jackiedoherty.org

It’s a whole new world out there and we better be part of it or get left behind. Today’s Boston Globe has a two-page feature on a mom-turned-blogger who is shaking up the education scene in Boston, adding her  two cents about the schools, the education lottery, and whatever else she chooses to write about on her blog. Also today, Paul writes on Dick Howe’s site about two new Lowell-area bloggers and how they will contribute to the cyberspace community in our city. No matter what you think of certain sites, there is no doubt that through the power of the internet, individuals can contribute to the discourse in their community (and far beyond) like never before. Expressing ideas and capturing the attention of others on a mass scale used to be limited to those who had FCC licenses and printing presses, but now that power is available to any individual with a keyboard and wifi. Technology is changing the way we relate to each other (interacting with teens now requires texting ability) as well as the world around us. The opportunity to discuss issues in a public context with so many people is heady stuff that invigorates a sense of belonging and makes us less dependent on traditional media for context and meaning. It can also be a major time-robber and should be balanced with direct human connections as much as possible. (My solution is to take days off and focus on computer-free living in the moment.)