You go girl!

Who says blogging is "old-hat" and passe? Not I. So, if you are ....

1. Feeling overwhelmed and resentful as you attempt to keep up with all your feeds and all the great content hidden in the corners of the blogosphere?

2. Ready to throw up your arms and give up?

3. Ruing the day this blogging stuff was ever invented?

Then make sure you read this story from the Christian Science Monitor on the power blogging brings to the women of Saudi Arabia. It will remind you of what fueled this blogging/user generated content phenomenon and the power self-expression and freedom can yield.

Unfortunately, many of the woman's sites are now being blocked by the conservative Saudi government. One woman named Jo has a blog entitled "Kingdom of Lunacy!" says:

"I've been blogging since April 2005. It's a way tovent out my frustrations and to write," said Jo, who asked only thather first name be used. "My family knows that I have a site, but theydon't have a concept of what blogging is."

I particularly love this post because it captures both life in Suadi Arabia and the beauty of blogging. Jo describes how she is driven to a university ceremony, can't be in the same room with the men and meets another woman who turns out to be a fellow anonymous blogger. Her blog is a saga. Her blog and SaudiEve's is often shut down by the government and Jo now has to sneak out of her house to blog to avoid the wrath of her family.

Call me an idealist (yes, there are a few of us New Yorkers who can claim this trait), but every now and then a story pops up that reminds me of how lucky I am to live in a country with freedom of speech and how proud I am to be involved in a technology that can actually bring about some real change.

To all the women bloggers in Saudi Arabia - I have just one thing to say - You go girls!

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