Green ideas: Making the best of blogs
The topic of global warming reached everyone’s consciousness because
of a documentary called “An Inconvenient Truth.” Earth Hour started
with just one city and a couple of million households and businesses
turning off their lights for an hour.
Ideas have been proven to grow exponentially with the right amount
of passionate people who can implement it well. So why not experiment
with that premise and use IT tools as vehicles?
One of the prevalent tools among the youth is web logs or blogs
because of its easy access (anytime and anywhere they can be online),
ease of use (what-you-see-is-what-you-get blogging editors provided by
websites like Blogger or Live Journal)
and less censorship when it comes to self-expression. Basically, they
can write about whatever they want, and even throw in some videos,
links and podcasts along the way.
Blogs can be great environmental project for your students. Online,
the topic of sustainability has been increasing in buzz or interest,
even by 50% in 2007. This is because people have taken to using the
Internet to air their concern and take personal action like recycling,
carpooling, avoiding excess packaging.
Nielsen ranks the following topics as having the most buzz among sustainability bloggers for the entire year of 2007:
- Renewable energy/alternative fuels
- Resource conservation
- Pollution
- Toxins
Websites like Discovery Channel’s TreeHugger and Worldchanging
have a lot of messages or posts related to sustainability.
Greenwashing, or reporting companies believed to not practice sound
environmental policies, became popular as well.
Because blogs are increasingly becoming popular, here are some ideas
to maximize and generate even more interest from the community:
Blog Day
By declaring a specific date as Blog Day, thousands of bloggers can
publish posts about the environment, simultaneously. In doing so,
whoever is reading those blogs can converse about the environment,
learn about the ways to save it, and help add momentum to the cause.
This is especially interesting because each blogger can write about
the environment from his or her own perspective. These unique takes on
global issues can now be read in all its multi-faceted glory.
A blog on art or design can analyze the effectiveness of how an
environmental campaign or advertisement sends a message. Technology
blogs can focus on “green” gadgets and innovations, while a political
blog can write about the environmental agenda of political candidates.
Blog Action Center
Social media like blogs, podcasts, and networking sites can do a lot
to benefit a specific cause. Greenpeace, for example, rounds up blogs
in a Blog Action Center meant for bloggers and online journalists.
In that site, details of the latest videos and photos the
environmental group has can be linked or embedded into various blogs,
and their authors can comment about them.
The first thing to do would be register the blog. What transpires next is access to environmental news and updates from all corners of the globe.
Sources:
“Blog Action Day 2008.” Retrieved March 9, 2009 from http://blogactionday.org/home
“Bloggers' Centre.” Retrieved March 1, 2009 from
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/press-bloggers
“Environmental Action, Sustainability Hot Blogosphere Topics.” Retrieved March 1, 2009 from
http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/environmental-action-sustainability-hot-blogosphere-topics-4065/
(Published 23 March 2009, Smart Communications, Inc.)
