bloggy pope?

Last Wednesday I picked up my cell phone, and was surprised to
hear the charming lyrical accent of my dear friend, FireLight on the
other end.

"Hey, are you listening to NPR?"

"No, I usually do, but don't have the radio on yet."

"Well, turn it on right now! They're talking about the Pope blogging!"

If you recall, I posted last November, about having a certain German
visitor on my blog site meter from the Holy See, the Vatican City
State. I enjoyed relishing in the possibility that it was His Holiness,
Pope Benedict XVI, popping in from his laptop to visit my humble
Willow Manor, since he is, after all, very computer savvy.

The program on NPR mentioned that the 82 year old Pope already
has a Facebook page and it is very possible he will soon start his own
blog, since in a recent message, he called on priests to "proclaim the
Gospel" through blogs, videos and Web sites.

David Weinberger, who writes about politics and culture on
Joho the Blog, warns that whatever the Pope does blog, "people take
it up, they republish it, they make fun of it, they contextualize it".

Obviously, he will have to have thick skin, in dealing so directly
with the public. I'm sure he is well aware of the ramifications of
blogging, like any other form of media. I happen to think it's a
fantastic way to connect with real, everyday people, on their level.

What kind of advice would you experienced bloggers have to give to
His Holiness? Gosh, I wonder if he'll start twittering, as well?

Like I said before, Holy Father, if you happen to be reading this,
please know you're always welcome at the manor. ~xx
.