I have been blogging on a daily basis since the late part of last year and it turned out to be an immensely rewarding activity. Having spent a good part of this year lecturing in economics at a Czech university and working as an editor for Eurobarometer, my blog has been a way of keeping in touch with developments in Malta. When I started the Wired Temples Blog, I had no idea where it would take me but it developed as a kind of platform for Malta references on the blogosphere, in cyberspace and the online international media.

I also used my blog to promote other Maltese blogs and contribute to the development of a 'Maltese blogging space' as well as to express my own opinions about a number of issues and events. I have been encouraged by the blog's Maltese and international readership which has continued to grow particularly following my integration with the MaltaMedia Online Network. Wired Temples will remain as it is, a daily blog concentrating on Malta's existence on the web with additional features such as the Weekly Press Digest, the monthly Top Ten Maltese blog posts and other new upcoming items . My more personal comments, thoughts and opinions about local and international events will be channelled via this new blog.

Blogs represent a new wave of internet innovation and they have lowered the barriers for entry into the media world. They are an open channel ideal for extending democratic debate in an open society. This blog will not have any restrictions in terms of subject matter but the focus will be on politics, media, culture, technology and international affairs. I hope that it will help foster debate, serve as an exchange of links, thoughts, and information and also encourage more people to set up their own blogs.

Blogs grew by taking on the mainstream media but blogging itself has become a mainstream activity in the United States with Europe and Asia quickly catching up. In the American and British elections and in the French referendum on the European constitution, blogging had a major impact on the public vote. Blogging in Malta is still embryonic but the seeds of growth are already in evidence. When Toni Sant predicted that blogging in Malta would take off this year, he was on to something.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 16, 2005 at 6:30 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.