Hopes, Dreams and Blogs

One of the things I love about blogging is the number of people who use them to talk about the positive things in life and business. Blogs are being used to combat the rampant cynicism in our society, even if the authors themselves aren't consciously aiming to do that. Of course you have the ranters and complainers, and even the positive people rant and complain, but, finally it seems there is an effective way to feature the positive voice. The voice of hope and optimism.

This is a voice you rarely hear in established media. Open the newspaper, turn on the television, scan the headlines on news.google.com, and all you read, hear, see is doom and gloom. It weighs on the soul.

Then, head to the blogosphere. Just this morning, I read CEOs writing about "Restoring Trust to the Customer". including the following comment:

It seems to me that Blogs, particularly by the CEO, are a tool to begin to restore the hope and confidence that current and prospective customers need.

This is an excellent time for CEO's to blog with thier heart about their business and their industry. Those that do will be rewarded.

In the blogosphere you can read about "Big Bucks vs Balance" and the following comment:

Managers can -and should- be creators too. As you say, if they bring “their hearts and souls to their vocations” and manage others with good intent, they will be the best creators imaginable: those who enlarge the asset of human capital and individual self-worth.

You can read about Making a Difference and the following comment:

Without the sense of satisfaction that an overall purpose gives our activities there is that lost feeling that things don't fit together quite right and there isn't the passion to do our best. This is not to say that you cannot do well and be good; it does say to me that you will not have the edge necessary to be at your best and then feel like what you spend your time is worthwhile.

I read all of this in just two categories in my newsreader -- a small fraction of what I read every day. And I know there is more positive news in what I still have left to read after I finish this post.

In the blogosphere, people share their hopes and dreams. They give advice on every possible subject. They fact check others to keep them honest. They gather in loosely connected community networks, sharing information with new friends. They get together to meet to discuss business, to create new companies, to brainstorm about how to use blogging as a tool to make the world a better place. The vast majority of people do all of this for no monetary reward, but rather as a gift to others (even if they don't think of it that way). Blogging gives a voice to those who usually remain unheard (Iranian bloggers, anyone?).

There are folks who say that marketing will soon take over blogs and these independent, positive voices will be lost. I really don't think so. I think people are so hungry for positive news, so thirsty for meaning, that they will gravitate towards those positive voices and keep reading.

I also think that these loosly connected networks of people have great, if largely untapped, power. But that power is growing (Rathergate, Kryptonite as just two examples), and I suspect that it will be an unprecendent force for positive outcomes.

As authoritarianism gains in strength around the world, this loosely connected global network of people is the developing counterbalance. It is this that gives me hope.

Comments

[laurent bervas]

merci (I'm already rewarded :)

Désolé de ne pas te voir le 14 octobre - je serais à pékin (china is on my agenda ;)