The Lankanosphere - So This Is Progress?

Recent events have been "interesting" haven't they?

I use quotation marks there for two reasons; first is that I tend to use far too many of them anyway, like commas, which I'm fond of. Second is that not everyone has found them interesting in a positive, good or nice way.

I'm taking the positive approach and concentrating on the good things, that to me is the way forward, in life as well as the smaller issues.

A certain person with a specific one liner of a post made me think about these things. There are blogs and bloggers out there who inspire, interest me and teach me things and this fellow is one such person.

When I stepped gingerly into the Lankanosphere just over three years ago it was much smaller than it is now. It had the atmosphere, if a virtual world can have an atmosphere, of a small club, a bit like the Capri Club that our fathers (and Java) used to frequent.

Everyone knew everyone and the well known and most popular bloggers could easily fit around a table in a garden cafe somewhere, and often did. As I joined the club in my fairly relaxed and leisurely way I was amazed and delighted by the generally abundant way in which I was welcomed.

The well established leaders were nice people and would comment and correspond with me, there would be some spats (not to be confused with sprats), some insults and mud slinging but it had a certain air of maturity and respect about it, mostly.

What struck me most was that all the Sri Lankan bloggers I met, though their views may have been contrasting and their mindsets different, demonstrated an appetite for knowledge and a desire to learn, characteristics I'd like to think I share.

Three years in the Lankanosphere is about the equivalent of thirty years in "real" life I reckon. That's how much things have changed in what to most is just a short time. It's like a little and friendly football club that used to play Sunday league for fun but has developed into a fully fledged professional club in a few seasons and is now facing a new set of circumstances.

I wonder how the Lankanosphere, largely driven and reflected by Kottu has grown in terms of numbers, both readership and blog membership in the recent past. Indi may know that sort of thing but I suspect the increase has been large and fast, like one of Dominic Sansoni's lenses.

And perhaps the amount of bad stuff going on is merely a by product of the growth. Perhaps there was always half a percent of people on Kottu, or in the Lankanosphere who wanted to behave like that, but it's only now that half a percent actually equals a whole number.

Perhaps, as the the Lankanosphere moves into the next level, this is natural, expected and progressive.

I'll continue to believe in positivity and good things, as I'm sure will TMS and many others. I'll continue to be inspired by and to learn from some of the great friends I've made.

But what do you think?

Are these things just natural symptoms and understandable residue from the Lankanosphere's huge growth?

One thing's for sure. In the words of the great and leather clad Johnny Nash:

The more that I learn the less I know.

Enjoy the weekend all. Because I said so.