What most excites me about the Web 2.0

What most excites me about Web 2.0 is how I can share the perspectives of people from miles away, get an insight into how their worlds work and see what I can do, from my privileged position, to make other people sit up and take notice. I read somewhere that the real problem nowadays is not lack of information about what is happening in other parts of the world. It may even be that we have too much information and have become hardened and indifferent to news of catastrophes and tragedies in other parts of the world. What is the real danger nowadays is the lack of enthusiasm, the general apathy that engulfs a lot of people, paralysing them in selfish inactivity. The worst thing that can happen on the Web 2.0 is that I bare my soul and receive no reply, no feedback, no help, no sympathy, nothing. The Web is exciting because it’s new technology and it allows for fast inter-exchanges about things that have remained the same over centuries with no questioning of whether the bases upon which they are mounted are valid or require serious and critical review.

The Web 2.0 gives women a voice: a voice to demand education, the right to sexual and reproductive health, the right to own land, the right to be a full citizen. The word ‘evolution’ should be ‘Eveolution’ because without women’s leadership, nothing new will happen, only the same old story of wars and suffering, of strife over property and territorial rights. We should learn from History with the broad overview that the Web gives of all parts of the world, to write ‘Herstory’, the story of a world which would not have forged forward had it not been for the constructive nature of women, and their capacity for dialogue and empathy. We have a chance to change things, change perspectives and we should use it.

The Web 2.0 has changed my life. Lack of time is the usual excuse for any working woman to salve her conscience for not keeping in touch with old friends far away (or even near), and it is true that our time-compressed lives in developed countries often lead us to compressed vision of how fortunate we are. Although the adage says ‘Charity begins at home’ and we should always be on the lookout for opportunities to help nearest and dearest and those in our immediate vicinity, as life advances (as it has in my case) and the calls on us as mothers and guides become less time-exhausting, the Web allows us to reach out and ‘guide’ other people by raising their awareness to the needs of Africa, India and Pakistan, for example, and what we can do, from our corner of the world, to help. It allows us to keep our perspectives balanced and to understand that the world is not full of mindless consuming ‘Barbies’ but that there is a Whole World of Wonderful Women out there who can help us win the battle against hate, racism and greed.