Calvanization

To prove to posterity that I first coined the term, I am posting this at 11:25 (MST).

“Calvanize” means to post something so amazing that all the Internets are unanimous in their reaction.

Used in a sentence: Fifteen years after Rodney King’s invitation, Bobby Calvan proved that, indeed, we can all get along, as he calvanized the Internet with his post about throwing a hissy fit at a Baghdad security check point.

UPDATE: Aw, man. Bobby scrubbed the good stuff. I'll find an archived version and link to it. I can only imagine how the wake up call from the boss must have gone. From the look of the explanation for the scrubbing, I'd guess his boss must have given him 30 seconds to take it down. As I'm sure that too will be scrubbed, here are Bobby's muddled words: "Yes, I’m obviously new to blogging. Somtimes I share too much. The blogosphere has reacted and pointed out my folly. Yes, I can be pushy. I can also be wrong. I’v'e edited this post — and have shut down the comment feature."

And I'm off to write for the Gotebo Gazette.

Now, this really will be a fascinating moment in the history of the Internet and its relationship to big media. Calvan, a reporter for McClatchy stationed in Baghdad, wrote a post about a nothing encounter he had with an American soldier at a Baghdad check point. Clearly the intent of the post was to show that Calvan was a stud and had expertly put a dumb soldier in his place. But, the post clearly showed that Calvan was out of line, arrogant, and disrespectful of the American forces keeping him alive and, also, that the soldier was very professional to simply ignore the guy.

As the comments to the post and as posts on other blogs show, Calvan's post itself rapidly became a big story -- about journalism and the attitudes and biases of journalists. In just 3 1/2 hours, the post generated 197 comments, unanimously negative toward Calvan and his representation of big media's sense of entitlement, superiority and disdain for the military. So, once big media became the story, what did the representative of big media do?

He scrubbed the post, erased the tapes, and Bergered the documents.

UPDATE: Yep, Bobby and his bosses took down the entire blog. I guess it never happened.