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Recently I have been having a look at a list of blogs that a colleague gave me, all of which have links to RSS feeds. This means if you download RSS software off the Internet you can automatically receive new posts in your Reader from the blogs that you subscribe to. Most subscriptions are free to read, as people generally would basically like to communicate and share their ideas with others. The particular list that I have is focused on blogs that ranked highly in both Google’s page ranking and Alexa’s ranking of how many visitors come to a site. Well, the first blog on the list was called ‘How to save the world’ and is found at blogs.salon.com/0002007 or http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/rss.xml for its RSS feed. Scrolling down through this blog’s latest posts (journal entries) I came across one on July 17,2005 entitled ‘There is no justice’ which caught my attention causing me to subsequently read onwards. Although the writer is obviously intelligent and went to quite a complex depth in his analysis of peace and justice (or lack thereof) in the world, I was simply impressed by the reason for this blogger’s writing in the first place. They want to help the world.
I know that by now on Earth there are probably millions of online journals with people talking about anything from their daily activities, to specific interests, to the meaning of life. Blogs are a chance for people to express themselves to the world, to let anyone, anywhere know what you have been thinking about while you have been here on the planet. The fact that some people are writing blogs like ‘How to save the world’ is very encouraging to me as it telegraphs the idea to others that we are not alone in the world in wanting to improve living standards and social justice. It also gives society an opportunity to comment and participate in discussion with others who are on similar wavelengths. Most importantly it stands as an example of what anyone can now do on the Internet. No one needs to be part of a faceless mass anymore, as we all have the chance to be identified and connected with others through meaningful relationships.
This blog stands as an excellent example of intelligent dialogue coupled with the incorporation of simple photos, graphs, quotes, and links to other sites to give the writing more substance, credibility, and relationship with other people and organizations. As well as within the text, on the side of the blog is a huge list of other blogs that this person reads as well as lists of recent posts, personal essays, a biography, and multiple categories differentiating topics discussed so the visitor/reader needn’t have to search for the content that they are interested in.
As for whether or not we can save our world, whether or not you feel it needs to be saved, and the question of peace and justice in society, I’ll let you read the journal where you can leave a comment for the rest of us to ponder over. Just to give you an idea of the International basis of blogs, let me tell you that this blog’s author is from Canada, he quotes and has links to speeches from a famous Indian writer in Australia, the piece is based around US political policy, the Iraq War, and he uses relevant examples from Northern Europe and France’s social systems. There is no doubt in my mind that blogs, vlogs (videoblogs), and podcasts (audible communication files) are just the beginning in a new era of human interaction giving voice to both minorities and the individual in a world where the power of nation states and corporations have often resulted in the ‘normal, average person’ feeling unheard and disconnected with their fellow brothers and sisters of the human species.
By Jesse S. Somer http://www.m6.net Jesse S. Somer is an individual voice amidst the cacophony of opinions that bombard us all everyday. Won’t it be a better place when everyone has a chance to speak, and to be heard?
Jesse S. Somer is a creative writer working at M6.Net: ‘The web-hosting company for humans.’ M6.Net is working hard to help humanity experience the power and freedom to develop their own part of the Internet, to share their information and connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime.
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