Monday, February 9, 2009

Starting a Blog: Deep Interests

For a senior in college with no clear career aspirations, and school concentrations that point in different directions, starting a blog aimed toward professionalism and scholarly integrity is a most challenging endeavor. My deepest interests, however, have guided me to a blog focused on human rights in our world, and my academic interest in world religions will inform this blog’s examinations on social action movements taking place around the globe. In order to maintain a blog that may be held to the highest standards of website evaluation, I have searched the web for related sites of the utmost professional and academic integrity; on the right side of the page, find my Linkroll, which contains links to top religion and social action commentary and organization sites of the internet. To find these sites, I used blog search engines Technorati and Google Blog Search, as well as internet directories such as the Internet Public Library. The sites I have chosen to help inform me on my own posts range from news sources to outlets of thought and interaction on the topics of religion and social action, to organizations dedicated to the examination of human rights and social justice worldwide. Sites like Harvard University’s Pluralism Project and ReligiousWorlds.com serve as academic bastions of religious thought and relevant discussion of religion. Large organizations like Human Rights Watch and the Fellowship of Reconciliation offer news on their efforts in the fight for social justice as well as updates on human rights struggles currently taking place worldwide. Specific news sites that I have found to have superior religion commentary, like the Dallas Morning News religion blog, have been included. Lastly, social action sites that aim to prompt movements of social justice via the internet, like A Force More Powerful and TakePart.com, are available for examination. My decisions of link inclusion were influenced most heavily by the Webby Award criteria, as well as the IMSA blog evaluation assessment criteria. I hope for this blog to find its own unique form as it is consistently updated, and for it to provide valuable commentary on humanitarian efforts in our modern world.

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