NetSquared’s Blogger Manifesto To Drive Social Change

My name is Alicja and I became a blogger for NetSquared around a year ago. One of the reasons for that was that I want(ed) to change the world. The other one was my belief in words. As we are about to publish NetSquared content guidelines, I’d like to tell you why I think that blogging plays important role when it comes to social change.

NetSquared is an online space for people passionate about tech and social change; in other words, a community blog.  We use it to share stories, inspire, and talk to each other – for the benefit of all possible readers. While certain amount of blog posts is written by staff, as a general rule we are all about the user generated content. Netsquared Local organizers and readers: this is your blog.

To make writing for our blog easier, we are currently working on a short list of content guidelines. We will publish them in May. For now I’d like to share a few things that I keep in mind while writing.

1) Make sure I have something to say

Write about things no one else wrote about. Shine light on the underrepresented or not widely outspoken.

2) Engage in the already existing conversations

Talk to people who already expressed their opinion on the topic. Curate content you came across elsewhere in an innovative way

3) Be honest

It is not only about the world as it is, but its perception. The perspective that shows through featured stories might be the one of an individual, or organization. Still: I am easier to understand if I have a point of view.

4) Make story impactful

If I want to drive change, I promote a cause. And if I want to make change, I should make it easy for people to help me.

 

To me writing (for) a blog is not easy. However, If you care, it can prove a powerful tool of change. It makes it social – easily available, and validated by community feedback. A good blog post can inspire, but might as well directly drive actions. What do you think? Let me know in the comments and share your own tips.