L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.

From Gladwell's article "Small Change" to Zeinobia's blog on her own personal journey living in Egypt, the internet has taken up activism as another part of the mainstream media. Is this surprising? Of course not. Human curiosity is what drives this planet, so of course we all want to know what is going on around the world at any given moment (big or small) and thanks to the internet, we now have that.

Is Zeinobia doing something ground-breaking or surprising with her blog? I don't think so. Maybe my view of what is usually posted online has been tainted - I don't think there's a single thing I haven't seen through blogs or websites these days. She is simply writing and posting about what she sees, what her views are, and standing for what she believes in. Most people, I feel, have moved towards this on the internet these days. As far as what I have seen from her site, she does not go out and shoot the videos herself - she is merely a reporter, collecting the images, videos, and her personal experience on particular situations and expressing them through her blog. I found her writings interesting and to be very eye-opening, since the world news we get here is still generally specified to "Western" culture and the American way of editing everything. However, as someone who watched the uprising in Egypt on youtube, I can't really say she is doing much different than other people around the world who are in the same state of turmoil - all wanting to achieve the goal of a better community to live in.

The internet should be used for activism, as Gladwell even stated, but it is still just a way of interacting indirectly with a situation. True activism is still achieved when the opinions are expressed to the direct source, face to face. I can write all I want online about how I disapprove of the way mentally ill people are treated, how I am all for the banning of assault weapons, and on and on I can go, but unless I actually carry out an action in the real world, all I'm really talking to is a computer screen (plus possibly a select few out in the interweb). The computer screen creates a safety net that allows the usual laid back inactive type to rant and rave all they want, without actually voicing their opinion where it matters.

I'm not saying that Zeinobia's blog is not doing some good. These days, having a basic online journal is pretty normal, but I agree with Gladwell.. unless you're up and partaking it what you stand for, being only in front of a computer screen doesn't really cut it.