Girl About World
Like many young college students planning their careers, I asked myself the obvious question: "Where's the opportunity? My first interaction with Mosaic quickly provided the answer. With all the ambition of a young girl who was always told she could be anything she wanted to be I dove into a career on the World Wide Web. I've had wonderful opportunities to participate in the growth of a new frontier the virtual empire of the mind to which Churchill so presciently referred. I consider myself fortunate to have entered into the work force during this era of electronic colonialism.
Fifteen years and a dot com crash later, I'm now asking myself, "Where is the opportunity to make this world a better place?" Luckily, I'm discovering the same answer. Never before has it been so easy to establish strong communities of like minded individuals from disparate parts of the globe. Web 2.0 allows anyone to become a broadcaster or a publisher or an organizer and provides an unprecedented opportunity for people to become the change that they want to see in the world on the World Wide Web.
Over the next year I plan to spotlight those who have harnessed the tools and technologies of the Web to advocate, educate, inspire, raise awareness, support, connect, and change lives. I'll bring you examples of creative ways people are mobilizing awareness online. Some will be individuals, like Spoko, the blogger who brought the racism of a hate radio station in San Francisco to the attention of some of their biggest corporate sponsors; others will be non-profit organizations like U.S. based Kiva (http://www.kiva.org/) that allows anyone with internet access and a credit card to lend money directly to a farmer in Uganda who needs to buy livestock, or a refugee in Gaza hoping to set up a telephone repair shop.
These are individuals, companies, and organizations that have leveraged the power of the Web to engage hearts and minds and make a difference in this wired and interconnected world. Never before have individuals of deep conviction, common passion, and like minds been so poised to unleash their collective energies to effect positive change. If you know of a site that is working to make this world a better place, I would love to hear about it! I look forward to learning more with all of you!
