Blogging in the UAE

Hey friends,

An article Blogging in the UAE in the Tabloid section of Gulf News. Interesting read, particularly about the point being mentioned--- "Before, because there was no space to complain elsewhere, people used the only outlet [blogging] they could to express their negative thoughts. Now, I think you are going to find a wide variety of opinions.”

That's the whole idea, isn't it? To express your opinions and thoughts. The articles mentions that "if there is such a thing as a typical UAE blog, it bears some resemblance to a teenage girl’s diary." But that is changing now after the imfamous blocking of Secret Dubai Diary. People are writing a whole lot more than just their everyday activities.

I think it's awesome that we can now get to hear from the people directly about their experiences, anecdotes and other things, rather than read the moderated views in the newspaper. One Pakistani blogger based in the UAE says "Blogging has been good to me,” he says. “Through it I have met a lot of great people and travelled a lot. It has opened a lot of doors… but I know people in the UAE who have married people they met though blogging.” Intresting isn't it? I remember mentioning months ago that blogging your thoughts, and expecting feedback in comments is like a more elaborate form of chatting on programs like MSN or Yahoo Messenger.

One of the common fears bloggers have is that of being caught by the authorities. I sometimes have that fear too, but then I read random blogs coming out of Dubai, and see they have much worse stuff than me, I delight in the fact that I am far from controversial stuff.

You all have a good day!

Mansur