Wednesday, January 17, 2007

On Baha'i Blogging: Facilitating the formation of communities

"Blogging," uploaded on January 14, 2007
by obLiterate on flickr
Rick explains why reading blogs of other Baha'is matters to him. -gw

Not only is the Baha'i content interesting for other Baha'is, the information he gives about where he lives helps me to gain a broader outlook on issues that affect people in other parts of the world. I believe that helps me be a better person.

Rick, "Another Baha'i Blogger," Not Buggin's Here
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Stillness,"Uploaded on January 11, 2006 by shapeshift on flickr
Here are the first two paragraphs of a remarkable paper entitled "Baha'i Participation on the Internet" that was made available at the recent Orlando Baha'i SED conference. -gw

The Internet is one of this age’s most revolutionary and transformative technological developments. New terms, such as wikis, RSS, podcasting, blogs, FOAF, VoIP, and folksonomies, while virtually unknown a few years ago, are rapidly becoming common currency among millions of Internet users. These new forms of communication technology represent major social trends that offer new ways of sharing Bahá’í perspectives, precepts, and experiences.

As existing institutions and social practices disintegrate around us, the Bahá’í teachings indicate that there is a parallel process at work of creating new structures and tools that enable unifying patterns of collective life to emerge. The Internet appears to be playing a catalytic role in breaking down longstanding geographic, cultural and institutional barriers while facilitating the formation of new communities of interaction that are increasingly global in nature.

2 comments:

Praveen said...

Hi George

This is remarkable as i myself do a bahai Inspired podcast at beautufulworld.podomatic.com , It would be great if if could get a copy of the Paper on 'Bahai Participation on the internet' if available in soft copy.Thanks.

Praveen

Anonymous said...

Praveen, if you email me, I'd be happy to send the paper to you.