I first referenced the Jesusland map here on the echo blog 16 days ago.

Since then, the map has been all over the traditional media news, the internet, and back again—and we have been proven guilty by association. The post is currently at the top of the second page of results when you Google "Jesusland", and some 1,200 people have found their way to our site through this search result.

What's more interesting to me, though, is that 24 people have commented on the post—letting us and everyone know how they feel about the map and, in 3 cases, adding maps or images of their own to the discussion.

These 24 comments represent a simple but poignant example of what makes the internet the empowering, community building tool that it is. Although none of us commenting on the map know one another, we are joined by a common interest in this topic or image.

Our loose connection may not be much, but there's something to be said for the knowledge that people are listening and responding to one another during the attention deficit we're supposedly experiencing. And the internet removes almost every barrier that exists for having this loose, decentralized dialogue.