A Brave New Deaf World
Disclaimer: this may sound like a paid advertisement for DeafRead.com, but I assure you that this is not the case! *chuckle*
Before I address my topic, I'd like to say something to my audience, the Teeming Millions. This blogsite went public only a few days ago. The response has been amazing and I am humbled. Thank you to those of you who have let me know of your thoughts and feelings!
On to the topic. Discourse has been limited in many ways for us as a community. We have only been able to participate in an exchange of ideas in a limited fashion. Obviously we've been able to discuss things locally. But on a larger stage, the people who transmitted information were limited to those who presented at conferences, participants in national/regional/global meetings, and those who author articles and books. A nationwide/global dialogue has occurred only at major conferences, such as NAD convos or Deaf Ways I and II. With the advent of e-mail, pagers, instant messaging, and videophones, we've been able to stay in touch with our friends and family more often and more easily even if they are not close by. This has helped with making our dialogues less limited to our local communities, but there are inherent limitations to this approach. Blogging has taken our discussions to the next level. I've been reading blogs for a year, and blogging for several months now. Since the Gallaudet protest, the Deaf blogosphere has simply exploded. Many more are writing their own blogs than ever before, and many times that number are reading or watching. This is transforming our discourse in a way that nothing has until now.
Even with the advent of blogging, there was still a missing link. That link is DeafRead.com. Up until a few weeks ago, we discovered blogs by word of hand/mouth, clicking on links we found on blogs, and possibly by Googling for specific topics. Hence, our individual blogosphere was limited to those in our circle of friends and our extended network. But now with DeafRead.com, the blogging experience has become centralized. This has the potential to take our discourse to a national/global level, which is mind-boggling to me. The playing field has truly been leveled. We all now have the ability to write/sign our piece and participate in the nationwide/global discourse about who we are, what it means to be Deaf, and our vision for our people and reach a vast audience. Not only that, our audience can respond and discuss our pieces with us and with each other. This is truly a brave new Deaf world for all of us! *wine glass raised* To all of us, the Teeming Millions, and may we continue this civilized, open, exciting exchange of ideas and thoughts!
Before I address my topic, I'd like to say something to my audience, the Teeming Millions. This blogsite went public only a few days ago. The response has been amazing and I am humbled. Thank you to those of you who have let me know of your thoughts and feelings!
On to the topic. Discourse has been limited in many ways for us as a community. We have only been able to participate in an exchange of ideas in a limited fashion. Obviously we've been able to discuss things locally. But on a larger stage, the people who transmitted information were limited to those who presented at conferences, participants in national/regional/global meetings, and those who author articles and books. A nationwide/global dialogue has occurred only at major conferences, such as NAD convos or Deaf Ways I and II. With the advent of e-mail, pagers, instant messaging, and videophones, we've been able to stay in touch with our friends and family more often and more easily even if they are not close by. This has helped with making our dialogues less limited to our local communities, but there are inherent limitations to this approach. Blogging has taken our discussions to the next level. I've been reading blogs for a year, and blogging for several months now. Since the Gallaudet protest, the Deaf blogosphere has simply exploded. Many more are writing their own blogs than ever before, and many times that number are reading or watching. This is transforming our discourse in a way that nothing has until now.
Even with the advent of blogging, there was still a missing link. That link is DeafRead.com. Up until a few weeks ago, we discovered blogs by word of hand/mouth, clicking on links we found on blogs, and possibly by Googling for specific topics. Hence, our individual blogosphere was limited to those in our circle of friends and our extended network. But now with DeafRead.com, the blogging experience has become centralized. This has the potential to take our discourse to a national/global level, which is mind-boggling to me. The playing field has truly been leveled. We all now have the ability to write/sign our piece and participate in the nationwide/global discourse about who we are, what it means to be Deaf, and our vision for our people and reach a vast audience. Not only that, our audience can respond and discuss our pieces with us and with each other. This is truly a brave new Deaf world for all of us! *wine glass raised* To all of us, the Teeming Millions, and may we continue this civilized, open, exciting exchange of ideas and thoughts!
posted by moi @ 8/04/2006 06:14:00 PM
4 Comments:
At 20:34,
Ridor said…
Moi, well said. Despite the fact that my blog may be perceived by some in negative manner, I was elated when DeafRead.com was created.
This is what this community needs.
So ... Amen to what you wrote. Kudos to Tayler and Jared.
Cheers,
R-
At 08:54,
Anonyme said…
Moi,
I am so glad you have decided to take your blog public. I was saddened when I read the last entry in your old blog because I thought I was going to lose an inspiring blog by a fellow teacher of the deaf (well, I will be one next year). I truly appreciate your thoughtful posts.
Thank you,
Belle
At 16:41,
Anonyme said…
Thanks for your fantastic comments about DeafRead.com! I share the exactly same feelings you did about the "missing link" in the Deaf blogosphere. Luckily, Tayler and I are programmers who knew how to come up with a technical solution for this unique opportunity that is presenting itself at the right time.
We don't yet know where the ultimate destination is for the journey of the Deaf World is but we want to see that first step being taken.
I hope that we will eventually achieve a change in our society's outlook on Deaf people when regular hearing people no longer bat their eyes when a Deaf person is nearby. A world where Deaf invdiduals can focus on themselves as a person, and not have to worry about having their other "unique" needs to be met first.
I firmly believe that DeafRead.com will be the first significant step toward that much desired change by enabling real discourse to take place. It will also be easier for hearing people to take a peek into the mindsets of Deaf people are rather than depend upon gross generalizations sprouted by the self-labelled "experts" on Deafness.
At 17:48,
moi said…
Ridor, I agree with you - kudos to Tayler and Jared!
Belle, I'm so sorry you were cut off from my private blog like that. :( Privacy was the key reason. While I'm keeping my private blog completely private, I'm glad you're continuing to enjoy this site. Thank you for your kind words!
Jared, yup, hopefully we can become people not stigmatized. You have a great point about hearing people hearing directly from us rather than depending on the so-called "experts." That's one reason I started blogging.
Everyone, thanks for your thoughts! :)
Enregistrer un commentaire
<< Home