"snark is cheap"

Beta Librarian drew my attention to a recent blog post in which librarian Michael Stephens proclaims, "Snark is cheap. Snark is easy." What, you ask, is snark? This entry from urbandictionary.com sums it up nicely (and I love the examples!):

snark

noun
Combination of "snide" and "remark". Sarcastic comment(s).
Also snarky (adj.) and snarkily (adv.)
His commentary was rife with snark.
"Your boundless ineptitude is astounding," she snarkily declared.

Apparently, Stephens had attended a professional conference at which folks were making snarky comments about others via twitter. The whole post is long and winding, but it is here if you want to read it. To me, the most important part is at the end, when Stephens offers thinking points for all, including the following:

Play nice via the social tools. Respect people’s viewpoints and engage with them. Snark is cheap. Snark is easy.

I offer this as food for your thoughts as you blog, tweet, e-mail, etc.

Snark is cheap. I think we need it on bumper stickers and t-shirts.