Moving from the grassroots up.

• Just as words hold no color, as did big media in the mid 1980’s. On the color palette of journalism there was very little room for ethnic publications and broadcasters in the realm of popular media. While thinking about the article, “From Tom Paine to Blogs and Beyond” the importance of grassroots activism and its role in literally making things happen from the ground up by the people and for the people, it’s interesting to contextualize the world as we live in today and be able to see the importance that one’s opinion and voice can have on a generation. Through grassroots activism, big media began to ethnically diversify. A group of people came together and basically said this is what we demand, and this is what we will achieve. Because we will use our words to educate and influence others to support the cause. It wasn’t based on the political powers of our government, it was simply the political will power of our citizens. Because in the scope of things, the biggest powers behind movements are people talking to people. Educating one another and using word of mouth to get to the nitty gritty details in a more simplistic way than may be presented to us by political authorities. So, just as grassroots activists stand for our wants and needs in our tangible societies, as do blogs in the realm of our virtual societies. Although information technologies such as literature, newspapers, radio, and television have been a major source of information gathering and a space for people to critique and form opinions about the world, blogs have captured it in a way that these sources may not have. Blogs have created a space for citizens to respond in a very immediate way. We now have the freedom to read, analyze, and respond all in one sitting. We can get our information quicker, form our opinions faster, and connect with people who agree and even disagree with us. And so, in partaking in creating social spaces such as blogs we are now be the grassroots activists of the web. Let us all have our voices be heard in a meaningful way and be a positive contribution to the world in which we live in.

·     What direct effect will blogs bring to popular media such as magazines and newspapers that we have yet to see?

·     What role does grassroots activism have in the current presidential election?