I don’t know how many of you have heard of the term ‘Web 2.0′, but it’s fast becoming one of the most overused phrases on the internet. A number of technologies and trends are tagged with the phrase, but one of the more interesting ones of recent is that of social news sites. Sites like Digg, Netscape and reddit make for an interesting phenomenon that is starting to affect the way that news is reported.

The basic concept of these sites is that the people – that’s you and me – submit stories that they have found (or written themselves) to the site for the rest of the community to vote on. In the example of Digg, the community of millions then ‘diggs’ the story if they think it is interesting. The content of the homepage of the site is purely dictated by the votes the stories get. The whole process costs the users nothing.

This means that stories which would not often make the front page of a newspaper can still receive millions of readers by being submitted to sites such as these. The Digg site community is now so large, that some sites collapse when linked to due to the sheer number of people that then simultaneously follow the link to read the story!

What does this have to do with being a Catholic geek? Well, as this trend of news democracy grows, we have a new opportunity to get exposure for the stories that are important to our Faith. If we as Catholics are active on these sites, we can literally change the face of news reporting on the internet. This is another step to claiming the internet for Christ!

So, treat it as a warm-up to the election next year and get out there and vote!

One of the greatest things about living in a wired world is the fast pace at which things change. If, 10 years ago, you were told that 18 year old kids would be walking around with devices that could tell them what turns to take to get to their best friend?s new flat, while playing them their favourite band?s music and allowing them to keep in contact with all their mates, you?d tell them they?ve been watching too much Star Trek. Now, my phone can do all this ? and more! However, all this rapid change in technology results in increasingly fast obsolescence. What was the latest and greatest 2 years ago is now destined for today?s junkheap. But is this right?

Whole industries have sprung up around the recycling of old technology. Businesses like The Ark (www.arknet.co.nz) exist to take old computers, salvage what?s useful, and refurbish them to provide cost effective computing resources for our schools and learning institutes. These companies make sure that every last bit of usefulness is extracted from your system. And if you don?t think there?s any life left, companies like Dell (www.dell.co.nz/recycling) will take your equipment away for a small fee, and make sure that anything usable is recycled appropriately. Similarly, both Telecom and Vodafone will take your preloved mobile phones back and recycle them ? just take the handset into your local store.

So, if you?ve got old stuff laying around that need a new home, give places like The Ark a call ? I?m sure they?ll be glad to help you help others, and keep New Zealand green!