Zcom_simple

Hello,

Blogs are a familiar feature on the internet - where users post content in an accumulating manner, with comments, and search options, etc. They facilitate expression and exploration, and via attached comments, also debate and synthesis.


Reading and
Navigating Blogs

Our blogs are quite powerful. Each writer can post, as is typically the case. Sustainers who have the option can also post, however. All Blogs appear in the blog system, and sometimes also in content boxes the top page of ZNet - and always via the left menu of the top page - and can be found via searches, etc.

Commenting on blogs follows the blogs, attached at the bottom, and blog comments, like all others, are also visible in many places that show comments including in the forum system. In addition, the entire blog system gathers content for everyone - but one can look at the accumulating content in many ways.

  • For example one can look at one writer's efforts - so one is seeing what is effectively a blog system for that one writer, or Sustainer.
  • One can also look at the content by topic, seeing blogs that are tagged as being about a certain topic - or place, as well. Thus, when doing that, it is a blog system about a topic, or a place, with many contributors.
  • One can look at only writer blogs, or only sustainer blogs, as well.
  • One can look at blogs for particular Groups, too.

All this is easily done using the left menu. Searches allow even more variables and refinements.


Creating Blog Posts

If you are a Sustainer with permission, and are logged in, you will see a link in the left menu for you to post a blog - and you can use that to post one, and then tag it various ways (such as with a topic or place, or a group tag), and once you do, it is in the system with you as the author.

You can also use the console button to the left to post a blog - anytime and from anywhere in the site, as long as you are logged in.

Meanwhile, enjoy the blogs - and, by the way, if you are a Free Member or a Sustainer with a ZSpace page, of course you can put one or more content boxes on it, pulling blog links of any sort you may want to filter for, for example, by you or by your friends or by others - and by topic, about places, for groups, etc.

Blogs

Entering the realm of Z

By Leif Petersen at Mar 01, 2009


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I'm not much of a political activist, and it is mostly a coincidence I'm here.

It started less than a year ago, when I made an anonymous blog on a popular Danish site, which exposed me to other average people's opinions, and I started following the news, after hardly doing so for years.

That was disturbing. I found that many people are disoriented, have no firm human values (except for towards their closest kin), and willingly suck up political propaganda and biased/negative news against "terrorist regimes" and immigrants.  In fact the ruling majority in Denmark have such people as voters.

I ended here because another Danish blogger linked me to the film "The War on Democracy" by John Pilger on freedocumentaries.org. Then somehow I got on to reading some articles by Noam Chomsky, and that led me to zcommunications. I was impressed by the quality of the articles, and chose to become a sustainer for that reason. It was not my intention to start a blog or a zspace, but since the staff encourages it, I'll give it a go and see where it leads.

I am not completely comfortable with socialism seemingly being the ideologi here, I've always been a mixed economy guy. Capitalism has led to a wasteful imperialist rat race, which does bother me a lot. Some of it seems due to the perverse world leadership of the U.S., and amazingly dumbed down voters all over the western world seem to consistently elect leaders who are American lap dogs.

I hope we can change that, and make humanism the new world order. Nobody should be indifferent to other people suffering or being mistreated.

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nice one!

By Goodman, Dan at Mar 02, 2009 13:56 PM

Hey Leif, glad you found your way to Z, it's an amazing thing. The whole social, Z communications thing is a little slow at the moment, but it might take off.

Don't worry about ideology, from what I've seen of people on Z it won't be a problem. Everyone seems pretty inclusive.

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Re: Entering the realm of Z

By Gabrenya, Matt at Mar 01, 2009 16:38 PM

I certainly wouldn't say that "socialism" is the dominant economic ideology on z. Perhaps, if you have not done so before, you might be interested in reading about Participatory Economics, which Z works to promote and advocate for. Markets certaintly do lead to "a wasteful imperialist rat race," but the answer is not a mixed economy. A mixed economy just a combination of the better aspects of two fairly wretched economies: both central planning and markets. However, neither central planning nor markets fulfill the values of a just, equitable and decent economy. Rather, Participatory Economics is an alternative to markets, central planning, and a mixed economy.


http://www.zcommunications.org/zparecon/zpareconfaq.htm

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By Petersen, Leif at Mar 02, 2009 08:41 AM

Interesting, I didn't know about parecon and I will read about it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

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Beware

By Andrews, John at Mar 01, 2009 12:35 PM

Leif

Welcome to Z.

Beware. You are on a slippery slope. I started with John Pilger and noted he referenced Noam Chomsky extensively so I read Noam Chomsky. Then I read Howard Zinn and then I read Ward Churchill. I'm currently reading Emma Goldman - Anarchism and other essays along with Living My Life. These days, I enter a political discussion and people look at me like I've just landed from Mars.

Be warned, you are on a slippery slope of no return.

Best wishes

John Andrews

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Re: Beware

By Petersen, Leif at Mar 01, 2009 15:57 PM

Thanks John. What do you mean by slippery slope exactly? Will I go mad? :-)

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Re: Re: Beware

By Andrews, John at Mar 02, 2009 01:30 AM

Leif I meant it as a joke. The more you read on Z the more dismissive you become of the mainstream media. The trouble is that most of your friends and colleagues only see the mainstream media hence they start to think that your views are a bit odd and possibly extreme. Slippery slope is just a term; once you start sliding you cannot stop. You could say "on the slippery slope of drug abuse" where you start dabbling with, say, cannabis and end up on heroin. In this case, I meant the slippery slope of reading material outside the mainstream leading to you wanting to read more and becoming more and more remote from the views forced on you from the mainstream media. Hopefully you will not go mad on the journey! Best wishes. John Andrews

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Re: Re: Re: Beware

By Petersen, Leif at Mar 02, 2009 09:07 AM

Thanks for clarifying, John. A slippery slopes I've observed is that some people become obsessed with conspiracy theories. I'm not saying they are without merit, but they seem to work like siren song on people, so I have stuffed my ears :-)

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Re: Beware

By zzzzzz, xxx at Mar 01, 2009 12:44 PM

Same story... I heard Gore Vidal describing the CIA in Guatemala in 1954. Found out about Zinn, Pacifica, Noam, Herman, Pilger, etc. It's been a hell of a ride!

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Re: Re: Beware

By Petersen, Leif at Mar 01, 2009 15:56 PM

I read your zspace, and understand what you write there, that everything clicked. That's the feeling I have too. Are we screwed? I don't think so, there are still a lot of democratic avenues open for change. We see the pattern, more and more will.

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