12 April 2005
Let's get political
Lets get Political, political. I wanna get political. Let me hear your body talk, your body talk.
(Olivia Newton John)
It is hard for me to feel passion about political issues because I am pretty happy with my own life and do not encounter unpleasantries in my day to day activities. I guess I lead a passive, contented, sheltered life filled with the comforts of modern day living. What would I have to complain or protest about?
It sickens me to hear my own thoughts come out like this. I mean there is plenty to be upset about. Look at all the suffering in the world for one. There's the lack of clean drinking water in many countries causing malnutrition and disease. There's environmental issues regarding the phenominal amount of waste we create, as well as the massive amount of rainforests that get destroyed daily.
These global issues do have ramifications in my local area. I mean the amount of waste I create daily is probably comparible to every-one else's individual waste in Brisbane. If I can reduce my garbage by purchasing goods with less or no packaging, then so can every-one else. What I need to do is find a site where others are actively doing this and - spread the word to my audience...
... and here it is. .http://www.planetark.com/campaignspage.cfm/newsid/76/newsDate/9/story.htm
This is a start to my pollitical enquiries. These links I have provided are mostly of the Version2 internet strategies where the organization is producer centred rather than user centred. There is limited room for user feedback, and no room for publication. All of these sites provide factual information on the issues at hand, yet they also go further into providing stategies for action. For example there is a "good wood" guide on the rainforest site which informs buyers how to purchase wood products (if indeed a substitute material is not available) that are made from environmentally friendly timbers, and not tropical rainforest timber.
I tried to use the www.indymedia.org site as an example of a vesion 1. intercreative site. Although this site allows for greater user contibution to the published content, it did not allow me to search for my area of interest. The homesite's search engine didn't work, Oceana didn't have a search option, and Brisbane - well, they are going through some domestic troubles at the moment. Indymedia is a great place where people can engage with other people, about other people.
I myself am not a people person so ... this site is not so interesting for me. I would rather solve the worlds water shortage crisis. Olivia Lum has done excellent work in this field. She is a scientist rather than a political activist. She is more on par with my way of thinking on how to solve problems. Bearing this in mind however, there is always politics behind science, so it is not so simple to say one way will solve problems better than another.
What these political activist sites do allow for is personal discussion about private stories. Issues can be brought out into the open that may never have seen the light of day. That is, in the past, if television did not air a story then other people would not have been able to relate it to their own lives. Sites like indymedia allow personal concerns to become public affairs, open to debate. And as feminism proclaimed in the 1970's - The personal IS the political.
(Olivia Newton John)
It is hard for me to feel passion about political issues because I am pretty happy with my own life and do not encounter unpleasantries in my day to day activities. I guess I lead a passive, contented, sheltered life filled with the comforts of modern day living. What would I have to complain or protest about?
It sickens me to hear my own thoughts come out like this. I mean there is plenty to be upset about. Look at all the suffering in the world for one. There's the lack of clean drinking water in many countries causing malnutrition and disease. There's environmental issues regarding the phenominal amount of waste we create, as well as the massive amount of rainforests that get destroyed daily.
These global issues do have ramifications in my local area. I mean the amount of waste I create daily is probably comparible to every-one else's individual waste in Brisbane. If I can reduce my garbage by purchasing goods with less or no packaging, then so can every-one else. What I need to do is find a site where others are actively doing this and - spread the word to my audience...
... and here it is. .http://www.planetark.com/campaignspage.cfm/newsid/76/newsDate/9/story.htm
This is a start to my pollitical enquiries. These links I have provided are mostly of the Version2 internet strategies where the organization is producer centred rather than user centred. There is limited room for user feedback, and no room for publication. All of these sites provide factual information on the issues at hand, yet they also go further into providing stategies for action. For example there is a "good wood" guide on the rainforest site which informs buyers how to purchase wood products (if indeed a substitute material is not available) that are made from environmentally friendly timbers, and not tropical rainforest timber.
I tried to use the www.indymedia.org site as an example of a vesion 1. intercreative site. Although this site allows for greater user contibution to the published content, it did not allow me to search for my area of interest. The homesite's search engine didn't work, Oceana didn't have a search option, and Brisbane - well, they are going through some domestic troubles at the moment. Indymedia is a great place where people can engage with other people, about other people.
I myself am not a people person so ... this site is not so interesting for me. I would rather solve the worlds water shortage crisis. Olivia Lum has done excellent work in this field. She is a scientist rather than a political activist. She is more on par with my way of thinking on how to solve problems. Bearing this in mind however, there is always politics behind science, so it is not so simple to say one way will solve problems better than another.
What these political activist sites do allow for is personal discussion about private stories. Issues can be brought out into the open that may never have seen the light of day. That is, in the past, if television did not air a story then other people would not have been able to relate it to their own lives. Sites like indymedia allow personal concerns to become public affairs, open to debate. And as feminism proclaimed in the 1970's - The personal IS the political.
