“We are living in interesting times”. This simple statement is purportedly implying a positive tone, yet it is generally considered to be a curse.  Just like its meaning, the history behind it is also paradoxical. Its source is attributed to an ancient Chinese curse, and yet – it is actually modern. And Western. So?  What has that got to do with this post?  I am glad you asked.

The “interesting times” I am referring to is the current era of the Internet and Social media savvy world. We all have an easy access to information – rather too easy.  While you can use Google to enrich your knowledge, you can also immerse in the social media that swings wildly between the mission critical and the trivial.  And this ability to freely broadcast literally anything has led to rampant, frivolous and indiscriminate information flood.   Why is this bad?  It is so because everyone is spewing out the status updates, the tweets, and more.  In this list, the biggest offender is the links.  Links? Yes, the ubiquitous links that are shared through emails, WhatsApp messages and retweets.  In my opinion, this reckless abandon with which everyone ‘shares’ with the rest of the world, is causing the Internet to be chaotic.  To avoid this, we have a responsibility to keep adding value when we share something with others.

I always tell my team that if you feel compelled to send a link to someone, please add a short synopsis of what you are sharing and why, rather than just forwarding the link. To practice what I preach, I am going to devote a mini Blog (mBlog) that will have a thoughtful vignette related to what I read, hear or watch. In maximum of 300 words, I hope to remove the paradox from the term “interesting times”!