This morning I am inspired by a Twitter debate I had with Amanda Chapel. We only started following each other on Twitter yesterday but she chose to engage me this morning in a conversation about Web 2.0 and her prediction of a forthcoming bust to this whole business.

I shall say off the mark that I fundamentally disagree with Amanda on many of the points she makes, particularly around the perceived “guru-ism” of the many thought leaders that are out there right now in the Internet space. She claims that it’s just a lot of snake oil. For the record, I want to say that that is categorically untrue, in my opinion. The so-called “gurus” that she speaks of are legitimately out there trying to define and explain all this Internet business right now along with everyone else, and, with all due respect, Amanda, ABSOLUTELY know what they are talking about. I also don’t particularly care for her debating style. But that’s neither here nor there.

However, she did accomplish one thing…she got me thinking.

What will happen if Amanda’s right, and all this Web 2.0 business does go bust? Well, I can tell you, there will be plenty of hurt and broke people out there. Just like last time. There always is. What does that mean to all of us who are doing the thinking, and the strategizing, who are trying to figure out business models and actually make a go of it in this space?

I think what it comes down to is flexibility. It’s all about understanding the ebb and flow of the technology industry and being able to adapt.

I was around for the last bust. In fact, I worked at one of the most busted companies, Nortel Networks, as they rose to the top and then fell hard. As an employee, when it was good, it was very very good. We got free stuff like DVD players and barbeques if we did a good job. We got free beer and wings every Friday. We had pool tables and fooz ball and air hockey and free snacks in the lunch room. But when it all fell apart, it was awful. Not just the for lack of perks. Morale tanked. People’s self esteem got destroyed along with their careers. And I got out as fast as I could.

At that time, as the bust happened around me, I realized that it was adapt or fail. I wouldn’t survive if I was just a web designer. So I started to shift over to communications, a place where, at that time I saw a lot of potential. I became a writer and a teacher, a producer of concepts and content instead of a “do-er”. And I got lots of other jobs as a result.

My point is, nobody really can predict whether all this Web 2.0 stuff is going to go bust. Anyone who says definitively that it is, is touting snake oil of their own. As individuals, we must decide how we are going to adapt if it does all fall apart. It’s something we all should be conscious of, so if it all blows up in our face, we can bounce back relatively unscathed.

(Note: “Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets is also the title of the 2001 album by Gary Jules”. )

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Social networks are fascinating. They are made up of all kinds of people, from all walks of life, brought together out of a shared interest or interests, into a big pot of text, audio and video soup. Sure, there are plenty of people who have become good friends on the Internet…fallen in love, even. Heck, I met my husband online! So I know that it IS a great way to meet and foster important relationships with other people.

But those aren’t the relationships I’m speaking of. I’m talking about people who may share a common interest, but may not see it the same way. These are people that  would probably not socialize in person…they are too different. It’s those differences of opinion that keep the conversation interesting. It’s impassioned, intelligent people talking about things that matter most to them.

There are many techniques for expressing differences of opinion, and strategies for debating, even arguing effectively. Toastmasters comes to mind as an organization that promotes effective debating skills. I’ve been noticing lately that although some people are extremely skilled at debate, argument, opinions, whatever you want to call them (Leo Laporte and his TWIT crew come immediately to mind), others are maybe not so skilled. After reading endless posts and videoblogs about the Sarah Lacy interview, and then today coming across the Duncan Riley/FriendFeed posts, I realized that maybe some people are not quite so skilled at expressing an opinion and perhaps more importantly, listening to other people’s opinions. When this happens, it ends up becoming nothing more than a defensive bitchfest. It becomes about one group of people being right and another group being wrong. It becomes more than a debate…it becomes a conflict. The point is, debate and opinion are positive forces that contribute to the overall good experience of being involved in the social network. Conflict is a negative force that causes defensiveness, overactive egos and hurt feelings. In extreme cases, it causes wars.

I am the last person who wants to do anything to disrupt the free flow of opinion, debate and conversation that makes the social network so powerful. However I’d like to propose the following list, to serve as a set of guidelines for people who want to debate, share opinions and, even argue without getting mired in conflict.

Proposed Rules of Engagement for the Social Network

1. Respect the opinions of the community. You don’t have to agree with everyone, and nobody has to agree with you. Be OK with that.
2. Listen to what others have to say before getting defensive. Sometimes there’s a lesson in other people’s critiques.
3. Don’t call people names. It’s just cheap.
4. Everyone is good at something. Figure out what you are good at and don’t knock other people if they aren’t good at it too.
5. Be encouraging. Don’t discourage.
6. Pick your battles.
7. If someone is spreading mean or hateful messages about someone or something, it’s the responsibility of the community to try to stop them. Don’t tolerate hate.

I want to hear from you. Do you agree with this or disagree? Do you think it goes too far, or is it necessary in order to maintain the health of the community?

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