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From Kara Berklich, Director of Communications:

Expression: 1a: an act, process, or instance of representing in words or some other medium. 1b: a significant word or phrase. 2a: a mode, means, or use of significant representation or symbolism; esp: felicitous or vivid indication or depiction of mood or sentiment.

Webster's aside, I define "expression" as the incidence of letting yourself and others know what you're feeling and thinking. Although this is a great thing when you do it and do it well, it can just as likely prove a terrible thing if you express yourself in a way that prevents you from accepting the consequences of that expression. Hold on, I'll explain.

One of the things I've enjoyed most at Tripod has been the opportunity to express myself freely. In a climate of constant change in our "industry," and the make-it-up-as-you-go ethos of a start-up company, everyone's voice is crucial. Around here we encourage one another to express our opinions/ideas/suggestions. I love this atmosphere of open thinking, of opportunities to contribute to something that might not fall into my job description yet benefits from interdisciplinary input -- "thinking outside of the box," as one of my favorite professors loved to say.

But recently I received an e-mail that forced me to rethink the consequences of unlimited self-expression. Sent anonymously through a remailing service, this particular note was chock-full of criticism about Tripod from a "concerned and surprised" sender. While I greatly value the opportunity for immediate self-expression that the Internet offers us, the equal opportunity to express one's self behind a mask (in this case, the remailer service) has some disturbing implications. No matter how much I may agree or disagree with an anonymous e-mailer's opinions, their anonymity makes the input creepy instead of personal.

The opportunity to self-publish, as offered by the Web and services like our Homepage Studio, is not a license to shed conventional beliefs about accepting responsibility for what you publish. We've got to think about the special effect that this new medium has on our expression -- sometimes this means inserting a smiley face -- :) -- into an e-mail to let people know you're being facetious; other times it means using a bright text color to express strong opinions on your homepage. We also have to own up to the added responsibility that this medium puts upon those of us using it. Although the Internet might offer new ways to hide behind masks, if we want to stand up and be heard, to be taken seriously, we have to accept the consequences of our expression.

So we build our homepages, we e-mail jokes about our bosses around the office, we send messages of support or criticism; but come on, let's acknowledge these expressions as our own, regardless of the medium we use.

Kara, Director of Communications (1/31/97)

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Read more "Letters from Tripod" in the archive.

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