CHAPTER 1THE LAY OF THE LAND
The world of social media and Internet communities has been called “the Wild West” so often by so many observers (usually those who aren’t directly involved in social media, by the way) that it’s become an accepted truth. While I don’t think the analogy is 100 percent on target, it’s used widely enough that I’ll stick with it, drawing a few parallels to make a point.
The most important asset for survival in an Old West town was knowing the lay of the land. A sheriff in the Wild West—at least the one of popular imagination—had to know every foot of his county, know the country like the back of his hand, and understand the unwritten rules of a society that allegedly had no rules. If he did, he was able to keep some ...
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