Tuesday, May 31, 2016

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) - Felicia Day

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) - Felicia Day - 261 pages

I hate to refute a title statement right off, but I think at least a few of us have been on the internet enough to realize that yes, pretty much everyone is weird out there.  The real point is: THAT IS TOTALLY OKAY.  Unless it's ethically repulsive, it's really just awesome to be yourself and share it out there in the vast wikispace of the interwebs with all the other weirdos.  You can overshare pictures of rolly poly pugs, hack up imaginary crab monsters with a bunch of French dudes, post questions about how realistic-looking that USB drive shaped like a watermelon slice really is, and google search cosplay blog posts about how to make realistic pokeballs, and that's all totally awesome because the internet community has room for everyone.* 

It's a fantastic message that this book carries throughout.  Ms. Day relates her stories of finding acceptance, addiction, depression, and redemption on the 'net, and for anyone who grew up as this incredible phenomenon of online community and connection was exploding over the last fifteen years or so, you're totally going to get it.  What's not here is any talk about her career, so if (like me) you were curious about her Dr. Horrible or Supernatural experiences and wanted to read some fun anecdotal stories about hammers and Rocky and Bullwinkle references, look elsewhere, my friend.  Basically, this book boils down to a reaction piece about some very icky geek community splitting, hacking, and stalking, told from the perspective of someone whose experiences online were positive and self-affirming up until that point.  It's the story of a good thing gone unfortunately bad, and the ways that kind of disappointment changes a person.  But Ms. Day, a little older and wiser, still manages to maintain a positive, constructive perspective about it, and that's pretty cool.



*Yep, that's how I spent my weekend.  Not sorry.

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