This week is a milestone for those of us involved with Sodbuster.
It was one year ago that Sodbuster came into existence in the vast frontiers of
cyberspace. That first week, I set this goal for our endeavor:
With the same determination, hard work and faith [of the
sodbusters] we set forth to conquer the newest American frontier known as cyberspace. It
was the world’s greatest teacher who reminded us that the smart man builds his house
upon the rock while the foolish man builds his house on the sand. Therefore, while
participating in the cutting edge technology of the Internet, we will be a voice of reason
to shape the future based on the time-honored principles of the sodbusters.
Not being technologically literate at the time, I
didn’t realize that by choosing the name Sodbuster, based on our pioneer
ancestors, we were actually choosing a name and theme that was right in line with the hip
technological gurus and futurists. I have since learned that the people who actually are
on the cutting edge of creating the technological wonders of the day compared themselves
to the American frontier, or specifically the Wild West, long before Sodbuster was
created.
This analogy has been credited to and promoted by an
interesting character by the name of John Perry Barlow. Now, until recently, I had never
heard of John Perry Barlow. But, for those of you who are fans of the old cult rock group
called the "Grateful Dead," you have heard his words. He was the lyricist for
most of their songs. That isn’t a glowing recommendation, in my opinion, but Barlow
isn’t your typical drugged-out rocker. He was well educated, lived on a ranch in
Wyoming, has been a Republican party official and is hooked on the possibilities for the
future of technology. A few years ago, he helped create the Electronic Freedom Foundation.
This foundation is devoted to protecting free speech on the Internet.
In an article he wrote several years ago, called Crime
and Puzzlement, Barlow said:
"Cyberspace, in its present condition, has a lot in
common with the 19th Century West. It is vast, unmapped, culturally and legally
ambiguous, verbally terse, hard to get around in, and up for grabs. Large institutions
already claim to own the place, but most of the actual natives are solitary and
independent, sometimes to the point of sociopathy. It is, of course, a perfect breeding
ground for both outlaws and new ideas about liberty."
Until a couple years ago, the Internet was the home of a
few people who were the equivalent of the explorers, mountain men and outlaws of the Old
West. These people -- known as hackers, crackers, nerds, geniuses, or visionaries,
depending on your perspectives -- were living in a world unknown to most of us.
Somewhere along the way, the rest of us heard "there
was gold in them there hills" and a rush to get on board started. It has now been
followed by settlers, or sodbusters, who are in the process of creating communities and
taming the Wild West by civilizing the unruly wild men that paved the trail.
I say "men" because the frontier of Cyberspace
has been, until recently, primarily male-dominated. That is still the case, but is quickly
changing, with the majority of new users of the Internet being women. Woman civilized the
real American Frontier, and it looks like they will likely do the same to the cyber
frontier.
Cyberspace has many spectacular opportunities for business,
education and society. However, at the moment, it still has many areas that remain
unsettled and wild. It is often like looking for a needle in a haystack or, more
appropriately, looking for a diamond in a manure pile. There are many wonderful things to
find, but you still have to sift through a lot of garbage to find them.
While I admit my bias, I think Sodbuster is one of
the diamonds. The people involved are talented, creative and of good character. This
includes the readers as well as the contributors because this is an interactive medium
that allows the readers to engage and shape what happens.
As our ancestors busted the prairie sod and suffered
through the harsh elements of Nebraska weather, we have made mistakes at Sodbuster.
Like the first year on the prairie, it has been all sweat and hard work without any glory
or wealth. It has even had some that found that it was still too wild a frontier and moved
back to the safety of civilization.
For those of us that have persevered, we should be proud of
what we have accomplished, but must realize there is much more to do to claim victory in
our goal to civilize at least a portion of cyberspace and create a successful, thriving
and growing community. We need to keep vigilant and work hard to maintain what we have
already created.
If a community stops growing, it often shrivels away and
dies. We have the foundation for a strong and diverse community, but we need more houses,
metaphorically speaking. We need more people to contribute articles, news stories and find
advertisers. We need those who read to get involved and tell us what you like and
don’t like. The message board (Hogwash) offers an easy unedited method of doing this.
It also gives the opportunity to talk with people about whatever interests you. The
opportunity is there to strengthen old friendships and develop new ones by discovering
shared interests you may never have discovered somewhere else.
In the last couple weeks, I have visited hundreds of web
sites. I can honestly say, without being too partial, that Sodbuster is, or is very
close to being, something special. Personally, I have had a lot of fun and want to thank
everyone else for their hard work.
Happy anniversary, Sodbuster.
I hope this is just the first of many more.
