Goodbye 2008

I think this will be my last post this year, though I hope to get one out just before we cross into 2009, this year has been a rather eventful one I must say, it started out horribly to say the least but the latter part of it has been very very productive and satisfying for me.

First I started of writing and contributing to the CPB site, where Curt and I, report and try and document attcks, threats and persecution of bloggers around the world, something which I have come to learn is very prevalent despite what others might think.  In most parts of the world writing a blog post is usually a private matter governed by only your conscience, but in other place it is a life and death issue, bloggers have been killed and others are languishing in jail for very long jail terms.  Yesterday, Curt took a much needed break and I have now been appointed the editor-in-chief of the site, I hope I will be able to follow in his footsteps and even grow the site and our non-profit even bigger.

I also joined WildlifeDirect in September and my insight into conservation has grown amazingly, after a long period of viewing this as something not of my concern getting immersed into conservation projects and helping the conservationists with what I know best, blogging, has been satisfying a lot.  It is important i think that we, starting owning this projects and not thinking that it is for ’some other people’.  We should individually strive to leave this earth better than we found it.

I have had my writings published in a number of sites including The Tomorrows News Tomorrows Journalists Blog, a collective blog of young journalists, Kenyaimagine, an online news portal, AfricanPath, an african news portal and I have also had the pleasure of writing for Al Jazeera, and also an article of mine got published in The Mail & Guardian Newspaper of South Africa.  This has grown my writing portfolio and I hope that next year will bring more of the same.

I am very encouraged with the growth of our internet industry here in Kenya, everyday new material is coming out, new apps are being built, new sites are coming up and blogs are slowly entering the mainstream which to me is absolutely wonderful.  The good thing is that most of this enterprenuers are doing this themselves without waiting for the government to help them out, as it is currently just paying lip service, to the ICT industry. I await bigger things this coming year.

Happy holidays to you and see you soon.

Blogging and Free Speech

Since I started contributing at the CPB site, I have been struck by the length people would go to stop others from airing their views.  It is very sad indeed that there is even a plan in Iran to pass laws that would sanction the execution of bloggers deemed errant.

TechCrunch today wrote about the dangers of blogging focusing on the WIA report in which 64 blogggers have been arrested so far world wide.  There are more of these cases than one might think and the funny thing is that it is not only, so-called dictatorial governments that arrest or threaten bloggers and website publishers but also individuals and otherwise democratic and free societies like Canada.

Such a sad state of affairs.