Blog Festival:  Do you love the internet? · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

This is a very special edition of our ‘Blog Festival’ column.  Around the same time as St. Valentine's Day, our traditional day of love (and friendship), we came across an initiative suggesting we all declare our love for the internet.  But how did this come about?  This initiative's organisers are best placed to explain it.
‘I Love the Internet’ is a program which was started to reflect upon the nature of the internet, and to permit those connected by it to express their love for this network which allows its users to create, interact and access information in a way which is unprecedented in human history.
From the 10th to the 14th of February, we'll make the most of the romantic atmosphere to appreciate all we have thanks to the internet, through blog posts, tweets, memes, and micro-videos, and even traditional handwritten cards.
It is also an opportunity to understand the Internet better, to know how it works and learn about the challenges it confronts.  Understanding the risks existing in relation to online rights, privacy and security is fundamental for whoever loves the Internet.
We are inviting you to write or film a love letter to the internet, reflecting on its current state, and more importantly, sharing your thoughts and information on the use, characteristics and protection of the internet.
We are dedicating ourselves to this initiative not only as supporters, but also to encourage our bloggers to participate and get writing via Blog Festivals.
Theme:  I love the Internet
We all love the Internet.  But how do we verbalise and demonstrate this for this program?  Just follow your instinct!
Our suggested form leaves plenty of discretion to participating bloggers. You can write a letter, an essay, a story, a testimonial, create a drawing or picture, a comic strip, a video, and almost anything which can be inserted into a blog post, provided that one basic premise is abided by:  you declare your love for the internet.
If the internet was a girl, or a boy, what would s/he would want to hear?  Would s/he want to hear sweet nothings whispered in his/her ear, or would s/he want to hear something more tangible, such as how you will care for, protect and maintain him/her?  Or would s/he want to hear plans you have for your future life together?  Given that we can now show we like something online by simply clicking a ‘Like’ button, have you still not told your friends how much you love the internet?
Participation:
Any Latin American blogger may participate in this initiative, by posting on the proposed theme in his/her own blog.  The post must be original, that is, the creation of the blogger, and not copied from another source. The structure, style and length of the post are left to the blogger's discretion.
When the blogger has published his/her post for the Blog Festival, s/he should communicate this to the following Twitter accounts, @GVenespanol and @CyberJuan, including the following:
-the Author's name
-a permanent link or URL of the post.
In addition, the posts will be posted on our Facebook page on the dates mentioned above. They may also be reproduced on both Facebook and Twitter under the Twitter tags #YoAmoInternet and #GVFest.
After the deadline, we will order and summarise the entries into a compilation post for the Global Voices Spanish language website.  Depending on the number of participants, we may or may not cite the authors of the posts, mainly for reasons of space.  Any questions can be directed to the Twitter addresses given above.
Chronology:
During the Blog Festival, the following activities which will be carried out:
- Participation period.  From February 9 to 13.
– Publication of summary post on the Global Voices Spanish language website.  February 14.
An additional clarification:  please do not treat this as a zero-sum competition; there will be no winners and no losers in this sense.  Instead, please treat this as a search for contributions, collaboration and testimonials on the proposed theme, using a method which will provide us with a snapshot of widespread, varied and contemporary views of the given theme in Latin America and in Spain.
We look forward to your support, collaboration and participation!