Return of the Blog! (take 2!)

So,

Google now owns Blogger, which (I believe) is a wonderful thing. I love and appreciate Google and all associated acts. Due to my heavy usage of Google-related apps such as my Google homepage, gmail, my Google profile, and Google news, it is very easy for me to network my Blogger account with everything else.

This brings me to an interesting observation. Web 2.0 (the term given to the social-oriented aspect of the internet) has given everyone the opportunity to contribute to the world as a whole. What I see is the breaking down of borders and barriers; the world is slowly becoming one community of intelligent, interested people.

I think it is absolutely fantastic that a kid in Africa with access to a computer can uncover more information in a minute than a librarian at Oxford, and that a high school student in Mississippi can attain as great a readership (by way of blogging) as any of the large news syndicates. Isn't the world stunning? Right now, I have 400ish friends on Facebook, many of whom I haven't seen in years. When I go to college in the fall, I'll continue to keep track of all my high school friends, even though I'll never see some of them again.

What does all this mean for the average citizen? Of course it is an exciting time, and we can all benefit, but what do we need to do? How can we contribute, with few of us being programmers and computer experts? My idea is just to contribute: write a blog, tweet on Twitter, connect old friends with Facebook. The more people use these things, the more they'll grow and evolve.

Of course, that is just my opinion. Tell me what you think. Is this focus on a social internet a good thing, or does it detract from "real" life? Is there a way to contribute to this new world, or should we ignore it?

I welcome your thoughts.