Blogging and Mind Control

Last night, I got a chance to discuss X-men characters and powers with some kids. I asked them, which would you prefer: the power to stop time or mind control? It's always great to discuss these kinds of concepts with kids because their natural curiosity and faculty of wonder is still prominent and untainted.

Made me think about blogging and social media and how these tools give me the power to change the way people think. No matter how few my readers may be, I still have some sort of chance at influencing their decisions and the way they think.

For instance, in a previous post about Sennheiser earphones, my stats says that yesterday I was able to get 72 people to view that post. Out of these 72 people I am sure that somehow there is at least two or more who might never buy Skull Candy earphones based on my suggestion. Now isn't that a form of mind control?

a clockwork orange brainwash scene
A scene in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange where the main character is going through a fictional mind control procedure

Think of it as a more effective or an accelerated form of persuasion. Blogging gives me a venue to voice out my persuasive ideas and social media gives me the power to share these to almost anyone in the world (once again I say almost because in some countries authoritarian governments still restrict people from these wonderful means of communication).

For example, I have been criticizing contemporary schooling methods and educational institutions for a long time, especially in my old blog, but back then there was no Facebook yet or Twitter. Now I am able to share my posts such as the one about math teachers, multimedia, and classroom innovation to my Facebook page where I am connected not just to friends but also to educators and people who have influence in this industry. I even got a chance to exchange some thoughts and differences of opinion with a former teacher of mine! Imagine that, social media gave me a voice. For all I know it could be read by other members of the faculty and somehow I can make them rethink some concepts and give them my perspective on the subject of education.

Recently, I'm actually invited to go to a conference in Bankok at the end of the month. The conference was supposedly only for taxpayers unions and associations but an invitation was extended to me because I am a blogger and I have a blog about libertarian ideas. Shows that the power of blogging, as a tool that can be used to change the way people think, is really being recognized. I am really hoping that I'll be able to go and use my powers of blogging and accelerated persuasion to spread classical liberal ideology.

Thanks for visiting my blog (did you even really have a choice?). *insert twilight zone music*

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