  In my corner of the world, not many people know about blogging. I'm a poster child of sorts because I end up explaining it and showing it off everywhere I go. I'm so excited about this new movement, a new medium through which our little voices get a tiny bit bigger.
So many forces make them smaller: corporations, lobby-based politics, garage lifestyles. Blogging helps that, just a little. Clearly, others agree. Blogger alone has well over a million accounts, and it's only one of hundreds of blog tools online. I've heard Iran has over ten thousand blogs, and I imagine that, since China has more people online than the US has period, there must be at least a million bloggers in China. I love to think of the personal empowerment and social change blogging is bringing about in our world. This little populist force is also serving our very personal need for community. I've heard some people compare blogging to a message in a bottle.
That analogy doesn't fit for me at all. When I think of a message in a bottle, my mind brings up Castaway , which denotes desperation and hopelessness. That's not blogging. People are out there, hungry for your words. Blogging is far closer to throwing seeds in the wind. You don't know just where your words are going, but there's a good chance that they'll sprout wherever they land.
And those sprouted seeds will be edifying fellowship for someone. If you're really lucky, that someone will comment you and your words will bring you edifying fellowship, as well. I'm proud to say that, through this blog and my urlLink SprogBlog , I've played a significant inspiring force toward the creation of five blogs. First, was urlLink Lisa W. , who was eager to talk about her new adventures in motherhood and share in the blogosphere's fellowship because her husband's military position keeps her far from friends and family. Next was Luca, who, despite his very technical position as an engineer in the space industry, is quite eloquent, and needed an outlet for his life experiences. Then came my wonderful husband, urlLink John , who was tired of not being able to find any blogs dedicated to space so decided to start his own. Of course, anyone who frequents John's blog by now knows how infrequently he finds time to post. It seems a career dedicated to space doesn't leave much room for anything else dedicated to space!
I think I actually put more space articles up on my blog than he does on his! Two weeks ago, my good friend urlLink Neal restarted his blog, abandoned since 1995! Mr. Locke's Classroom is host to urlLink one half of a heated debate regarding urlLink politics and urlLink disillusionment , and the judges are Neal's (Mr. Locke's) high school students (who, btw, can urlLink now blog for extra credit). This brings me to number five, my proudest and most intimate bloggie. For over a year, I've encouraged this person to get off her duff and start blogging.
She's a great writer, but all her creative energies go to the extemporaneous speaking she does every week for her job. She needs to write more. Finally, yesterday, she did. Bloggers, meet my mom: urlLink Pastor Ellen ! 
