The Beginning
This project is one that has been somewhat on the go for me since sometime in Summer 2002. That semester I did an independent study called Adolescent Sub-Culture Profile, which was the last of the requirements for my Bachelor of Arts in Youth Ministry degree.
For my Adolescent Sub-Culture profile, I decided to do something new, something that little (or no) research had been done on yet. I chose to study adolescents steeped in the somewhat new sub-culture of online journalling/weblogging/blogging. I was going to be a new kind of Patricia Hersch.
My independent study lasted the span of the semester (September to December), and during it I spent a lot of time seeking out and reading the blogs of adolescents online. Late in September I started my own blog which I called Mikao's World.
Mikao's World became the platform from which I reached out into the world of blogging adolescents. It didn't take long to realize that to have the right to be delving into a sub-culture, it's quite beneficial to be in and part of that sub-culture. Mikao's World gave me a basis and a platform from which to explore their world.
People love the interactive nature of blogging. It breeds and facilitates communication. Commenting back and forth. Tagboards. Emailing. Instant-messaging. I've done all of them with people I've "met" through blogging.
I've been able to develop relationships with people I would have never met any other way. I have friends with whom I talk to regularly via our blogs and emails and IM.
The number of bloggers is expanding. Adolescents and 20-somethings love this new fad. Is it just a fad? I don't know. Maybe. But while it's here, I think it has a tremendous potential for relational and incarnational ministry.
Getting online is easy. Starting a blog is easy. Maintaining it takes discipline and dedication. I am assuming however, and I know I'm correct, that most of the people, if not all, who are reading this, already have their own blog.
Developing relationships takes time. And discipline. And dedication.
This new project, of which this blog is a part of, stems from my early project. I want to encourage dialog on this topic of relational and incarnational ministry online via blogging.
I welcome your thoughts.
This project is one that has been somewhat on the go for me since sometime in Summer 2002. That semester I did an independent study called Adolescent Sub-Culture Profile, which was the last of the requirements for my Bachelor of Arts in Youth Ministry degree.
For my Adolescent Sub-Culture profile, I decided to do something new, something that little (or no) research had been done on yet. I chose to study adolescents steeped in the somewhat new sub-culture of online journalling/weblogging/blogging. I was going to be a new kind of Patricia Hersch.
My independent study lasted the span of the semester (September to December), and during it I spent a lot of time seeking out and reading the blogs of adolescents online. Late in September I started my own blog which I called Mikao's World.
Mikao's World became the platform from which I reached out into the world of blogging adolescents. It didn't take long to realize that to have the right to be delving into a sub-culture, it's quite beneficial to be in and part of that sub-culture. Mikao's World gave me a basis and a platform from which to explore their world.
People love the interactive nature of blogging. It breeds and facilitates communication. Commenting back and forth. Tagboards. Emailing. Instant-messaging. I've done all of them with people I've "met" through blogging.
I've been able to develop relationships with people I would have never met any other way. I have friends with whom I talk to regularly via our blogs and emails and IM.
The number of bloggers is expanding. Adolescents and 20-somethings love this new fad. Is it just a fad? I don't know. Maybe. But while it's here, I think it has a tremendous potential for relational and incarnational ministry.
Getting online is easy. Starting a blog is easy. Maintaining it takes discipline and dedication. I am assuming however, and I know I'm correct, that most of the people, if not all, who are reading this, already have their own blog.
Developing relationships takes time. And discipline. And dedication.
This new project, of which this blog is a part of, stems from my early project. I want to encourage dialog on this topic of relational and incarnational ministry online via blogging.
I welcome your thoughts.
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