"Why Write A Book?"

I was reading a blog entry on the Beacon Broadside page in which the blogger explains why he's writing a book, despite the fact that the people the book would be aimed towards probably wouldn't read it, or wouldn't agree with it if they did. The author essentially claims that he does it first because he enjoys it, and secondly because it inspires reflection in people, which can then lead to personal change in them.

This struck a chord in me, because I see people asking what the point of blogging, or online protests, is. "You should be going out on the streets!" they say. "You can't do anything just sitting at home in front of a computer!"

I argue that you can. I've been on this site for 5 full competitions, plus the off-seasons between them. That amounts to a little more than 2 years. In that time, I have read of countless opinions on this site, many of which have inspired me to think about things differently than I had in the past. Of course, I came to the site in a state of flux already, but interactions with members here, and the friendships I have made, have influenced me personally a great deal. Several individuals could give their own stories to that effect.

But am I changing the world with my blogs? Probably not. But I don't write them for other people. Many of my blogs are just ways to compile information for my own benefit, or to work out problems I have, or have run into, so that I might know how to face them in the future. In that process, though, I reach hundreds of people. I'm certainly not the most popular blogger on the site, merely because I don't blog with much regularity, but I have longevity behind me. And some of my blogs strike chords with people; my blog on Krystallnacht, written just a couple months ago, has been read over a thousand times, as has my blog on dieting from 2007.

There's several 'pay it forward' ideas, sometimes called the Butterfly Effect--if a butterfly flaps its wings in one part of the world, it may change the course of a tornado in another part of the world. In terms of blogging, to educate one person is to educate dozens. If you can change the mind of one person, and that person goes on and changes the mind of two others, eventually your single action may result in a rally that prevents some law from being passed.

I don't think blogging should be the be-all and end-all of activism, by any means. But I also don't think blogging and other forms of online protests are bad ways of showing disapproval. Generations today thrive on technology, and so in some ways, it is much easier to reach individuals through these mediums than it is to reach them in physical protests or letters to the editor, or other forms of protest. While it certainly won't result in a law being stopped in and of itself, it's a good step in the process, and one I don't think should ever be overlooked.