Blogalization

Let me teach you a new word, in case you haven't already read it: blogalization. Isn't that a mouthful? I found this quote from Gallimaufry on Global Voices:

Gallimaufry said: "I think the best thing about blogalization is that it involves using technology (which used to be perceived as something maybe sort of dehumanising and impersonal) to make things more personal and make people more connected - to make us all more human to each other, which draws us closer together."

All of you who read this are part of the blogosphere (another mouthful), so let's talk about it. Does blogging bring you closer to people in distant places? If so, do you think this kind of connection makes us more human to each other?

My opinion: Yes, I feel closer to Margreet and Jenn in the Netherlands, AV in South Africa, Marg in Australia, Marylyn in Korea, Sharon in Malaysia, Pamela in England, Amy in Spain, Simrit in India, Seamus in France, Catherine in New Zealand, Kelly in Canada, Carole and Stephanie and Dewey and Colleen and Susan in the United States.

Through these people -- and many others I have not named -- I have learned about summer in the southern hemisphere while we in the northern hemisphere have winter, I've learned more concretely the opinion Europeans have of the United States, and I've learned to think of all the world's people as being in the same boat. Some of these things I knew intellectually, of course, but talking with friends in various parts of the world makes these things come alive so that I feel it in my gut. If we are all in this together, then we MUST save the planet from the global warming caused by ... US.

Do I believe changes in attitude will happen overnight? Of course not! But it's a start.