The declining problem of (Groucho) Marxism

"I don't want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member..." That's the (Groucho) Marxist credo.

You're invited to speak your mind online. To post thoughtful comments and tweets and posts. You're given a place where you can post your music, or your art or your photography or your take on the state of your industry...

Most of us refuse. We don't want to be part of a community that would have us, apparently. So we sit quietly and watch and take notes and absorb instead of joining the club of contributors.

Retweets are more common than tweets, and listeners are more common than singers.

Because we believe we don't belong. That we're not qualified. That someone with a louder microphone is better than we are.

Past tense perhaps.

Here's the thing: the number of people contributing is going up, and fast. The number of folks that are happy to speak up, to be a member of the contributing group, is as high as it's ever been.

Yes, we'd like to have even you as a member. Really.