Web 2.0: Education to Transform and Transgress 2013 VOF Week 1

Web 2.0 is more than software, it is more than technology. Web 2.0 is a tool for social change and social justice. Web 2.0 is a vehicle for transformation of self into community. This Web 2.0 vehicle is fast as a speeding bullet, like a lightning bolt… it strikes with force and fire! In a flash, a click of a computer key - words appear on a screen within seconds…enlightening the reader with a perspective that comes from deep reflection and personal experience of the author. This blog, supported by World Pulse Magazine and their 2013 Voices of the Future journalism training, is written to inspire you, your friends, your family, your community into action.

Education is key! It is greatly enhanced with the utilization of Web 2.0 with its digital applications. These tools include Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and video sharing sites like YouTube, to name some of my favorites. Of course there are a multitude of other wonderful and interactive tools such as RSS feeds, news sites, games, instant messaging, search engines such as Google, etc.

Sharing words expedites education by offering participatory and engaging dialogue between people who have a self-identified common interest. My own ongoing education has provided a divine influence on my personal and midlife transition to my real self. This transition allows me room to share words and ideas on the path to transgress social and cultural cues about who I am while transforming those cues. I desire to bring others on this journey with me. Web 2.0 makes this possible for us!

Transformation is often depicted by a butterfly which is a cross cultural symbol for change, new beginnings, and growth. Therefore, I choose this powerfully strategic and significant symbol to illustrate my circuitous loop of life. I choose the butterfly.

What better way to manifest resistance to current world issues than using the symbol of the butterfly? With the assistance of Web 2.0 tools, what better way to transgress patriarchal and despotic attitudes than using the symbol of the butterfly? We can call our resistance “The Butterflies’ Manifesto” with the hope of encouraging all peoples to participate in their own transformation and transgression! While flying free as butterflies, we can demonstrate honor and respect for the right of each human to govern self in accordance with their culture, traditions, and lifestyle. We may also recognize the power in and the right of all people to determine their own destiny, no matter cultural and societal norms and expectations. To this end, let’s put Web 2.0 to great use, to educate and benefit our sisters and brothers, to galvanize us all…let’s transform and transgress into ACTION on a global level and produce far reaching worldwide social change!