I Heart Blogs

A non-Ethiopia related post:

Am getting deeper and deeper in the world of blogging. And it's terrific. I joined Technorati the other day, for my CPAR blog, and within one day had four comments from strangers- certainly a first in my online presence. I've also been reading a lot about making money from blogging, and that's the next step. It's hard to imagine the utility of blogs when you have a small audience (mostly your mother and your boyfriend), but I'm determined to use this medium as a way to engage others in development issues. If anyone has any suggestions for me in my efforts to improve, scale up and publicize my two blogs (this one and http://www.cpar-ethiopia.blogspot.com) please let me know!

Kate

blog introspective

Just read Meryl Evans' article on Five Quick Tips to Building a Better Blog. According to Meryl, there are certain ways to pass the "in the blink of an eye" test, which is usually how long people give to a blog before deciding whether to stay or move on. It's safe to say that I don't pass. But, it's exciting to read about this BLOG WORLD that I occasionally dabble in. And here is the big news: I think I will be increasing my dabble in the next few months. I am working with Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) who I will work for in Ethiopia to create a blog hosted on their Canadian website to be used to increase the dialogue on development, and try out a new angle for gathering and maintaining donors. So, I am busy at the moment doing blogging research in order to maximize the reach and quality of the blog.

In addition, I intend to upgrade this blog. Thanks to some mentorship from Dev at DreamNow, I have been giving a lot of thought to active creation of my future. The result requires some self marketing. Since my career goals don't fit into a tried-and-true job box, I am working on a website that will act as a business card extension, helping people I meet to really understand my professional intentions. I plan to link this blog, with a new face, and implement Meryl's five tips...and a few others.

Stay tuned!

Fun is Paramount

I always get an icky feeling when I go into mega movie theatres like the Paramount. For a while I thought it was the people, until I realized that I’m mostly fine with crowds in other situations. Then I thought maybe it was the glossy perfection of the surroundings, contrary to my current obsession with “urban derelict”. But today I read an article that helped me to better articulate my concerns in its discussion of media conglomerates. Current media market trends are encouraging the concentration of media. Take for example, AOL Time Warner. That used to be three companies (and more), and they’re now all led by one boss (and one mindset). This raises some concerns. For me, it’s primarily the streamlining of media content- the diversity decreases and the quality of journalism becomes questionable. This is increased by the location of media directors on the boards of other companies, such as pharmaceuticals and oil companies. The result is media censorship. For example, if Disney is involved in both manufacture in Bangladesh and owns ABC, the likelihood that you’re going to see a story on sweatshop labour on the ABC newsreport is unlikely. So, important issues are not getting covered in the mainstream media.

Further, and I think this is what prompts my negative emotional reaction to places like the Paramount, the incredible skills of media conglomerates to cross promote and cross sell (like the advertisements for the Pussycat Dolls at the movie theatre) can dilute influences from other places, such as families, schools, and other sources that are grounded in real-life experience.

It bothers me to think that a) we’re not getting all the information b) while some of us may be getting the information, not everyone is, and without everyone getting it, how is change going to happen and c) that my kids one day might actually think that “Fun is Paramount” and not know where else to get their knowledge and/or kicks from.

View the article here:
http://www.globalissues.org/HumanRights/Media/Corporations/Owners/asp

hungry for communication

I'm so connected it scares me sometimes. I am currently sitting in the pub, having a beer and msning with my mother. Ingo's on the phone with me, and I'm expecting an email. And as soon as I get off the phone, I need to send you a text message. This is ridiculous. And I'm not even that high tech. Wait for the blackberry...

Development and the Media

I have just discovered podcasting. I listen to the BBC all the time at home, but now I can listen to their best of while in transit. None of this having to listen to music anymore! The podcasts that are currently eagerly awaiting transfer from iBook to iPod are the documentary "Return to Sarajevo" (looking back at the wartorn country years later, with a specific focus on a set of people that they interviewed soon after the conflict) and the personal journalistic reflection of the day.

Especially lately I've been taken by the development relevance of all current events. Even the newspaper articles or radio broadcasts that don't deal specifically with issues of basic needs, humanitarian disaster, poverty, or health and environmental crises. Even the articles that seem to have nothing to do with the third world. For some reason, everything that is going on in the world is all relevant to the distorted wealth and power gradient of the world which is the incentive for development. Is it just that the world is going through a development phase? In a positive light, one could think that the world has become so global that the issues of other countries and foreign individuals are finally becoming important to the average Canadian citizen in a way that they have not in the past. In a more pessamistic view, one could say that global issues, and more specifically Canada's involvement in engaging with and manipulating global issues, are currently trendy, and thus the media frames most stories in that light. Perhaps it is just my academically aquired development coloured glasses.

wireless gratitude

OH! The thrill of choosing my physical computing space, unrestricted by wires or even doors, ceilings and walls. Thank you, University and other unsuspecting internet purchasers, for providing me with unlimited and magnificent access. Thank you mac for introducing me to the bright white iworld.

Yes or No?

I find myself in a slightly paradoxical state, unable to find the answers to my questions. I know that it has been discussed before, but as usual, only when it relates to me do I really start to contemplate it. Even though we live in a knowledge rich, info-at-our-fingertips type of society, it is still a seemingly endless quest to find what information I am looking for. For example, I am trying to plan my imminent reading week trip to Jamaica, and am concerned primarily about two things: transportation and accommodation. So, I look at the internet, I read travel books, I talk to my Jamaican friends Traci and Alex. All I was is for someone to tell me, “this is the best and cheapest place to stay, this is how much it costs, and this is how you reserve.” Instead I get, “you could stay here or here or here”, or even worse, “they said you should stay there? No, you should…”. There is simply too much information to get through, or not a specific enough answer to your specific question.

Even with this perceived deficiency of information, everything you could ever want to know is still out there. My friend Ayal said to me once after I told him I wanted to revolutionize development, that there was no way either of us, no matter how creative and innovative we both are, are going to come up with something new. It is as though the creation of ideas is at a limit, and what is thought of now is simply a progression or adaptation of something that has already been thought. I mean, who the hell is going to invent a new political ideology? Or create a new colour? [watch me eat my words in the future].

At the same time though, epiphany and eureka moments still prevail when you look at knowledge, ideas and information in relation to yourself. Each time an idea is integrated, or you gain further insight, you can feel the satisfaction of making the world a better place, if only because you have that much of a greater understanding. And so, I will continue to ask specific questions, even if it takes me longer than desired to find the answer, and I will continue to feel self satisfaction when I think of something potentially earth shatteringly original, moments before I read it three paragraphs further in the article I’m reading. And I will continue believing that reality is created only in relation to the individual.

GP

And finally, the last of us has been converted. Kathryn. Hallelujah for more arbitrary opinions and incomplete thoughts, documented via insufficient use of the English language. Perhaps we can only express ourselves if we spend the big bucks?

As I watched the latest mainstream yay left propaganda (The Corporation) tonight, I couldn't help but wonder, how much did they spend on this film to get this message across? It was so glossy, undoubtedly calling on the manipulative media tactics that they spent considerable screen time trying to discredit. Does it really take that much money to say what you mean? People take you seriously if you put enough material together in witty enough ways, and pay enough copyright fees to have certain identifiable images such as Tiananmen Square in your production. They take you seriously when you shed your dreads and look classy in black, but write you off if you wear shredded mittens and hooded sweatshirts. Since when does a voice have to have an image? Am I any better in my dislike for alternative media and badly colour coordinated websites? It has to be beautiful for me to pay attention.

I constantly justify my habits of consumption through consideration of their contribution to my overall happiness, and my desire for ownership of beauty. I buy Dove (by unilever) because it looks nice. Such chic packaging. I smoked cigarettes (and don't laugh) in part because of their pristine and streamlined appearance. Telling myself it's okay to do things because they make me happy falls through every once in a while. And so, I haven't smoked a cigarette in a week (though their unique beauty calls to me every half hour!).

My acceptance of the status quo falters, more often lately and my perceptions of life occasionally expand beyond how it relates to me. In my indecision towards what is right and what is wrong, I can't say that it's okay to sit on the fence. I want to find a battle and fight it, which is why I joined the IDS program in the first place. But how do I know what battle to fight? What if I fight the wrong battle and win? What if I fight the right battle and lose?

This theme comes up over and over again, preventing me from taking actions. I see people around me so confident in their beliefs that they can chain themselves to an oil pump, risking the loss of their head!!! I am baffled by their confidences. Perhaps I should just read one side of the literature and confince myself of something sufficiently to try to do something about it. Or I could wait as I am for the idea that will revolutionize the world.

I am anxious to take action, and anxious that if I do, it won't be good enough. But seriously, what am I waiting for?