My early travels in the blogosphere

Having just read a fascinating blog at Global Voices about the recent elections in Bolivia, I was initially struck by what a fascinating and wonderful site that is; that someone in Maine can within a click or two of a mouse be essentially transported to another part of the world, learning about that area through the eyes of someone who lives there and lives what they're writing about. On the front page of that site today you're within a click of learning about refugees in Kazakhstan or monsoons in India...again, from people who are there, people like us.
Soon thereafter, it occurred to me how much I've gotten out of blogging and reading blogs in just a short time. It is a place, the blogosphere, where you can write about what interests you; and there are people who will read it who are as interested in it as you. It is a very good tool as well to hone your writing skills and bring out the creativity even in someone with very little. Maybe this endeavor will lead to work in a field I'm finding I should have pursued years ago. (I still need a job!)
I've had a similar but narrower experience with the internet, as I wrote about recently in All Things Zebster about my 10 year relationship with Nascar friends I've made on message boards.
But this is much larger. I've started to make some new friends like Robbie and Ingrid; I've found a community of like-minded political independents, such as Nancy The Hankster. I have been in touch with some of them and will soon hopefully meet someone here in Maine who is active in independent politics through the Committee for a Unified Independent Party. So that's very exciting. I've started a blog with my brother, my cousin and a friend where we talk about our beloved Red Sox at BoSox Tavern. As my map shows, I've had people "visit" from many parts of the world. And I've found some very clever and interesting blogs, such as Useless Advice From Useless Men.
I've learned much about myself, the world and the people in it in a relatively short period of time. I highly recommend it. The more that people in this world learn about each other and the world they live in, the greater the likelihood we'll someday learn to get along. The smilie's for you, Dog!

Bolivia Kazakhstan India blogosphere blogging friends writing Maine