Join the new world

An incredible amount of my childhood was spent on family car trips, Dad driving, one of us in the front between Mom and Dad, and the other three in the back seat. On the longer trips, Mom almost always started singing a mixture of her favorite old popular songs, gospel hymns, and nonsense songs, and all of us would join in. This one sticks in our minds, not so much for its message as for Dad’s penchant for rolling the r’s, especially on the chorus: “Brrrrrighten the corner where you are! Brrrrrrrrrrrighten the corner where you are!” (Note that he was a 9th generation Mainer, and not given to emphasizing r’s in normal speech.) I don’t know how deeply my parents thought about the words. For all I know, they might have been thinking we should clean our rooms. Nevertheless, there is a message here that I think can be applied to eRepublik.

Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do

When we signed on for this game, many of us were greeted with a message about creating a New World and leading our countries to greatness, politically, economically, or militarily. Some of us may have achieved that, or parts of it. For others, things may not have worked out so much.



We were eBorn 11 days apart, but I will never be able to match Gnilraps’ achievements. There are others near the same age who will not match mine. Does that make Gnil the clear winner over us? Well, that depends. If you think you must have a wall full of medals to make your eLife worthwhile, maybe. But there are a lot of smaller things you can do in this game to make your mark. Some of them may even lead you to bigger things. You can become involved in your government, your party, or your MU, helping with programs that build stronger, more active members. You can start your own effort to provide food or entertainment or any number of other things the players need or want.


Do not wait to shed your light afar



One of the easiest ways to let your light shine is to write for your own newspaper. Not sure how to do that? Read and comment on others’ articles. Scroll down past the top 5 to see what you might have missed. Try dipping into the international articles that are available. Read tutorials. Come up with your own slant on eLife. Offer help or contests. State your opinions on current events. Do an interview. You don’t need to earn a media mogul to make your part of the eWorld a more interesting place.


Brighten the corner where you are


It’s all very nice to become an internationally recognized figure in the game, but while you may be thinking globally, your most effective actions start locally. Be the best you can be in the place you are now. Make friends, serve your fellow eCitizens, learn about the issues, and make your voice heard. If we all do this, the whole eWorld can be a little better and a little brighter.




Next up: A coalition of local actors standing together on a global issue