blog power

i have been thinking quite a bit about blogging lately. i haven’t blogged as much as usual because i have been sick, so i guess it opened up the ole’ cranial waves to thinking instead of typing without thinking there are millions of blogs out there. literally. any blogger with their salt knows this- because we all sign up with technorati and that’s where we start- rank 2,389,343- or something like that anyhoo- i have been blogging personally for over 2 years now and so i guess i am old hat. most of us had no idea what we were doing or what we should write about- but we found our voice. it isn’t easy to sit down at the keyboard every single day and beat out eye opening, informative posts consistently- so i don’t even try but there are many who do. what has amazed me is the online collaboration between bloggers who have never set eyes on each other in ‘real life’ and the group blogs and forums that spring up around those collaborations. a brotherhood and sisterhood of folks blogging for a cause. folks from around the globe blogging together and reaching out and getting to know each other and each other’s culture. it has been an amazing experience for me- and eye opening as well. from soldier’s blogs in iraq to bloggers from iraq, gaza, malaysia- with the click of a mouse, we can see pictures and read real stories from real people. we can commiserate and share stories about politics, religion and other points of view. never has the world seemed smaller. it highlights the differences in cultures for sure, but what i have noticed is how alike we all are. we are all human beings with families who love and hate; get annoyed with each other; want garbage removal and running water- care where our food comes from. there are left leaning folks in other countries just as there are right wing folks- and the bottom line is- we are all people underneath the culture.

which scares the hell out of the neo cons.

my own thought is- that’s why the admin is so deathly afraid of the power of the blogosphere. oh- they may have surveillance down to a science and they can kill folks and torture them like nobody’s business- but they haven’t figured out how to get around people connecting to other people and using that connection to promote solidarity to a cause. so- they were blindsided by the 2006 elections. there are rightwing blogs for sure- and i won’t link to them because i won’t bring their ilk here- but as of this post- in the top ten blogs ranked by technorati- none made the top 10 or the top 20 or the top 30. in fact, the first one comes in at number 39. now, to be fair, the dumbocratic party- i mean the democratic party has been slow to embrace the internet bloggers too. oh- they pay lip service to kos and the ‘a’ listers but they don’t truly understand that it isn’t those folks who are the driving force behind the information and solidarity. they have their place to be sure but it’s the millions of smaller blogs and blog communities that spring up around the internet that truly make change happen. i have endorsed obama as my default candidate- and i wish dennis k. positive energy and votes as he bucks the corporate shills in ohio- his campaign really took to the internet and the web- not just with the raising of cash- but they have their own blog there and a really nice site- if i may say so. he has outraised clinton- why? because she has the ‘old establishment’ way of looking at things. corporate monies and swanky fundraisers are the norm. sure she has a site and you can donate there- but not really an internet presence. youtube notwithstanding.

anyhoo- this is just a ramble about the blogosphere and me marveling about technology and how, by working together for the truth, small voices can make a difference.

view the big picture of the graph above here.