Blogging for Development

Excerpts from the essay:

"Web logs, (also called weblogs, or blogs) have taken off. There are a number of sites that offer free or low-cost hosting for individuals, and a number of firms (e.g., Corante Blogs and CNET Radio ) now have public blogs. Universities support blogs for faculty, and some NGOs such as Online Learning Europe are using weblogs. Using available software (e.g., Blosxom or Movable Type) or software provided by the hosting sites, it is easy to set up a blog, and easier still to post material to the blog.

Blogcount estimates that there are more than two million active blogs, of which more than 1.5 million are hosted on three major sites: Blogger, LiveJournal, and DiaryLand. While 60 percent of blogs are in English, there are thousands in other languages. Thus one source reports that there are more than 50,000 blogs in Portuguese, more than 40,000 in Polish, and more than 25,000 in Farsi.

The general public is still not very much aware of blogging, especially in developing nations, but things are changing...

There are directories and search engines that can help...BlogWise links to a collection of categorized blogs from around the world. EatonWeb Portal provides information on 12,849 weblogs, listing them by a very large number of countries, including many developing nations, and by a number of languages. The Blog Search Engine provides daily listings of new blogs, and facilitates searching for blogs in its large listing. PHD Web Logs links to a number of graduate student blogs, including some working on ICT4D topics...

The potential of blogs for sustainable development has scarcely been tapped. Blogs provide a means by which individual citizens can speak out about what is happening in their countries, and with their governments..."

Click here for the full article on the ICT for Development site.