1996 Speech Hits True Today

I had never really heard of Steve Silberman, contributing editor at Wired Magazine, until I found this article. I'm still not so sure who he is, other than a writer, a computer geek (I hope he doesn't mind) and a fanatic Deadhead. I had similarly never heard of The Well, which I tonight learned is a 22-year-old social networking website for smart people, originally called the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link back when a few elite people had a mysterious ability to "dial up" to something obscure called the "internet." I'm confident I had no idea about the web, or what the future might hold, back in 11th grade.

The WELL predates MySpace and FaceBook by about 17 years. The WELL and Michael Jordan were rookies simultaneously. AOL took on the name America On Line four years AFTER the WELL's debut. You get the idea.

Anyways, Steve Silberman gave a presentation about WELL where he talked about good and bad characteristics of a "host" on a social networking site. (A host is what we would call a moderator today, I think.) "The Underdog Carries the Secret" was the topic of his presentation. He explained how the web was brilliant for bringing disparate voices together. The WELL was not and never has been anonymous, so every participant was theoretically accountable for his/her comments, although the "underdog" voice was still often trampled. Silberman loved the little voice.

Often times, the most stigmatized voice in a community carries some truth, that if the community at large was aware of it - and certainly if the host was aware of it - it would make things better, make for a better integration of the collective psyche.

He went on to recount a conversation recently with the woman who introduced his presentation:

I was talking Gail recently about what she felt made for a really thriving conferencing environment, and she said, basically, a wide range of very vivid and powerful archetypes. I thought that was very interesting. I think that that's also a metaphor for a good psyche - a healthy psyche - and also a healthy culture.

I agree. Here's to open and powerful debate. But then he knocked me off my chair with this conclusion.

I'd like to close with something that's completely unrelated. I'm going to be quoting (late San Francisco Chronicle columnist) Herb Caen. This is something that struck me as a great metaphor for the WELL. It's an obituary that ran a couple of weeks ago, of a woman named Blanche Pastorino. I don't know if any of you knew who she was.

"Another day, another heart-rending death: On Saturday, the gentle, delightful Blanche Pastorino died at 87 in a local convalescent hospital. For two decades, her Blanche's (now Carmen's) at 4th and Channel was jammed at lunch with such regulars as Herb Gold, Cap Weinberger, Fletcher Benton and Ruth Asawa, even though her entire menu consisted of crab salad and wine or Anchor Steam. A sign on the wall explained it all: 'If Food Is Your Main Consideration, This Is Not Your Place.'"

Thank you very much.

In an instant, the billions and billions of meaningless bits of information floating around a wired world served a purpose. A real purpose. While a few friends and family may have a tattered 13-year-old copy of my great Aunt's obituary pressed tightly between a novel on a dusty shelf; her life, the restaurant she lived for, her friends and her simplicity remain alive thanks to late 20th century technology and one stranger's archived comments.

Steve Silberman, thank you.

Herb Caen's Column here.
San Francisco Chronicle Obituary: Jan. 30, 1996
Six Years Later, from the San Francisco Examiner

Comments

[Steve Silberman]

Steve, I'm really glad my words found you. Your great aunt sounds like a wonderful woman. I wish I'd known her.