The revolution continues to be blogged: It may be a far cry from the millions of blogs active in the West, but Morocco’s blogosphere has taken off as the liveliest free-speech zone in largely conservative Muslim North Africa. The Moroccan “Blogoma”, as it is called, is home to at least 30,000 sites. Inspired by bloggers…
Showing all posts tagged blogging
Missing the real target
The mainstream media failed fundamentally in the run-up to the Iraq war (something I argued way back in early 2004.) Of course, if you believe, as I often do, that most corporate journalists simply see their job as endorsing establishment power, rather than challenging it, then the acquiscience before Bush administration lies over WMDs was…
Why we blog
The ongoing imprisonment in Saudi Arabia of blogger Fouad al-Farhan continues to generate international headlines. My memories of him from 2007 remain positive. We demand his immediate release. Fellow Saudi blogger Saudi Jeans recalls the reasons why Fouad returned to blogging last year after some months away from the keyboard: Why Do We Blog? 1.…
A blogger against a regime
Wael Abbas, one of Egypt’s leading bloggers and anti-torture campaigners, recently received the 2007 Knight International Award for Excellence in Journalism. It is a rare occasion indeed for a blogger to be awarded internationally for his bravery in the face of government repression:
It’s Mao, but not as he knew it
The Chinese government, announcing restrictions on the posting of videos online, explaining the “rules”: Those who provide internet video services should insist on serving the people, serve socialism … and abide by the moral code of socialism.
Not a revolution, an avalanche
The internet revolution has well and truly arrived in China (but political reform may take much longer): On Dec. 26th, 2007, CNNIC published “the Survey Report on Blogs in China 2007”. According to the report, by the end of Nov. 2007, the number of blog spaces has reached 72.82 million in China, and with 47…
Persian web obsession
Iranian blogger Kamangir investigates the Iranian blogosphere and discovers, despite the best efforts of Western multinationals such as Yahoo and Microsoft to restrict access to services, a thriving scene of web activity.
The blogging revolution, part 5432
Citizen media – or networked journalism, a much better term – has revolutionised the media environment. Numerous citizens from the world can now better engage with their environment thanks to the internet. Rising Voices is a project to help this along. The latest recipients are fascinating. Take one: Shaghayegh Azimi and fellow veteran Iranian videobloggers…
Trampling on Saudi rights
During my recent trip to Saudi Arabia – to research information for my upcoming book on the internet in repressive regimes – I spent time with blogger and activist Fouad Al Farhan, a generous, critical and warm man. He’s now allegedly been arrested for daring to challenge the Washington-backed dictatorship: Saudi blogger, Fouad Al-Farhan was…
Stealing dollars through censorship
The debate over Chinese internet censorship is only beginning. The role of Western multinationals operating in a country that forces filtering is both a human rights issue and, according to this group, something more economic: A California free speech group whose board of directors includes Google and Yahoo said on Monday it had asked U.S.…