I recently noticed that an increasing number of bloggers in Jordan (and some Arab countries) are expressing boredom of blogging and lack of enthusiasm for writing. Some are even contemplating end of blogging all together. It seems that the novelty of the blogsphere as well as of blogging has worn off. I strongly believe that the censorship imposed (implicitly) has a lot to do with turning the blogsphere into an increasingly boring venue for sharing ideas and expressing one's self.
I started blogging in 2007. I had a lazy start, but then my frequency of writing picked up as the months went by. Today I find myself bored as well. I also find that the past 18 months have been a great learning experience as far the local online community is concerned.
My most stark observations about the blogsphere in Jordan is how overwhelmingly negative it tends to be. Sometimes, I honestly feel mentally tired from the constant bickering that takes place without really presenting the issue in question within a reasonable and well structured context. I also noticed that there is a sense of elitism among certain bloggers, that reminds me of the obnoxious or nerd-ish cliques one finds in high school. More disappointing is the tendency of some bloggers to become a reflection of the mainstream media packaged in somewhat semi-critical tones that serves at nothing but to insult the reader's intelligence. The most annoying blogs are those whose authors wreak of narcissism.
Having said all of that, I must not forget my immediate impression and surprise when I started surfing the Jordanian blogsphere: how eloquent certain Jordanians are and how widespread they are.
One thing that our blogsphere lacks is humor (with the exception of Hajjaj maybe). I guess we, Jordanians, are not known for it. Or as any drama teacher might tell me, making people laugh through writings is probably one of the hardest things to do.
Finally, I must admit that I was pleased to read various bloggers express disappointment and boredom from blogging as well as from the blogs out there. I have been feeling it too. To see that I am not alone, means that there is definitely something that is driving the blogsphere into the annals of the "quite" boring.
By the way, I did a little exercise on a blog aggregator. I listed the number of postings per month and per year over 31 months. Sure enough, the general feeling out there can be backed by actual figures. The number of postings has been falling over the past few years. The rate of the fall is not alarming. However, one would expect that as time goes by the number of bloggers to grow, and with it the number of blogposts. Not so.
(see graph - blue: 2006 - red: 2007 -- yellow: 2008)
3 comments:
"One thing that our blogsphere lacks is humor"
You obviously are not familiar with rambling hal's blog. But I guess it doesnt really count since she hasnt made a post in, I don't know, 4 months maybe. Ugh.
Who needs humor when reality is the funniest thing ever!
Farah welcome to Tallouza! I guess rambling hal is feeling the boredom bug too:-) You, on the other hand, are still too young in blog years to be feeling bored already (mabrook your blog)..maybe the boredom is a function (byproduct) of the stagnation we see in "alwad3 al3aam" and the passiveness felt all around it.
Mohanned, sharru albaliyyatee ma yuddhek! But how about if we constantly have to edit talking of "al baliyyah" so that we do not cross a certain red line?
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