By Brenda Zulu
The emergence of digital citizens in Africa is still an elitist activity and was still an urban tool. Global Voices Online, Regional Editor for Sub Saharan Africa ,Macha Ndesajo asked and answered the question by saying that “No ones owns the African blogosphere” in his open address to delegates attending the Digital Citizen Indaba (DCI) in Grahamstown South Africa recently. He said that this was because Africa’s rural still has infrastructure challenges noting that as Africa we are were we started with the mobile phones ten years ago and that in the next ten years we expect the revolution to be blogged. He noted that the other challenge was that of ownership as to who owns the African blogosphere? “No one owns the African blogsphere,” said Ndesajo. He noted that blogs gave power to the community to share what they wanted in whatever form weather text, video, sound and data. He said it was not enough to just be a blog unless one was enhanced by being part of a community because united “we would have more power,” said Ndesajo. He gave an example of Kenya Unlimited, which is a Kenyan blogsphere that has the power of the community. “We were a smart mob and we can build new Africa,” observed Ndesajo. He said that digital natives in Africa could embrace both traditional and new media. He observed that many bloggers in Africa had started to practice Citizen Media and also that there was need to build a community around blogs. He noted that blogs were so powerful as countries such as Ethiopia had started to block blogs. Some bloggers cannot blog within Ethiopia. Macha pointed out that without some Zimbabwean bloggers it would be difficult to know what is happening in Zimbabwe. He observed that Podcasting in Africa was not growing as fast as blogging. He observed that there was an African podcast www.africafiles.org at which people use Audacity a free open source audio program to edit their sound. Ndesajo also observed that there was an African You Tube called Mooziko. Meanwhile a Vlogger Khaya Dianga on You Tube called for more Africans on You Tube so that they can help change the way people see Africa. Dianga said the one thing Politicians fear most was You Tube. Bob Sankofa a Photoblogger said he blogs because he wants to show the other part of the story. He added that the people in the Diaspora read and promotes his blog.

Remmy Nweke a Journalist based in Nigeria said he blogs because he wants to achieve his stories online and that it helps in getting background materials online.

Trackback URI |