A Response to An Open Letter to the Blogosphere

Michael Mistretta:

We have the privilege of living in one of the greatest times in human history. No longer does it take millions of dollars to make our voices heard around the world. With the advent of the Internet, people are now connected in ways they never could have been before.

I couldn’t agree more.

The reality that you or I can pound away on our keyboards, click a mouse button and instantly someone in Russia, London, Brazil or anywhere else can read what we have to say is amazing.

Michael makes another great point about the power of the personal weblog: that there is a direct line of communication between the writer and the reader. The thoughts and words of great men and women can shift cultures.

This is exactly the same vein I have talked about on more than one occasion. It’s a plea to conciously push your writing, and to go beyond repetition and rhetoric. To open up a bit, and to truly invite people into something great – something beyond information.

The problem isn’t in the volume of new blogs being started every day. Blogging is a massive opportunity and people have all sorts of motives to jump in: personal, business, pleaser, whatever. The problem is the fear of man. That fear to be ourselves, to speak truthfully and honestly, to stand up for what we know to be right and true and beautiful and wonderful.

I may sound a bit “intense” but I know what I’m saying rings true for many of you. Not everyone cares about their weblog as a means to improve the lives of others, but some of us do. And we can start by using our words to speak (er, type…) life and truth.

A Response to An Open Letter to the Blogosphere