A lot of behind the scenes discussion has permutated from this little workshop I'm organising for INFOSOC on behalf of the PROMUDA ECM Select Committee. One area I'd like to bring to public attention is the need for diversity in the blogosphere.
As we all may now, but may not accept, is that there is still a huge disparity between the genders in terms of online participation. I rationalised it as an aversion to all things 'technical' on the part of the fairer sex, with some exceptions, of course.
My personal concern is that distributed nano-publishing, or better known as blogging, truly has made the whole process much simpler. Simple enough for a code-allergic person like myself to overcome (e.g. in the case of Blogger). Hence theoretically, closing the gender gap in online participation has all of a sudden become much easier.
But why am I still searching for that special someone to speak at INFOSOC on behalf of my gender?
Some will say that it doesn't matter what you are when it comes to blogging, because we all take on a different persona anyway. I say that there is a huge difference, and it does result in profound differences in content and organisation of ideas.
In fact, the online medium is good at bringing forth the patterns that makes us distinctly male or female. This distinction has its anthropological and cultural value. It leaves a mark in terms of what the world is saying to the world.
When the blogosphere is populated predominantly by men, punditry, as so aptly put by Oon Yeoh, becomes the norm for present blogging formats. Topics almost consistently hover over politics and technology. Will this be a threat to the 'genetic' diversity of the online world?
Since INFOSOC will address youth practitioners from all over the world, this workshop can have some influence over what shape blogging of the future will take. Technically, this phenomenon is still in its developmental phase, with the technologists pushing the limits of what can be delivered over the media everyday. The task for future online generations who will inherit the technical standards and infrastructure is to shape it in a way that allows diversity to thrive.
Online participation translates to the building of a knowledge society, something that Malaysia wants desperately to be part of. With gender imbalances still prevalent across many key areas of our lives, now that we have a relatively new platform to interact in - why not start with the perfect society in mind?
Side note:
1. Rebecca Blood
2. Meg Hourian
3. Web gives a voice to Iranian Women
4. Virginia Postrel
5. Telling All Online: It's a Man's World, (Isn't It?)
I think you're a very good candidate for the role of female speaker that you're searching for, Najah... :) Because I think you have very good knowledge in nano-publishing, plus you have a very good grasp of English. *kembang la tu* =)
Posted by: sarini at 2003年05月04日 13:20