Well this weekend I’m off to visit a country I affectionately refer to as “Kiwistan”. And the purpose of my trip?
Is it to pay homage to a Labor Party leader with perhaps more balls than our Opposition Leader? Is it to walk around niteclubs wearing an All-Blacks jersey in the hope of picking up Kiwi chix who might confuse me for a NZ rugby player? Or perhaps a relatively more handsome Indian cricketer?
Nope. I’m attending to speak at an International Conference. It will be the first time I travel to attend any conference in my life. Well, apart from that end-of-exam gig put on by the Paramadina University in Jakarta for all the students.
And what a superb gig that was! I’ve never seen so many exceptionally attractive Muslim females in my life. And given the exchange rate differential between Australia and Indonesia, I might have been able to afford marrying and supporting 4 of them!
As for the Blog Hui 2006 conference in Wellington, I probably won’t meet as many nice-looking Muslim sisters. In fact, I have no idea what to expect.
It baffles me as to why they asked me to speak. All the other speakers seem like such complete blog-legends. I am little more than an accidental blogger.
Which is actually the title of my talk – The Accidental Blogger. And what on earth will I rabbit on about for 20 minutes before facing 10 minutes of gruelling questions from blog enthusiasts from across the world? Here’s a summary …
This presentation will examine how blogging can be used as a tool for media and community activism. It examines a number of examples where blogging has been used as a training ground for converting activists into writers with a view to enabling changes in social attitudes toward unpopular and unconventional groups and ideas.
Unpopular and unconventional groups and ideas? You’d think I was running a blog for the NSW Young Liberals!
Actually, I will probably spend a large amount of time crapping on about the New Media and how blogging forms an essential part of this forum for cyber mass debate. I say probably because I still haven’t written the damned paper!
I’d be happy to hear suggestions from people on what I should be writing. Try not to include too many expletives.
Seeya in Wellington!!
© Irfan Yusuf 2006
