or she once had, it may be a hundred times harder to regain the same success as before.

   It depends on each blogger whether they feel they are in a blog hell when they are losing interest in blogging, or if they feel like being in a blog hell when they try to bring their blog back up to its former glory and it just is not happening easily. Either way, the offline world plays a major role in deciding our interest in the online world, since even if we blog all day, we still sleep and eat in the offline world, thus giving some kind of an unconscious preference to the importance of the offline world compared to the online world.

That is my list of 5 of the many things that result in many bloggers getting a train ticket to Blog Hell. Some people are lucky and get a round trip ticket, though many people are not so lucky and get only a one way, first class train ticket to Blog Hell where it is hard to bring the blog out of some specific misery.

What is your opinion on this? Please let me know if you can think up of other things that result in people experiencing the scorching fires of the Blog Hell. Thank you for reading.

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Example of online communication hindering your ability to deal with interruptions

Take the concept of interruptions, for example. Some people I know are starting to get frustrated right away if someone interrupts them in any manner during discussions. If you are such a person, you probably used to be all right with interruptions before they dove deep into the world of online chats. Why do you get frustrated then? Because in the online world, you keep typing stuff while not feeling interrupted.

Even if someone types something while you are typing, you can probably still get full attention for your written words in an online chat window. However, when you say something in real life and someone disagrees or interrupts you, you feel offended, even if you usually interrupt others, even if you usually interrupt others, as you have probably gotten used to not feeling interrupted while chatting on different instant messengers.

Example of how having experience in online dispute management does not mean you are good at dealing with disputes in person

Similarly, take the concept of arguments and disputes. Some people have started to forget how to negotiate or how to make someone feel better. I met a friend recently who provides online customer support for a greeting cards company. He answers a lot of e-mails to calm down many upset customers, and to find a resolution to customer issues. While I was having lunch with him, he accidentally pushed back his chair to stand up to get more napkins, and caused a nearby woman to drop her soda on her clothes. She was furious, as she had to go back to office with those wet clothes. Even though my friend started apologizing, the woman kept getting more upset every second. I then realized why: my friend was saying only one word “sorry” again and again while looking around and at the floor, nervously.

Sometimes, people need to be looked into the eyes to be shown that someone is sorry for their behavior. Even my friend said later “I think it would have been better if I had looked her in the eye and acknowledged that I understand.” Now, even if that method had not worked, at least my friend would have tried something. Imagine someone who is experienced at resolving online disputes, but does not know how to calm down an upset person in person.

It is important to realize which skills are better suited for online communication, and which skills are better for offline communication

As more and more people dive into the world of blogging, we are slowly losing track of how our online communication skills are affecting and changing our offline communication skills, and vice versa. Some changes are good in my view, while others simply hinder effective communication as I am experiencing lately.

I am sensing that as people get more comfortable chatting online, some people are starting to confuse the thin line that separates the way we behave online and the way we behave in person. It may be all right to tell someone online “I am so sorry ” in an online chat window, but if you say that in the offline world, you facial expression, your body, your behavior and everything you control needs to reflect the sorry state that you just expressed to someone. Otherwise, you are probably going to look like a fool and may end up hurting someone unintentionally.

What is your opinion on this?

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Is tangible and intangible appreciation the same, or is one better than the other?

Do we always have to give some tangible things to other people in order to show appreciation? Do intangible items have any place in the appreciation world? Do you think tangible items show more care and concern for others, since intangible items like words and feelings can sometimes be faked in order to portray a feeling of appreciation when in reality one does not care about appreciation at all?

What if tangible appreciation gets you nothing in return?

I think these series of questions can be applied in real life also. For example, in relationships, does a person have to buy something for his or her lover in order to show love? What if even after giving tangible gifts to someone, an individual does not get anything back in return? What should be done then?

That last example can be turned around and applied to your blog readers also. What if after all the love in the online world that you give to your readers, they still ignore you after getting all the gifts and simply move on? Do you not show love and appreciation to expect even a tiny feeling back in return?

You should find out whether or not you yourself prefer tangible appreciation over intangible appreciation

I personally do not know the answers to these questions that can be applied to every situation, as experience has taught me that both tangible and intangible gifts can result in favors and also in misery. I guess you have to look at life as a big puzzle piece full of smaller pieces that need to be dealt with individually. If you want to appreciate someone, you have to figure out whether they value tangible or intangible appreciation, and whether or not you are ok with their preference.

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Telling someone they are wrong can be like telling them they are inferior

When you tell someone they are wrong, you make an argument very personal. When people are arguing about a personal argument, they are usually not looking for the truth. They are instead looking for ways to prove that they are not wrong. Try not to make an argument personal. You never know how some people may react when they think you are trying to act smarter than them. Why would people think that? Because when you tell someone they are wrong, it means you are smart enough to realize that they are wrong. People do not like to feel inferior compared to someone else. Instead of telling people they are wrong, tell them why an argument may not be logical, or why another argument may be better.

If you simply must tell others that they are wrong, first tell them that you maybe wrong

Instead of telling people they are wrong, first find anything in their argument that you can agree on. Online, through your reactions, even acknowledging the fact that you may have made a mistake or that you understand the logic others used when saying something shows that that you agree with someone’s criticism. That someone will then try to not be too defensive, since you already agreed to something and they got a sense of relief that you are starting to understand their viewpoint. How can someone argue with you when they see you accepting their ideas and admitting to your own mistakes?

If you still want to show that others are wrong, first admit that you may be wrong, and then pursue the situation with something that will convince them voluntarily that they may be wrong. Try to show the other side the facts that may make them realize their own mistakes. People never like being told they are wrong since they feel embarrassed over such a pinpointing by other people. Compared to being told they are wrong, people will love admitting they are wrong on their own, since that shows they have the skills to analyze a situation and they have the courage to admit mistakes. Many people love exhibiting such traits.

Convince people something is right instead of telling them they they are wrong

If you want to convince people that something is wrong, you have to show them why you think something else is right. Showing people they are wrong may get you agreements in heated arguments, but those people will hate you for forcing them to realize in public, whether on the internet in front of millions of people or in person in front of you, that they were wrong and you were right.

The basic idea of this entire article can summarized into one question: Do you like the idea of people realizing why you think something is right, or do you like the idea of telling and showing people that they are wrong?

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An example of how not to follow advice without thinking

A long time ago, one of the community college students I was counseling came to me for help. Her boyfriend was giving her advice about something that she did not want to follow. At the same time, however, she felt obligated to follow his advice because of being in the relationship. Her boyfriend was sincerely giving advice since it had worked for him in the past.

In my view, however, what he was recommending did not apply well to the girlfriend’s situation. I told her to listen to what I had to suggest, and then to think about the benefits and pitfalls of both her boyfriend’s advice and my suggestions. She could then do whatever she pleased since it was her life. She thanked me and went on her way.

Last week, she sent me a text message out of the blue to thank me for helping her back then. Did she follow her boyfriend’s advice? No. Did she follow my suggestions then? No. She did something interesting instead. She took my suggestions, combined it with her boyfriend’s advice and came up with her own unique solution that even her boyfriend was happy with.

Ask for advice only to incorporate it into your own solution

You should not follow any advice without analyzing, dissecting and customizing the advice to suit your own situation. The advice other people give you is a result of their thinking and their past experience. Thus, you cannot simply keep following other people’s advice without thinking about how such advice fits your thinking, your experience, and your current situation. Ask for help only when you are ready to help yourself and when you try to come up with your own solution also.

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Disagreements teach us new things. Agreements tell us that someone else agrees with us. Would you prefer one over the other?

Disagreeing with someone because of logic does not make you evil, nor does it mean you are disrespecting. Disagreement shows that you have the ability to look at things differently. If your disagree logically, others should actually appreciate your disagreement as that allows them to look at things differently. To have a good relationship of any sort, the hard thing is not to find the right person who agrees with everything you say. The hard thing is to find the right person that you can co-exist with in the face of any disagreements.

If you try to find someone who agrees to everything you say, you are basically finding someone who will not show you anything new in life. The two of you will not learn much together, let alone teach each other anything new. Why would you look for relationships if you wanted to find someone exactly like you? Why not buy a mirror instead?

Disagreements online can help co-exist with others better

Making friends online should not depend on finding people with similar tastes. Making online friends should be based on how you feel around others. I notice a growing trend on many blogs where many people keep agreeing to everything many high profile profile bloggers have to say, even if requires giving up realistic logic. It is as if many people cannot think uniquely and differently, or are not strong enough to disagree and say “I have a different opinion.” Is friendship or respect supposed to be mostly based on feelings of trust and respect, or does friendship and respect depend on how much you agree with someone?

How being friends regardless of us agreeing or disagreeing works for me and my friend

Take Valerie as an example. We have less similarities in life than most offline friends do, yet we are good friends and communicate effectively on an almost daily basis. Why? Because we have one important similarity: we realize that we have differences, and we realize that having differences do not only amount to bad things. How do we continue to be friends? We always talk about the differences in opinions while focusing on the similarities and also understanding the different logics and reasons in things we explain and tell each other.

Disagreements make us realize that the other person has feelings and the ability to think on their own also. Valerie and I respect each other even more because of that realization. Similarities can bring people closer, and so can differences. Acknowledging the differences and realizing that we can co-exist with people who are different than us can create better levels of trusts than usual.

Maintaining friendship in a sea of agreements is good. Maintaining friendship in an ocean of disagreements can be even better.

When it comes to communicating with others, it does not matter whether or not there are more agreements or disagreements. The only thing that matters is if people can get along with each other even when there are differences or disagreements. That is one of the only ways to have a good friendship, a good long-term relationship, and even marriage, not necessarily in that order though. And not necessarily all of them with the same person either.

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While having many good goals may sound attractive, you have to realize that having more than one goal at a time means you have to allocate your time, effort and resources to each goal. The more goals you have, the less attention you can give to each goal. When you have to focus on fewer goals, you can realize which goals are important and which goals can be pursued later. This concept applies to almost everything in life, whether the goal is related to something that is personal, a business plan, a social interaction or even blogging.

Having fewer goals can help all areas of life

If you have a lot of goals to pursue, space them out in order to allow yourself to focus on a few specific goals at a time. I have listed here a small outline for different categories of goals for which your focus at any given time should be on as fewer goals as possible in order to achieve maximum benefits from your efforts.

• Personal

  For goals related to your life, personality or character, if you try to achieve a lot of things at once you will only disappoint yourself. Aim for realistic goals and do your best in achieving them before taking on other goals. It is your life and you are in control; go slowly when possible and go fast when feasible.

  Wanting to change your diet, change your religion, change your attitude about social topics, achieve more happiness, reduce stress, quit smoking, dress differently and sleep differently all at the same time will only stress you out. Focus on the major and most important things, and other smaller and related things will happen on their own.

• Business

  A business is successful when it gets the best of efforts put into it. Business deals are the same. You will probably not be successful in a business or enter good business deals if you try to aim for everything at the same time through a single effort. Realizing what is really important in a business will help you realize the things you should really aim for in a business deal and things you can leave out of a business deal for the time being.

  For example, Feedburner started with taking care of feeds and partnered with FeedBlitz in order to manage RSS feeds via e-mail. FeedBlitz took care of RSS feeds via e-mail for sometime while Feedburner put their efforts only in the thing that was their main priority. Only when Feedburner was confident enough with achieving their original goal of having a solid RSS management system did it come out with its own RSS to e-mail service.

• Social

  Try not to expect everything from your daily interaction with others. Aim for certain characteristics in people and certain goals. Other related goals will show up and develop over time on their own.

  For example, looking for a girlfriend or a boyfriend who can be your significant other, spouse, business partner, best friend, family, closest adviser and more at the same time from the beginning will only make it harder for you to find someone who you may like. Focus on some specific qualities and goals, and other traits will soon start appearing on their own.

• Online

  If you strive hard to have your blog achieve several goals at once, you run the risk of ruining your chances of achieving any blogging goal. It can be tempting to aim for a lot of things on the internet because of the simplicity of interacting via the internet. You should resist such temptation as expecting a lot of things from your blog means you have to put your effort into every goal you are hoping to accomplish. It is hard to focus on everything related to your blog at the same time.

  Blogging goals can consist of many things including achieving high traffic, making money, creating communities, creating new contacts and creating new trends. All of such goals are achievable, but they can only be achieved when you put special effort into each one of those goals separately. Just as with personal goals, focus on only a few major blogging goals at a time, if not only one, and other smaller blogging goals will happen on their own.

Prioritize your efforts

Aim for some specific goals at a time before taking on new goals. Prioritize your efforts to realize which goals to focus on today and what to focus on some other day. Do not expect to achieve everything at the same time. Expecting everything to happen at once will probably disappoint you in the long run. Achieving things take time, so you have to plan out your efforts and timing.

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Emotional satisfaction should sometimes be kept away from business deals

Emotional satisfaction is important in any relationship, whether personal or business. While it is good for people to realize when they are not being treated right, it is good to keep our expectations for satisfaction of our personal emotions separate from some business deals if possible. For example, if you are looking to buy a computer from a store, the bad attitude of the cashier at that store may not be the best factor you should focus on when trying to decide if you should buy from that store. The cashier could be having a bad day or may even be a really rude person, but that does not mean you will run into similar kinds of people if you contact customer support later on. The good computer deal you may be getting at that store may be worth dealing with that rude cashier for 2 minutes. We can try to avoid having our own attitude change because of such a rude person.

This can work in the other direction too. If you buy something because of feeling emotionally happy over the way you are treated by someone instead of feeling happy about what you are getting from a business deal, chances are you will be highly dissatisfied if you experience any problems later. For example, just because a car sales person is extremely nice to you when you buy a car from a certain car dealership does not mean that same person will be nice to you later when you bring your car in for repairs. In fact, you may not even be able to get direct help from that specific person and may have to deal with a completely different group of people who may be extremely rude. Will you not recommend such a sales person to someone who only wants to buy a car for a good price without the need of any future help from that car dealership?

Secure your emotions in order to make better decisions

In certain situations, being treated like a customer instead of an individual may make sure that the other party will not take advantage of you through a business deal in the guise of personal or emotional satisfaction. A business deal will specifically outline what both parties should expect and avoid while a contract is valid, making sure both parties know what they to expect and what not to expect. Try not to involve your emotions or make things personal when involved in business deals, otherwise you make it easier to have your happiness and emotions influenced by outside factors. Such an influence may in turn easily affect your business and personal decisions.

If you can realize when your personal emotions and feelings are making you decide something more than the business deal at hand itself, you can be better equipped to realize when a business deal is good even when you are not personally and emotionally satisfied, or when a business deal is bad even when you are personally and emotionally satisfied due to different factors.

What do you think about this?

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Do not make an argument personal

When you argue about something, you are basically saying the other person is wrong about that thing. Such an interpretation is natural and instant. You have to go an extra step and show that you are attacking the argument only and not the other person. If you disagree with a person instead of their argument, you make the whole argument a personal issue. When it comes to personal issues, people automatically become defensive. I have seen several relationships since childhood, both business and personal, where people in different situations focused on showing that the other person was wrong instead of disagreeing with what had happened. Most of such relationships ended in disasters. The more you disagree with a person directly, the more the other person will feel defensive in an argument.

Only the other person can let you win an argument

Disagree with arguments and make friends with people who have different views. If you cannot do that, disagree with issues and be a stranger to other people. That is better than making others think you are trying to prove them wrong. Talk about the issue, and focus on the arguments. Never argue to prove you are right. If you are right and argue only about the validity of your points in an argument, the other person will acknowledge with their own free will that you are right about a certain issue. That is the only way in my view an argument should be won.

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I got on the BART and went to San Francisco to do different things. I paid for different things with my card. At one store I decided to pay with cash. I reached in my pocket and found nothing. I was surprised until I realized I had given the haircutter a $37 tip for a $15 haircut, paying a total of $52. Since it was my mistake and she had innocently enjoyed from it, I decided to let her enjoy the money.

I viewed this loss of money as an investment

It is sometimes all right to ask for some money back if you accidentally overtip someone. In this situation, since several hours had passed already and because of the fact that I would be going to the same place in the future, going back and claiming the money which now belonged to her would have actually upset her. I was the one who had made a mistake. I will tell her next time about it while making sure she does not feel uncomfortable about the situation. I can then look at it as an investment, making a new friend along the way and increasing my list of connections. In Orange County, even the smallest gestures and actions helped me in different ways in the long run. I hope I can share those stories with you one day. I hope I can make such investments result in skyrocketed returns like never before in this new place.

Being nice to people and not taking the joy away from them, when you can afford it even a bit, does wonders in the long run. I would want the same joy to come to me, so I would love to give such joy to others when I can, or at least not take it away from them if I had the power to. Invest in good people by giving them happiness and by not taking away their happiness, and you will get the same returns in larger proportions and different forms.

What would you do in a similar situation? As for me, I do have to be careful the next time I decide to tip someone. Also, I think having shorter hair after having long unmanageable hair for a while seems like a fresh change that goes along with the recent move.

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Sometimes you cannot explain yourself in person because you can’t find the right words. The same way, sometimes you can’t explain yourself online because of running out of time, given the nature of the dynamic and the ever-changing online world. That’s also how life is for many of us. Many people simply look at the way other people react to something, and they tend to react in a similar fashion. You can’t always control outside factors, like opinions of others, so most of the time you’ll have to deal with them the way many situations need to be dealt with in person, by not dealing them with at all. Why? Because many people always judge others without doing any thinking of their own. It’s easier to follow the crowd than to wonder why.

Take my picture of a white flower stigma as an example. While the picture was taken innocently, some people thought it was seductive, suggestive and a few other things. I also got an email from someone saying they were “disappointed” since they used to love my pictures before and had also bought some of my pictures before. On top of that, one of the commentors blocked me on Flickr because of the way people interpreted the picture. All this happened simply because of comments left by others for one picture.

If you’re the one who is being misinterpreted in one way or the other, directly or indirectly, what you can do is to either clarify things clearly or simply let them go. If people jump to conclusions online, then maybe they’re the type of people you find in real life also; people who just look for drama. If you find yourself jumping to conclusions, just pause your certain thoughts for a while and ask yourself this question: “Am I arriving at this thought because of my own thinking, or because others are doing it too?” If you find yourself being judged without any substance, ask yourself this: “Should I even bother to think about this?”

In the end, it all comes down to whether or not something is worth stressing about. Many times, somethings are not even worth thinking about.

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1. Your webcam turns on automatically whenever your computer turns on. You have setup your computer and your instant messaging programs to automatically turn on the webcam in any chat or voice conversation, whether you’re sleeping, around the computer or away from home.
2. You try to turn off the lights in the shower, to make sure no one watches you. Yes, you can dry yourself with ease knowing that you aren’t being watched by someone on Skype, and when you realize you don’t have a webcam in the bathroom, you don’t laugh at the whole situation; you get mad. “Why don’t I have a webcam in the shower?“, you ask yourself.
3. Your webcam is powerful enough to move along with your body. If you walk in your room, your webcam follows you. If you bend down to scratch your body, your webcam captures all the action.
4. You don’t like to approve online friends who don’t have a webcam. If an online buddy does not have a webcam, you block them from your Yahoo buddy list. If a new person who wants to add you as their friend doesn’t have a webcam, you block them.
5. You dress up everyday to look good on the webcam. You take your clothes to the laundry so that you can look good on the webcam. When you go out to a shopping center or a mall, you dress in clothes that usually result in people staying at least 5 feet away from you, in a circle. That makes you feel powerful, and you don’t know why.
6. If you need some time alone from everyone, you turn the webcam away towards the wall. Sometimes you sit in a corner where the webcam’s view is blocked by some object. You never unplug the webcam during this process, by the way.
7. Your webcam has a name. You call your webcam “HAL” or “SAL“, and the next generation of webcams, in your view, should be able to talk.
8. The first thing you like to see in the morning is your webcam. People dream of waking up next to a beautiful person in the morning. You dream of waking up to a better webcam that is watching you in the morning.
9. Your webcam is your counselor. When you’re depressed or upset, you talk to the webcam as if you were talking to a qualified psychiatrist. Sometimes when you’re really upset, you also say to your webcam “Oh come on, don’t say that!“, knowing that the webcam is actually responding to you.
10. Your webcam is a baby of yours. If someone tries to fight with you or insult you in your computer room, you tell that person “Not here“, pointing to the webcam with your eyes. You don’t want your webcam to be exposed to indecent words.
11. Your webcam is your baby. If you ever sleep with someone in the computer room, you don’t remember that night as sleeping with Betsy, but as sleeping with Betsy and your webcam.
12. You don’t like anyone to talk about your webcam in a bad way. If anyone ever tells you that “your webcam sucks” or that your webcam is old, you get offended and block that person on your MSN Messenger account.
13. If anyone ever comes to your computer room and touches your webcam, you get surprised and ask that person “WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!“ There is no word for a pedophile drooling after webcams, so you call that person a “webdophile” before kicking them out of the house. Since there is no law yet to protect webcams against a webdophile, you tell your webcam that same night “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” You then curse all the webdophiles and cry yourself to sleep.
14. Breaking up with a webcam is always hard for you. If you find a better webcam than the one you already have, you sit down and look at the old webcam with teary eyes before unplugging it from your computer.

Those are the top signs that will show you the strength of your love for your webcam. What about you? How much do you like your webcam? Do you even have a webcam? Do you consider it a piece of technology or a piece of your heart?

As for me, I’ll get back to my webcam conference with someone Skype right now. Thank you for reading.

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