Blogging empowers

I didn't realise blogging could be so powerful! It's become equivalent to writing a book, in terms of the impact it makes on people, maybe even stronger. It may not have as deep a penetration in India, yet, but in Cuba, it's become a very important tool to express freedom of speech and expression. 

She's the Cuban blogger, Yoani Maria Sanchez Cordero, who has been named by the International Press Institute as it's 60th World Press Freedom Hero. Her blog, Generation Y is her take on life in Cuba - from her opinion on Fidel Castro (that was even published in the Washington Post) to getting her son enrolled in a Cuban high school.

Print journalists in her country are not as free as she is on her blog. And they probably can never be, when it comes to freedom of speech. It's a country where suppression and authoritarian rule has been the norm. So, its interesting to note how technology in general, and blogging in particular, has come to the rescue of its people. It has helped them express their views against the men in power. She is believed to have a regular readership of over a million! She has faced repeated suppression by the Cuban authorities, but she continues to make her point via the blog. 

"If you are insulted by the mediocre, the opportunists, if you are slandered by the employees of the powerful but dying machinery, take it as a compliment," she says on her blog.    

This would not have been possible before the advent of blogging or before the internet was invented. So lets not underestimate the power of personal freedom or technology. Each one of us has a voice that can make an impact. And blogging definitely has a bright future! So come on guys, get started with yours.