Thursday, June 14, 2007

Natalie Neff on Internet Etiquette

Natalie is just about the only babe in all of North American auto-journalism. And she was apparently the target of gratuitous insults from a reader in response to which she felt a need to explain it all to us:
I felt compelled to share this e-mail with you to illustrate the simple point that an overreliance on technology can lead to a sort of mental laziness and, worse, the atrophy of some of our most basic skills. In our e-mailer’s case, I’m talking about decency.

We’ve all experienced the phenomenon, at some point been victims (and no doubt perpetrators) of the insulating effect that communication via QWERTY can have on our sense of common decency. We’ve all found insults fermenting in our mailboxes that no sober human being would dare unfurl to our faces, been emboldened to say normally frightful things thanks to the relative anonymity afforded by e-mail, where our basest thoughts may find easier expression in 10-point Times New Roman than through any deliberate articulation of the tongue.

Somehow, though, the insults hurt just as much, whether delivered in digital or analog.
P.S. I feel compelled to point out that however high she ranks as a babe and however much she knows her stuff (a lot, actually), she has been known to have her off days... well, actually, she once channeled Elizabeth Wurzel and her worst-ever piece for the New Yorker and wrote a piece that was, well, an auto wreck of an awful piece....

But on this she is of course dead on.

3 comments:

A Willy said...

The last time I looked, the editor of Automobile magazine was a woman (with many years of auto journalism behind her). Ever hear of Denise McCluggage? She's been an automotive writer for over forty years. Get your facts straight.
Second, if Natalie chooses to ink her bodym that's her business and none of yours.
Third, she seems to get into lot of auto accidents. I don't know why, but I'm pretty sure her tats have nothing to do with it.

The Seditionist said...

Learn to read: I said Natalie was one of the few women in moto-journalism, not the only. Never mentioned the tats. And she did in fact write what was one of the crappiest, dumbest moto-journo articles I ever read. Just dumb, an awfully stupid piece.

Facebook Etiquette said...

Facebook has become a universal fetish for teens, college students, moms, dads, business people, musicians, artists, baby boomers, grandmas and grandpas...there is no limit to the reach of Facebook. Frightening?
Naaaahhh...but one must realize that this social movement requires you to learn some Face book manners! (especially if you're looking to do any marketing on Face book or if you're trying to make money with Face book).