Can you believe it? Today, March 11, 2014 is the 8th anniversary of Our River Town blog on what is now known as the Argus-Courier’s Petaluma360. To date, this volunteer blogger has posted 540 blogs, organized in 14 various categories. ((Look for these categories in the column to the right.)
This post isn’t the first blog that celebrated an anniversary. The fourth anniversary was celebrated with a blog on March 10, 2010. In order to recapture the spirit of our thinking eight years ago, our initial blog of March 11, 2006, titled, “Our Cyberplace-Petaluma #1 – From Cyberspace to Cyberplace” is copied below.
“As a Cybernaut, I’m continually on a journey in CyberSpace. Sometimes my wife says, ‘You are lost out there. Stop wandering and return home.’ But I am home when I think about my CyberPlace – Petaluma, USA. There are two elements of our cyber world that are not separate, but connected and interrelated by more than X’s and O’s. They are connected in the human mind that has the cognitive power to Think Globally About Our CyberSpace; but Act Locally in Our CyberPlaces.
As humans, we often think about how we can do things better. No matter what sector of society we identify with – Education, Government, Business, Health Care, or Community Benefit Services – we are constantly challenged by how we might achieve the stated goals and objectives of our respective institution, agency, organization, or group in a more effective and efficient manner.
Since the advent of telecommunication and computer technology, our world of information and communication has been greatly altered. How ICT might build a stronger community is why PetalumaNet was founded in 1995. One of its guiding principles is the greatest resource of any community is the collective wisdom, intellect, and creativity of its citizens.
Ten years later, this slogan and the PetalumaNet logo keep our volunteer Cybernauts on course as they continue to explore their CyberUniverse and hatch new collaborative projects that are later institutionalized and sustained after demonstrating their viability and benefits for the community.
One of the emerging trends in our CyberWorld is the art of blogging. It is no longer just for geeks, but has become a mainstreamed communication vehicle. Just enter “blog” or “blogging” in a search engine and see what appears. Using Google, 537 million “blog” items appear in 0.15 seconds. “Blogging” produces 84,900,000 entries.
Last August, almost nine years to the day since the first portal web site was created for Petaluma by Eric Silverberg, he introduced his plans for a community web site that would contain only blogs. Unfortunately, soon after his PetalumaNet.com site made its debut, Eric was hired by Google and his pilot project was laid to rest. Michael Estigoy’s community information web site, PetalumaOnline, currently contains sections for both blogs and community discussion forums.
The Petaluma Argus-Courier, however, has posted announcements seeking bloggers for its entry into the World of Blogging. Consequently, this particular blog, Our CyberPlace – Petaluma, USA, has been created to help keep Petalumans informed about what is happening in its own backyard with regard to new applications of ICT in our daily lives. Currently, Emergency Preparedness is one topic on everyone’s radar screen. Stay tuned for future blogs related to the use of ICT in the event of a major disaster.”
Stay tuned, as we pick up where we were last week with a series of blogs titled, The Petalumans of Yesteryear, to be followed with The Sages of Petaluma. Our River Town is alive and well connected to our Cyberplace in Cyberspace.