Greek Geeks Seek A Voice

The latest news from Athens is that young professionals in Greece have turned to the blogosphere to help improve their salaries. Evidently many Greek professionals are under a salary ceiling that has virtually impoverished them, so they have turned to blogging to vent their frustration and seek public attention to their issues. Generation 700, as the group calls itself, feels they have not been properly represented by either their government or their labor unions. According to a Reuters story by Karolos Grohmann, most young professionals there are topped out at about $940 per month. This relatively low salary cap prevents professionals from buying homes or otherwise improving their situation in what should be a union and politically supported segment of the work force. The blog highlights the plight of these young workers and has received exceptional attention according to the blog founders.

Web Voice

Generation 700 wants to make a noise and provide a voice for the over 2 million people living at or below the poverty level despite Greece's positive economic growth. High unemployment, a bankrupt pension system and an aging workforce are just some of the problems facing people under 30 in Greece. Broken pre-election promises (join the club there) and increasing discontent have set the old regime and young people at odds as the politicians take notice. Upcoming elections have bolstered the popular blog's profile as conservatives and their socialist opposition jockey for potential voters.

A Political Web 2.0

One of the greatest things about Web 2.0 is the freedom and "new age" ability the medium gives to groups or individuals in garnering support for issues like this one. It is a little unfortunate that young people (or any people for that matter) have to reach so far or try so hard to alleviate their pain. Even here in the U.S. $900 will hardly buy gasoline and food for a month and buying anything aside from electricity, a roof and the basic essentials would be out of the question. The one thing politicians cannot totally manipulate are groups abandoned by them who have a voice.

Geek or Greek it is Still World 1.0

There is one factor that is always overlooked in these social/political clashes. In any system (like the global economy) where the top 10 percent control 90 percent of everything, only the people on the bottom of the pyramid exchange their suffering. Everywhere the middle is pitted against the bottom and vice versa in a never ending rat race where the cat sits atop an unimpeachable hierarchy watching everyone else clamber for crumbs. In the final analysis, any conciliation these young professionals receive will ultimately just be taken from some other powerless group. This kind of circular logic has been imposed upon us all for hundreds of years. Personally, I will start rooting when someone starts a blog to effect change where it belongs, from the top down. Think about the headlines: "Young professionals win election, old blue collar workers laid off".