May the power of internet help bring Madeleine home

I wish I did not have to start my blog with a sombre thought, but since the time she has gone missing from a portuguese resort 13 days ago, Madeleine's face comes into my thoughts again and again. That’s why I thought I should start my blog with some hope. Hope that is caused by the power of Internet. Its amazing how the people from different walks of life have grouped together in last few days and its only internet which has provided them the platform to do so.

Please visit the official site for madeleine's search efforts and contribute in whatever way you can. Apart from financial and moral support which we can give to her family at this stage, I think its equally important that we spread the word about her missing to as many places and as many people. Already the response received is pretty amazing as can be seen by these numbers:

Over 65 million hits
22,000 support messages
About 73,000 pounds (with lots of money yet to be cleared through)
Thousands of posters downloaded from the site for spreading the missing girl's news

Looking at this, it seems in coming years Internet could become one of the most potent tools to contain crime of all kinds and making it hard for criminals to remain scot free for long. As internet further spreads in the world, It will make everyone more and more 'visible', the only thing we would need to be cautious is that this can be exploited equally well by criminals and terrorist organizations. And if we could counter that somehow, I think internet will make world a safer place. e.g. in some countries, they have started displaying details of various kinds of offenders on internet.

So lets start with this case. Lets spread the word. lets contribute in every manner. Lets explore how we could use this powerful medium to contain crime of all kinds. In the UK, It might be a one off case, but in developing and under developed countries this issue has attained astronomical proportions. And I am sure, internet could play a major role there as well.


Lastly, a word of praise for Madeleine's parents - Its heartening and inspiring to see them uttering positive words at this testing time. I liked her father's statement - "We believe she is safe and well looked after, until proved to the contrary." Well done Mr and Mrs. McCann. We all prey along with you for your daughter's safe return.