Superman quit his job at the Daily Planet. At least that’s how the story read; Superman did something. Clark Kent didn’t quit. That didn’t happen. The omnipotent superhero decided to go for broke and become omniscient: “I was taught to believe you could use words… But facts have been replaced by opinions. Information has been replaced by entertainment. Reporters have become stenographers.” And he quit reporting as Clark Kent to investigate fulltime as Superman.

You see, Clark Kent is just a reporter. And like most reporters, he has an all-knowing boss who looks over his shoulder and tells him what to do and yells at him. But then again, Clark Kent is also Superman and omnipresent – potentially – all over the world – thanks to his sparkling reputation as a vindicator and rectifier. What does he need a boss for? He can blog now. He can get his own resources and follow his own stories. Google Translate opens up parts of the world Mr. Kent never thought he could help, and he can become, faster than ever, an international voice of reason instead of just some run-of-the-mill overworked and underpaid Metropolis reporter.

Or so you might think. But Clark Kent is Superman, and his job is to respond to violent situations, shocking situations: situations that require a savior. Mr. Kent should do good business ringing the alarm of injustice as a blogger that insights outrage and celebrates American principles of justice for all. But what of journalism? Of patience and respect and cultural barriers, and, dare we say it, linguistic barriers, in this field by the people, for the people, and about our peoples? How can anybody ever trust a machine to report human affairs? Easy: if the writer’s position is to expose humans rather than exhibit them.

Google Translate doesn’t turn reporters into journalists; it convinces bloggers that they are editors and, even worse, investigative reporters – international whistleblowers and wordsmithing policemen. It provides increased job security – sure – but it also wipes the Daily Planet of valuable cultural diversity and even diplomatic potential. Writers, busy writing under mastheads and behind closed doors, are too busy to report on the fringe and exotic and difficult. They are too busy to debase their audience with shocking and counter-culture truths. They, the writers, are too conservative to report on regions and instead journalize their never-ending struggle to integrate with a world passing them by phenomenon by phenomenon.

Superman has suddenly become just like Spiderman.

Any sensible adult roots for Peter Parker (Spiderman) to grow up and become a reporter who doesn’t have to chase his own shadow and sell pictures of Spiderman – the crime fighter. But that’s what makes the Spiderman comic book so interesting. It’s like Superman. All the power in the world cannot save the hero from having to have a job where he learns to act as a team member by taking orders and doing what he’s told by older exasperated people who must rely on the ignorance and naiveté of the candid superhero.

And that’s what internet-based publications will always be: ignorant and naive. Indeed, the best newspaper men would say that about the oldest, most respected, newspapers with the best contacts and the longest resources, because the writer is always ignorant and naive in comparison with the hero of the story – the real person. And yet, as newspapers and magazines slowly retire in the hype of electronic data platforms, newsrooms are slowly becoming more and more isolated as their writers think that they can cover more, know more, be responsible for more than ever before by using technology and literacy well.

But the fact is that the technology is reliant on literacy and the business of the fourth estate, relationships, has turned more into a business of linking and leaking. The world becomes more dangerous as the number of people delivering international news dwindles. As whistle-blowing increases, the media leaves less people in the know before the pressure cooker breaks and front-page ink is spilled. The omnipresent media is hedging on tragedy and vindication rather than on culture and regionalism.

Pairing exhaustion with ignorance, Superman is stressed, but valiant and perhaps more intrepid now than ever.

To just about anyone, international news means war or unfair labor practices or strikes – injustice – war standing in the way of tourism. To some, international news presents indicators of future trends as markets shift, leaders change and economies continue to meld regionally and globally, informing all who attend how they may profit off all that occurs. International journalists, English writers who count among their expertise foreign affairs, are not necessarily a scarce commodity as any college student who has spent a year abroad probably considers themselves international.

However, with Google Translate, for the first time, writers are counting on fame for writing and nothing else. These authors who sit everyday in newsrooms Google Translating their way to cushy domestic positions are unable to build qualities such as discretion, foresight or taste while pillaging foreign soil for exciting English language stories because they don’t actually live abroad. Why should they? They speak English – Superman’s language – their job is to listen and relay to their fickle faraway public.

And yet somehow the defeatism and humility celebrating stenography reads as arrogant. Suddenly a journalist’s greatest heroism is collecting a check to learn the basics of some foreign language so that they don’t get too embarrassed when socializing.

At least some reporters are beginning to cite Google Translate when revealing a source. Which is at least a sign of diplomacy if not an outright invitation to diversify. They might also try citing the foreign language publisher that they unwittingly work for.

But the poets bridging societies who have real challenging stories to tell beyond any basic ability to translate foreign news are getting a cold shoulder. The Daily Planet newsroom that should have the world by its ear instead contents itself with republishing the published. With the internet, the published word has become more sacred, replacing the written word as writing replaced the word. And the exciting world of journalism, a delicate rubric of tenuous relationships, shatters to leave a harrowing world of pen-pals agreeing on the happenstances of our brutal co-existence.

Those who follow regional opinions and controversies and live a double life with multiple adopted cultures get shuffled in and out of newsrooms like old links to popular stories. They’re accounted and politely swept under the rug. The multilingual reporter is unskilled labor now: surely an asset to the fabulous writers in the newsroom but not a need. The English language media doesn’t seek cultural prognosticators who smash future headlines and internet traffic by focusing the public’s attention on building conflagrations; instead, we want publishers who reify publishing.

If push comes to shove in the news cycle, Google Translate will handle it or our name isn’t Superman.

The article Google Translate: Superman Gets the Picture appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

For their creators, blogs are a form of expression; a way of showing their identity and interests and even for promoting themselves. Recently, blogs turned to be a weapon in the hands of everyone who have the desire to exercise their freedom of speech. Millions of personal pages exist in the online community.

They can be almost anything their writers want: information sites, journals, discussion pages and many more. Additionally, the topics vary from general to specific.

However, who stands behind these personal webpages and what incites them to become part of the enormous bloggers family? Nowadays, everyone can initiate their own blogs, so it is not a surprise that these various online pages are continuously called a big part of “the Internet craze.” Bored housewives who share their secrets in the kitchen, enamored young girls expressing their disillusionment with their “kindred souls,” men obsessed by the ideals of masculinity — these are only a minute part of the blog authors in the Internet space. What reduces these enthusiasts to a common denominator is their desire to express themselves and to be noticed by others.

Blogs become virtual friends to people, because many of them choose to write up their personal stories and to publish them as a way of taking the burden off their shoulders. Instead of taking the trip to the psychiatrist, perhaps, many have found a cheaper method of solving their inner problems. Blogs have turned out to be the perfect alternative for those who feel they were always misunderstood by the physical world around them.

Moreover, as a society bathed in technology, our connection with the virtual space is much stronger than our relationship with the people surrounding us. That is why it is sometimes easier for us to confide our secrets to cyberspace and millions of unknown readers than to our relatives and friends.

Depending on their main goals, bloggers can be divided into three groups: first – those who want to share their experiences (such as For the Love of Cooking), second – those who want to find understanding  (e.g A Mom, a Blog, and the Life In Between), and third – those who are looking for a place to express themselves and to exercise their rights (like ……shot by both sides).

In the past years, the idea of blogs as business cards and even as curricula vitae (CVs) has attained popularity. Many job seekers use their personal pages as a source of useful information for their prospective employers. On the other hand, managers consider blogs as a way to learn more about the personality of their future workers because it is believed that people unveil their inner world on their own homepages. But no one can be sure that blogs are not just masks behind which men and women hide the things they don’t want to show.

Definitely, blogs have become an integral part of our lives and culture. The first blog ever created was Justin Hall’s personal homepage links.net in the not so distant year of 1994 while he was a student at Swarthmore College. However, it was not until 1999 when the term “blog’’ was used for the first time. Nowadays, there are 70 million Worldpress blogs and 39 million Tumblr blogs worldwide, which are only a small part of the vast sea of online personal pages through other networks.

Blogs serve society. They benefit their authors as well as the readers who visit them. For some people they will always be the confidant they never managed to find in real life.

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With micro-blogging becoming more popular than ever, people are going above and beyond simply reading about non-profit organizations on the internet and how they can get more involved in life-changing programs. Instead, people all over the world are taking matters into their own hands and creating websites themselves and blogging about a wide array of world affairs in order to reach readers on an international level. People are becoming more engaged in these types of blogs and as blog sites continue to reproduce and evolve, perhaps those in need will see change for the better themselves.

According to BestUniversities.com, the more we educate the youth of society, the more we can make a difference in this world. The site states, “you may have heard of the theory that education can change the world. This is undoubtedly true. Whether you are a high school graduate or a student pursuing a degree from traditional or online colleges, you are more likely to make a difference when you are an educated individual. In fact, the world is full of students and visionaries and people who want to make a difference in the world, and many of those people share their knowledge online through their blogs. Whether you want to change the world through environment, humanitarianism, business, or any other way, there’s a blog out there that can offer you guidance and inspiration.”

BestUniversities.com has compiled a list of some of the greatest blogs out there to help individuals become better educated and to inform others on the differences we can be making in this world right now.

Read on to learn more about the top three blogs that will change the world and how you too can get involved.

3. The Blog: What do you Stand for?

This blog is about recycling, pollution control and conserving the environment. The purpose of this blog is to raise awareness about the importance of ‘going green,’ while giving tips and advice of how the little things we do on a daily basis, if changed just a bit, will make a huge impact all over the world. According to the 2012 Green Gap Trend Tracker, “42 percent of consumers say they are most influenced by messaging related to the environmental impact of disposing of a product. Easy-to-read, on-pack symbols take the guesswork out of recycling at home, which should in turn bolster recycling rates, increase material recovery, reduce waste and perhaps even create a new industry standard.”

2. The Blog: A Volunteer’s Guide for Changing the World.

This blog comes in at number two because it not only informs readers about making a difference, but also allows them to volunteer for the site and programs to help others in their area.  The sites slogan is “empowering you to help others, one post at a time.” Mark Horoszowski , founder of the site and co-founder of MovingWorlds, also volunteers his time to the American Cancer Society’s National Relay Advisory Team. He blogs about everything, but specializes writing about communities coming together, collaboration, communication and leadership, in an effort for each organization to succeed to it’s utmost potential. To check out his blog, go to http://www.helpinghelp.org/

Coming in at the number one spot on our list is:

1.The Blog: United Nations Good Works

Yes, even the United Nations has created a blog site. This blog features inspirational true stories about life-changing experiences, miracles, saving lives and all around just greatly impacting the world. The site has up-to-date blogs around the clock from all over the world. Some of the topics, to name just a few, include blogs about poverty, women’s rights, third world country affairs, war, famine, HIV, world tragedies, among dozens of others. Each blog discusses how anyone that is interested in a particular topic can get more involved. From the blog, you can also access various associations, foundations, programs, funds and organizations related to the United Nations. The site’s slogan is, “Every day across the globe the United Nations is empowering millions of people to build a better life for themselves, their family, their community, and our world.” If you would like to become more hands on with this blog, please go to http://unworks.blogspot.com/.

““No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. And if everyone does something, then together we can change the world.” (Author unknown)

Image Courtsey of  Marisa Vasquez  &  Tolly Moseley

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