Buzz-time in the UAE blogosphere:: TimeOut
Read the whole thing. It appears the link above may expire. I'll post the whole thing in an update should that happen.
Is that Secretdubai's picture on the cover of TimeOut?
28 August, 2005
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4 comments:
"canadian actress Rachael McAdams"
according to the text, that is some canadian's picture.
and what is this time out dubai magazine, is the mag it is reffering to timeoutdubai.com ? or another one with the same name?
Fantastic! I didn't know it was going to be online!
No - it's definitely not me. Rachel McAdams was the Queen Bee in Mean Girls (as a blonde) and also in that new wedding comedy as a brunette. That is not a very flattering pic of her, but sadly it is still about a zillion times more pleasant to gaze upon than what appears before me in the mirror each day.
Time Out is not the same as Timeoutdubai.com - it's a supplement of the Gulf Today newspaper.
But a big thanks to Rajeev Nair for writing it in such a balanced and interesting way.
Well since we've just arrived here I don't have much to compare with in terms of journalism style and content, but it seemed like a pretty good piece to me and certainly caught my interest (or Crystal's really because she found it first).
Buzz-time in UAE blogosphere
http://www.godubai.com/gulftoday/articlet.asp?AID=1&Section=TimeOut
It cannot be denied now that the UAE has a vibrant blogosphere -- a clutch of weblogs or blog-related websites that discuss diverse aspects of living here. The blogs range from being acidic to hilarious, and intellectually sharp to inanely playful. Rajeev Nair reached out to a few bloggers
As word-play goes, BLOG and BLOCK are more like estranged twins. They bumped into each other in the UAE. And, as future historians can take note, that rendezvous in cyberspace marked the beginning of a new era for bloggers in the UAE.
It also catapulted "Secretdubai" into the hall of fame of bloggers.
For over three years Secretdubai had been blogging to her heart's content; about bad breakfasts at boring press conferences to the UAE weather. Succinct and incisive, her observations weren't really provoking readers, initially, to react with their 'comments.'
She was perhaps looked upon as another witty blogger, who was pushing the frontiers of the written word. She herself was an "occasional blogger" posting about three to four takes on UAE life per month, then.
All that was to change post-July 18, 2005. Secret Dubai diary, her weblog defined as "the intrigue and adventure in the United Arab Emirates," was blocked by Etisalat.
Secretdubai wrote:
"The cyber-ink must dry on the quill for now, as the Great Proxy wields its heavy axe and severs Secret Dubai diary from UAE computers.
Will prison vans and manacles await at the airport?
Fellow bloggers and web diarists, all courage to you in these dark and difficult times."
By the time the "block" was lifted, thanks to enthusiastic campaigning by many fellow-bloggers, Secretdubai had become a cult figure of sorts for bloggers, who associated her experience with that of the curbs placed on a free press.
Her July 18-post, 'Suffering in silence,' fetched 81 comments, virtually all of them proclaiming solidarity with Secretdubai. Her next, 'Blocked, unblocked and back,' had about 28 welcome notes, including one from "Emirati," that read: "Believe it or not, you live in the UAE where secretdubai's blog is not only allowed, but loved."
"I was overwhelmed by people's reaction in campaigning to get the block lifted," recalls Secretdubai, a "female expat since 2001," in an email interview. "I had been surprised at the post that got the (temporary) ban because it was someone else's poem aimed at the ridiculously quaint language used in a newspaper here. Of all the entries people could have got bothered about, I was surprised it was that one."
Her blogs are more frequent now, and there are more visitors, the site meter well-accelerated. Secretdubai, however, expects the curiosity to die down. "There may be a few more readers that stick around, but it's not likely to have mass appeal," she notes.
She is likely to be wrong. On Aug. 18, her post, 'Guide to New Dubaiians' had 40 cyber-surfers opening up their minds. In this part of the world where even newspapers find true feedback hard to come by, Secretdubai's readers open up the possibility of a new era in publishing here -- weblogs.
A UAE community blog set in motion recently to announce the arrival of new bloggers shows infectious levels of on-line buzz. There is new blogger virtually (no pun intended) every other day that gets added on to the UAE blogroll.
Secretdubai does not see it as marking the emergence of an alternative media in the Gulf. "In certain countries, such as Bahrain, they (the blogs) seem to have more of an activist role and purpose than in the UAE. With the general media progressing so rapidly in the UAE, there is already quite a bit of open debate about most controversial issues in the daily."
Bu3askoor, a male UAE national, who blogs 'Anything Blogable' at http://bu3askoor.blogspot.com, shares the view. "If you live in a country where the government enforces unbelievable control on what is being said in public, then it will become an alternative media outlet. I think in the UAE, we are doing fine."
Ike, a male Filipino expat, feels UAE's blogs already serve as an alternative media. 'Blogging from the UAE' through http://ikesulat. blogspot.com, Ike sees it as part of the power and freedom offered by blogs.
Keefieboy, a male UK expat, whose blog, Adventures in Dubai, (http://webmasterdubai.blogspot.com) is updated frequently, says blogging by their very nature is opinionated --"the opinions expressed, raw and unfiltered by any editorial process" -- thus stymieing its chances of serving as a viable alternative media. "Most bloggers do not have access to reliable news sources and do not have the time to research 'exclusive' stories. What they can provide is an alternative view of current events with possibly a bit more 'bite.'"
"Blogs are a great complement to the traditional media," says Brn in Al Ain (Bss & Brn in Al Ain -- http://bssandbrninalain.blogspot.com). "The great thing about blogs is that they allow people from different walks of life and with various areas of expertise to express their opinions and observations. The media does a fine job by and large but it is impossible for reporters to know everything. Bloggers can fill in the gaps on knowledge in their stories."
John B. Chilton, whose blog is an "economic analysis of events in the UAE and the Gulf," (The Emirates Economist, http://emirateseconomist.blogspot.com), shares the view. "Blogs are not so much as an alternative as a supplement and conversation with the media," he observes. "I disagree with those who harp on the quality of newspapers and television in the Gulf; I think that sometimes the benchmarks critics have in mind are with media outlets that have a much bigger market. What bloggers can do is provide additional analysis to news stories, and draw attention to stories that are not covered. I find the UAE English language newspapers reasonably honest and hard-hitting in covering stories, and don't sugar-coat or ignore societal problems. I think a great service could be provided if someone were to blog in English on the Arabic language newspapers."
A feel-good trigger
Blogging is a feel-good trigger for many. Secretdubai started it "more as a personal diary to keep a record of things here that amused, intrigued or frustrated me. It is also a way to keep a record of the way Dubai and the UAE are rapidly changing and to communicate to readers overseas about this country."
One of the pioneering bloggers in the UAE, Adnan, who unlike many other bloggers takes no pains to stay anonymous, is more of a multi-blogger, who is currently active in four blogs.
>From jottings of a personal nature initially, his blogs moved on to engage readers on regional politics while two blogs, which are also money-spinners, are dedicated to his core passion and profession: Wristwatches.
Chilton has a niche blog. A US citizen who taught at University of Western Ontario, University of South Carolina and University of Porto before coming to the UAE, he uses his blog to show that economics touches "many if not all parts of our lives."
"I have thoughts and opinions that I want to share with other economists, policy makers, journalists and the public. Being an economist teaching economics in the Emirates, it was natural to make the Emirates and the Gulf my focus. I use current events to show how economics can enlighten our understanding of the world. Another basic theme of mine is that human beings are all intrinsically the same, all have the capacity to do good, and all societies have their foibles."
Keefieboy says blogging allows him to "engage in dialogue with a range of people" that he would not normally meet.
Sometimes blogging can be a personal experience to keep connected with friends and family back home as Brn in Al Ain observes.
Ike found blogging to be too hip an on-line activity for him to jump into the bandwagon. He warmed up to idea before long, himself being a writer who makes "long posts on mailing lists, writes articles for on-line publishing and gives lengthy email replies even to complete strangers" -- as he did for this feature.
For Saeed, blogging is an extension of his personality. "It is a place where I let some steam off. Sometimes you would read an article somewhere and go 'that's just not right!' A blog offers an area where you can let your thoughts out whether someone out there reads them or not."
Content freedom
Obviously, the blog content varies with bloggers. "It can be anything that strikes me as worth writing about," says Keefieboy, who has been living in Dubai for about 11 years, currently involved in website and multimedia design through his DMC-company. "My 'target reader' is anyone who is interested in knowing more about Dubai and the UAE. I also have a bunch of readers who are former Dubai residents."
Ike finds the trigger in "peculiar news items and nice personal events," after setting off on which he "can go zonkers" on his own. The bottom line is that he doesn't write fictional stuff.
Bss & Brn in Al Ain jot down about anything from spaghetti noodle length to the generosity of UAE donors in rebuilding Iraq. Brn, who works at the University in Al Ain, defines his blogs as "observations about life and how they appear to him" as an American.
Secretdubai says people are interested in reading about interesting things. "People are fascinated by the Middle East and Dubai. The three questions I am constantly asked by friends and family overseas, in order of frequency, are: Is it safe over there? What is it like for women; can they work/drive? What is The Palm/The World all about?"
Self-restraint
With freedom comes responsibility. Most bloggers are particular about what goes into their blog, not just in what they write, in the feedback they get too. It is not uncommon for bloggers to remove "comments" that offend anyone's sensibility.
"Most of us bloggers exercise enormous amounts of self-censorship," Secretdubai observes. "A couple of times I have censored people's comments on request, after they have expressed an opinion they later felt nervous about. One time, I also deleted a post where I felt someone was being deliberately offensive."
Keefieboy says that unless the definition of 'what you can and cannot say' isn't clarified by law, he will tread carefully. "I don't try to hide my real identity and for that reason I am always careful to write pieces that I can defend, and that should not be offensive to any of my readers."
Anonymity, most bloggers feel, isn't an issue at all. "I have never once for a second felt that anonymity would protect me from the authorities," says Secretdubai. "It would be child's play for them to trace someone's Internet account usage."
She, however, stays anonymous for "personal privacy and her employer's privacy."
Bu3askoor says that while anonymity can motivate one to blog, he practices self-censorship. "Lack of knowledge of what is permitted by the law, to be said of others, makes you exercise caution. On the other hand, Islam discourages backbiting; so I do not single out individuals on my blogs."
Ike does not try to hide his identity though he has "ideas for several other blogs where he should be anonymous." He says he has 18 ideas for blog entries that he can't start right now.
Brn in Al Ain has very limited anonymity having written a lot about himself, where he lives and what he does. But he exercises self-censorship also because he believes it is rude "for a guest, which is what I am, to insult his hosts."
Chilton too feels that as a guest, it is "impolite to criticise your host." He hasn't associated himself with his employer on his blog but makes it a point "to let people in my daily life know it is my blog and that includes my employer and colleagues, and people I meet in the Emirates. I have felt free to write what I want but I do write with the knowledge that if I need to find a new job someday, that won't be a problem."
"If everyone is going to have to ask themselves, 'Is it possible that what I'm writing could possibly offend even one person, even if they misunderstand what I say,' then I don't see how anyone could write anything (offensive) especially with the language barrier that exists with some people," Brn adds.
Bottom line
As with any communication tool, blogs too, essentially, are about interaction. "I love it when I get a comment," says Keefieboy, "because it shows that not only are people reading the blog, but they are sufficiently engaged to add their own contribution."
Brn in Al Ain takes delight in the cultural exchange his blogs have facilitated as well as the kind gestures of friendship forged on-line and activated in real life. He recalls how a UAE national had offered to ride him around in Dubai when he was car shopping.
"When someone responds thoughtfully, I take that as evidence (that) my post had a role in triggering that comment," says Chilton. "That goes for the comments that take me to task for being too conservative or too uncritical of the Bush administration."
Ike prods people to comment on his blog; any written reaction is "good enough" for him. "What is disheartening is the feeling that no one might be reading your blog," he says.
Ike shouldn't worry, really. It took many months before Secretdubai started getting regular feedback.
Building a dynamic blogosphere is only a matter of time. And keying into cyberspace the right words...
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