Burkean Reflections has an interesting post about the power of bloggers. I tend to agree. It is a mistake to think that you cannot influence anyone else or that the strength of your words ends at the bottom of your monitor.
You cannot know just how far your post may go. A simple Google search can lead to so many places and opportunities.
What do you think? Can you really influence someone else? Or is that just wishful thinking.
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Well, when I got put off by these people’s attitude:
http://jacobdajew.blogspot.com/2007/09/open-letter-to-horrible-management-of.html
I felt that I had a voice, a power to strike back and make myself heard!
SS,
It sounds like you have gotten something special out of blogging.
LT,
Sometimes the small victories are the most important.
SD,
That is worthwhile. Not easily done.
Influence, I don’t know. Amuse, yes.
It might be a little thing, but I once got the NY Times to make a correction.
I feel that 90% of the time, people are too stubborn and convinced of their certitude to consider anything they disagree with. People generally tend to gravitate towards blogs they agree with – blogs that resonate with them – and steer clear of the ones they disagree with. Or else they specifically go to blogs they disagree with so they can heckle via comments.
But once in a while, rarely, people are forced to go beyond the black-and-white, step outside their comfort zone, and see things from a different angle. Maybe a blogger you usually agree with posted a thought that at first you thought was very wrong, but because you respect them you considered it and began to see the other side. Or perhaps you started heckling, and someone raised counterpoints, and a civil discussion broke out. Those times are far less common than they should be… but when they happen, minds are opened, minds are changed.
In those times, bloggers and commenters can influence others (not always for the better, though)… and thus, change make a real difference.
Frankly, I have no idea whether I’ve influenced anyone else, but I know that other bloggers have influenced me. I’ve finally put my money where my mouth is, after years of asking why women without children or beyond their childrearing years should be exempt from praying three times a day, and started praying three times a day myself. It seemed hypocritical not to do so, especially knowing that others, mostly fellow and sister bloggers, were reading my blogged complaints.
So now, I’m praying three times a day, at least between illnesses.
Ms. Topping-off-bronchitis-with-the-flu :(.