This is everything I've been getting excited about about the Web for years now and no one else in my circle o'friends seems to notice or care about.
Don't get me wrong, they catch up eventually but they all seem happy to leave the internet shaped as it is and not shape it theirselves.
Photos, videos, blogs... it's our space to do with what we please. Opinion, memories, information! It is all here for us to sculpt in the way we see fit.
Tagging is a huge part of the web right now and I know many people who tag in their personal spaces (email, organising documents on their own computer) but few who tag socially (Flickr, Last.fm, del.icio,us), which is odd because it isn't hard at all.
I've recently started on a new project, I'm trying to update and expand the Saito City Wikipedia entry. Saito is the name of the place I live, it is a city in the prefecture of Japan. The English language version of this page is non-exsistent, but its growing slowly with help from myself and Amanda.
Here is a link to the Saito City Wikipedia entry, bookmark it and you can see the progress we make.
This is the letter I sent to the Ken-List (Yahoo Group for foreigners in Miyazaki):
Hi Ken,
You may be aware that interviews are taking place now for the new JETs, those lucky few who will be boarding a plane in the summer and finding their
selves in Miyazakian paradise.
I don’t know about you knowledgeable fellows but when I was told that I would be going to Saito, Miyazaki I responded with a dumbfounded “huh?” which was quickly disguised as an inquisitive “Huuuuuhhhh?” to mask my ignorance. I then sprinted to the nearest Library and went straight to Wikipedia, because if Wikipedia doesn’t know, no one does.
It turned out that there really isn’t much about Saito on Wikipedia in English, which worried me before I arrived but worries me even more now I’m here because there is so much going on here you could dwarf Wiki-entries for New York and Gotham City combined!
Before I get ahead of myself let me explain what a Wiki is. It's a basically a web-page which can be altered by anyone who has access to it. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that anyone can access and alter.
I think that we, the English/French/German speaking members of the Ken should try and improve the state of the Miyazaki Wiki pages, and here are my reasons.
1. In doing so we will discover and understand more about the places we live.
2. In doing so we will be giving back to the community we are in by teaching people around the world about our towns and villages.
3. We will help any prospective JETs better understand Miyazaki and all the area’s in Miyazaki.
4. Also this will prove that we are more knowledgeable about our prefecture and our individual communities that other JETs.
5. It is also an opportunity to show Miyazaki in a positive and not just as the place that has Avian Flu and bent governors.
Also, on a related note, please add to MSG with any recommendations for doctors, hair dressers, barbers, restaurants, things to do and places to see.
And... there is now a new upload category on MSG called Japanese Self Study Material, where you can share any study materials, tips, vocab lists, etc.
OK, hope you're all well.Take care,
Stephen Alexander Walrond
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