User:Africanguru

Top East African Blogs

The mainstream media in Africa tends to be owned by families or political interests which command political power and financial resources. These factors are brought to bear during situations when the public needs to make decisions such as during elections or referenda. Unfortunately, in a situation reminscent of the egg and the chick, a newspaper owned by a rich but corrupt politician is unlikely to be a crusader for human rights. This is self-evident because corruption leads to denial of human rights.

It is in this light that the internet has had a revolutionary impact upon the communication systems in the world and Africa in particular. A great variety of blogs exist which provide a multiplicity of viewpoints and tidbits on any given subject. Although they are a bit unconventional in approach, the more reliable and sensible ones present excellent analysis and since many are not owned by big business, they are labours of love. This means they are inclined to hold positions which though not necessarily business-wise, will be citizen friendly. In Kenya, the blogs are having an appreciable impact on the internet savvy part of the population. Internet access has improved phenomenally over the last few years with the convergence of internet with mobile phone access.

Those that have really made their mark on the wider world include www.ushahidi.com. Ushahidi, which means "testimony" in Swahili, is a website that was initially developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. Ushahidi's roots are in the collaboration of Kenyan citizen journalists during a time of crisis. The website was used to map incidents of violence and peace efforts throughout the country based on reports submitted via the web and mobile phone. This initial deployment of Ushahidi had 45,000 users in Kenya, and was the catalyst for us realizing there was a need for a platform based on it, which could be used by others around the world. Other up and coming online publications include www.kenya-sumaku.com which welcomes you to little Kenya! It says it's real, devoted, patriotic and does not shy away from commenting on any issue, however hot and whoever is in the cross-hairs. Sumaku, a Kiswahili word meaning "magnet" seems to suggest that Kenya is attractive just like a magnet. For those who have visited the country, indeed a second visit is almost always planned. The 'do it or be damned' attitude of these publishers is what endears them to readers.

Other examples of East African websites include www.mashada.com, www.pambazuka.org and www.habaritanzania.com. From Uganda, http://appfrica.net/blog/ is ranked top.

Whatever the views of governments across the region, these blogs and many others are going to be movers and shakers of public opinion as more and more people get access to internet. This should make those governments keen to muzzle the press to re-think their strategies in communicating with the public they serve.

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