I was thinking about the best way to spark some Cyprus blogosphere activity without annoying too many people at the same time. One of the better ways that came to mind was the blog effort. Let me explain.

It is much easier to talk about the same subject, and, also, meet and connect with other people who talk on the same subject, when the subject is somehow defined and centralized. I am not trying to push any kind of control or censorship here, not at all. What I’m trying to do is suggest something that we all can blog about and then see who is here, who writes what, and what sources of information can we use. And we’ll learn something new in the process.

So, the topic for the first blog effort attempt is USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) - that huge military ship which docked yesterday in Limassol port.

If you don’t know where to start, here are some questions for you to think and blog your answers about:

• What do you know about this ship?
• What are some of ship’s technical characteristics?
• Why is it here, in Cyprus?
• How long will it stay here?
• Do you think this ship’s arrival to Limassol is somehow connected with any of the conflicts in the region?
• Are there any cool pictures, videos, or guides of this vessel?

As you might expect, there are plenty of resources on the web about these insanely expensive gadget. But I am not trying to make you type search queries for me. Instead, I am interested in your selection of sources, your interpretations of those sources, your thinking, your feelings, and your original content (text that hasn’t been typed in before, and images that haven’t been taken before).

I’ll even provide you with a couple of links to get you started on the process. There is this Wikipedia entry about CVN-69 and there is this Cyprus Mail news article.

So, what is that exactly I am asking you to do? I am asking you to surf, photograph, think, and blog. Post an entry to your blog and either link to this post or send a trackback or post a comment with the link to your post here. By doing so you’ll join the group effort, share your information and thinking, promote your blog, and maybe even will start a conversation.

If you want to participate, but don’t have a blog (or if your blog is about a totally different subject matter), you can leave a comment to this entry, or join the discussion in the forums, sharing your sources and thinking.

Let’s see if we get enough feedback to have another summary post some time later… Go blogging, guys! Go! Go! Go!

P.S.: You don’t have to live in Cyprus or be a Cypriot to participate.