When it comes to our own; our country, bodies, opportunities we often dwell on the negatives more than the positive but it is a known fact that when we dwell on the good we feel a whole lot better. So I’m going to give out doses of “feel good” with this new series I came up with. The Laudables. Each part of this series will acknowledge a laudable group of people of this-day Cameroon, interview them and give them what limelight Musings has to offer. For this month we shall applaud the Bloggers.
Blogging by my definition is the easier, informal self-publishing of articles, videos, comics etc using a blog. And what is a blog? The term blogis short for web log, a “log” of diary-like entries published on a web site. This is how it started, people publishing their daily thoughts for all to read on their website. The modern blog evolved from the online diary, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives and opinions and are generally recognized as bloggers.
The timeline of blogging starts in the late 1990’s and in the West of course, but almost two decades later there is no doubt a “blog boom” going on in Africa and Cameroon (for once) is not missing out! Why is it so important you may ask? Why is it worth mentioning even?
Let me explain: We grumble and complain about the bias portrayal of Africa on mainstream media. During the last presidential elections in 2011 no single major broadcasting station mentioned what should have been a decisive moment in our history…well I guess they already knew no decision worth noting was going to be made.
The individual has a voice and the media due to those who sponsor it can’t always tune their voice in.
Be it on fashion, or some remarkable event, a home hero/heroine, a new song, your opinion on religion or your personal politics, blogging helps you make your voice heard on whatever topic you wish to talk about. The increase of blogs run by Africans is making it easier for non-Africans to know that Africa is NOT a country; bloggers disseminate information differently and have brought their country and the ways of their people to the limelight. I’m proud to say I’m one of many bloggers in Cameroon. When I started blogging (seriously) I was shocked to note just how many we were! Shocked because for a country who only just recently enforced computer science as a subject in schools and where the internet connection is generally poor at best (and that is putting it mildly) it shows great effort to have so many bloggers all voicing their own side of the story. In no particular order and inclusive of both French and English blogs, here are some examples:
Etc……
With all these blogs named you may get the idea that blogging has become cheap. You would be wrong. Blogging requires self-perception, authoritativeness, originality discipline and dedication, attributes which pretty much disqualify most people. Oh, they will try, set up a blog and share something for a few weeks even a few months then something else distracts them. Or there are those (ehem, like me, ehem) who are slow bloggers. In other words do not mark your ovulation cycle by us. You just might have a heart attack.
Well, to get down to the point, in this web 2.0 age of blogging there are Cameroonians in the mix laudably, YAY! And more, there are also a few good, serious minded, consistent ones too, another YAY!!
I shall without further ado throw the spotlight on some of that select laudable few… the crème de la crème of the Camer blogosphere:
I Rep Camer
Yes she does! “She” is Yefon Mainsah, a 34 year old Engineer, the lady behind I Rep Camer who is into everything and then some! She is currently based in Houston, Texas where she blogs from and impresses us with how much she knows on what is going on with Cameroonians all over the globe. And I mean ALL OVER. I call Yefon the Queen of Camer Bloggers because she knows them all, and connects them to one another. Following I Rep Camer will keep you up to date on what’s happening with up and coming entrepreneurs, artists, and anyone worth noting in Camer social life. With I Rep Camer Yefon uplifts Cameroonians doing what others say cannot be done. And did I say she does this consistently? Since she began blogging in April 2009, she updates her blog at least once a week and has 54 steady followers for the blog and over 800 on the blogs Facebook page. Like I said, she’s QUEEN ergo a Pro at this.
Musings got her to answer some questions for us and here are her responses to the following questions:
1. What was the idea behind the naming of your blog?
The name is self explanatory. I Rep Camer! To represent Cameroon and showcase who and what we are to the world.
2. What is blogging to you, and what is the basic content of your blog?
Blogging started as an out and escape from a stressful job but now I blog to promote, engage, exchange, share and to have a voice. In essence my blog is your stop for all things Cameroon and Africa plus the random thoughts and musings of an All in One Engineer, Movie/Music & Accessories junkie. With multi-focus on Arts, Culture, Entertainment, Fashion, Travel, Tourism, Business, Technology and everything in between!
3. What do you think of blogging in Africa in general and Cameroon in particular?
(Is it Afropolitan or reflective of the masses or..)
Cameroonian bloggers are finding their voice and place in the “blogosphere”. I am impressed with the increasing diversity of bloggers. Entertainment, Fashion, Lifestyle, Hair & Beauty, Afrocentric, OpEd, Arts & Culture, Business and the list goes on and on. Afropolitan? Yes, because there are bloggers home and in the diaspora and the increasing diversity of content.
4. What in your opinion is the importance or blogging? How has it changed the game?
Blogging is the new media. Bloggers are more important now that ever..The world is a global village where social media is the norm and the dissipation & availability of information of information is widespread. People follow trends. Bloggers are becoming the go-to “experts” for the 411 (info), trends, topics, issues, news etc
5. What about blogging (particularly about Cameroonian blogging) do you wish would change?
Cameroon is bilingual which is an advantage and challenge at the same time. There needs to be more synergy between Anglophone & Francophone bloggers. Slowly but surely we are moving towards that.
6. What is your highest ambition for your blog?
My ambition now will be to monetize my blog. At some point it needs to be more than passion and after 5 years of blogging I am at that point. I just started the advertising service. Check out available AD slots on the “About” page.
Scribbles from the Den
If Yefon is the Queen then Dibussi is the King as this scribbler is one of the oldest in the game and of course one of the most constant. Dibussi Tande who is a Senior Analyst for a multinational management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company based in Chicago has been blogging from there casually since 2004 but really took it head-on as of January 2006. In his words, blogging was merely a continuation – on a different platform- of what he had been doing since the early 1990s when he was a main contributor to leading Cameroonian newspapers such as Cameroon Post, Le Messager, and Cameroon Life Magazine while still a student at the University of Yaounde.
With a MSc. In Political Science it is understandable why Dibussi’s scribble usually read as political punch often sour-wit and sarcasm-sweet. To have blogged for a decade is no small feat so we are not surprised that Dibssi was named number one on Afrigators list of top Cameroonian blogs, with an average of about one hundred thousand unique visits annually. Dibussi took his turn at answering some questions for us as well:
1. What was the idea behind the naming of your blog?
Interestingly, the name of my blog was chosen on a whim while we were designing the blog banner. That said, I guess if you put me under hypnosis, I might be able to figure out, from the recesses of my subconscious, why exactly I chose that name or where it came fromJ
2. In one sentence what is blogging to you, and what is the essence of your blog?
Blogging to me is a means to share my personal perspective on the key socio-political events of the times, particularly events in Cameroon. “Scribbles from the Den” is not about raw news; it is about going behind the news and putting that news in context. I point out in the preface to my 2009 book, Scribbles from the Den. Essays on Politics and Collective Memory in Cameroon, which is a collection of 49 posts from my blog: “For half a century, Cameroonians have been systematically deprived of the appropriate repèreshistoriques or historical reference points that would enable them to analyze political and other events in the country in an informed manner, and place these events in their appropriate historical and geo-political context….”Scribbles from the Den” has, from its little corner in the blogosphere tried to recreate those reference points by taking a fresh look at events of the past and going beyond the official narrative when interpreting today’s events.”
3. What do you think of blogging in Africa in general and Cameroon in particular? (Is it Afropolitan or reflective of the masses or..)
The African and Cameroonian blogosphere has evolved considerably in the last decade, moving from a sphere dominated by men and politics to one that is more diverse, and which now covers a wide range of non-political themes such as fashion, music, culture, gender, etc. In fact, we don’t really have a single African blogosphere but a series of African blogospheres. The same applies to Cameroon where the blogosphere is split by theme, language and even location. In spite of this diversity (some would say division) there is a central “Africanist” theme that has remained constant over the years. To quote Zimbabwe Pundit who was one of the African blogging pioneers, Africans use their blogs to ensure that the African story “share[s] center stage alongside the big issues in the west… African bloggers are retelling the African story from their authentic perspective with an avid passion for their countries and continent to boot.”
4. What in your opinion is the importance of blogging? How has it changed the game?
Part of the answer is found in my previous response. Blogging’s singular importance is that it offers an alternative narrative to mainstream and/or official journalism and reporting, particularly in Africa where distorted official narratives have held sway for decades. Blogging has democratized the media landscape by breaking the traditional media room’s stranglehold on information and disseminating it in the streets.Of course, this shift has risks and downsides that have been well document, but overall, this remains one of the most significant gains of the digital age.
5. What about blogging (particularly about Cameroonian blogging) do you wish would change?
The Cameroonian blogosphere is generally very splintered and not particularly interested or involved in the larger African/global blogging community. Today, this blogosphere is boxed into sealed silos that don’t talk to each other, or even know of each other’s existence. The result is a largely marginal blogosphere with little or no power to mobilize or influence on socio-political events in the country. Hopefully, the creation of a Cameroonian Bloggers Association will help move things in the right direction. On another note Cameroonian bloggers rarely participate in continental or global citizen journalism initiatives such as the ongoing worldwide campaign to free the detained Ethiopian journalists or in organizations such as Global Voices online, the largest platform for citizen journalists in the world. As a result, the Cameroonian blogosphere remains largely unknown, and deprived of valuable avenues for building continental and global alliances that come in handy particularly during times of crisis.
6. How frequently do you blog and how many follow you?
In the early years, I used to blog 2-3 times a week, but I eventually realized that the only way to avoid being burnt-out was to control my blogging and not the other way round. These days, I blog only when I have time. And I don’t stress when I can’t. This is why I am still blogging 10 years after. So my advice to young bloggers is simple; control your blogging and never let your blogging control you. Don’t fret about self-imposed schedules and deadlines. Just make sure that that your work is of stellar quality and the audience and recognition will follow.
7. What is your highest ambition for your blog?
When I started blogging I simply wanted to have a credible blog that would become a reference for the issues that it covered. That goal was met and the blog took on a life of its own in the process. It is thanks to Scribbles from the Den that I have been privileged to contribute to journals such as the BBC’s Focus on Africa Magazine or the Rhodes Journalism Review; invited to conferences around the world to share my insight on issues as diverse as Internet freedoms or Islamism in Africa; have been invited to talk at top institutions such as Northwestern University’s Kellog School of Management; have had my blog posts cited and analyzed by top academics or reprinted in newspapers around the world; interviewed by the BBC and other major news organs; called upon to write policy papers for organizations with a wide reach, etc. And how can I forget the life changing encounters with people whom I met in the blogosphere or during my travels? My highest ambition for my blog, if ever there was one, has been met 10 times over!
Dulce Camer
Dulce Camer is the voice of the young changing generation constantly feeding the people with tidbits almost daily. Dulce brings us all the news, all the prisms of Camer, from comparing Camer hip-hop artist to listing the top Cameroonians under 30 making it big. Dulce Camer is our Forbes, Cosmopolitan, and People rolled into one.
And the lady behind it is none other than Cynthia Tabe who in her 30’s isan insurance manager for a large multinational company in her “main” life as well as the PR behind Douala based ModeMaison PR in my “another life “. She is in and out of Douala and London from London form where she has blogged since 2008. Dulce Camer is constantly named one of the best blogs out there because of their ever informative content. They literally “predict the news” Such as predicting the young Cameroonians to watch for success.
So we asked Cynthia to answer a few questions for us as well. 1. What was the idea behind the naming of your blog?
My blog Dulce Camer which literally translates as “Sweet Camer” is a metaphorical way of me saying great things do come from Cameroon by way of the talents and news I blog about.
2. What is blogging to you, and what is the essence of your blog?
Blogging to me is a form of contributing to the growth of a part of my culture. The content of my blog is particularly entertainment and culture which reflects my passion and interest. I wanted to showcase this section of Cameroon as it was widely neglected.
3. What do you think of blogging in Africa in general and Cameroon in particular? (Is it Afropolitan or reflective of the masses or..)
I believe blogging is reflective of the Africa today as many different angles, topics and perspectives are adopted in different blogs. I do not believe it is lead by the African elites as all you need is someone who loves writing and a computer/internet network!
4. What in your opinion is the importance or blogging? How has it changed the game?
Blogging is very important. Technology has opened up a lot to the mainstream world and it is sure a great thing and blogging has enabled many to discover the undiscoverable!
5. What about blogging (particularly about Cameroonian blogging) do you wish would change?
I wish there would be more bloggers on the scene blogging about the entertainment industry doing film reviews, fashion reviews in Cameroon/World, music/music show reviews, etc etc
6. How frequently do you blog and how many follow you?
I try to blog as frequent as I can, at least once a week but there are times that I have blogged as much as 2-3 times a week. I have 95 people who follow my blog.
7. What is your highest ambition for your blog?
It is quite difficult at the moment to change my blog from what it is as I am also focused on other things however, I would like it to become a one stop platform for all things Camer entertainment and culture.
If you’ve ever heard the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare you would know that he who begins the race doesn’t always finish it. Some new fresh, fierce and fervent ladies who are new to the Camer blogosphere are proving serious and steadily taking over. I refer to Helen Nde of Find Palaver Woman and Ngum Ngafor the brains behind of Africally Speaking.
Find Palaver Woman
I came across this blog after reading a comment someone made while sharing the contents. And till date the contents of this blog always incite a comment or two from me. Helen Nde the 26 year old beauty behind this blog describes herself perfectly as an instigator. Currently occupied as a graduate student/research assistant based in Chicago, Illinois she began blogging in January of this 2014. Her name was inspired by her sister telling her she liked palaver too much and when she thought about it “Find Palava Women” are women who cause trouble, either by being outspoken or unconventional. That description fit her idea of her ranting blog.
Below you’ll see Helen’s answer to Musings’ questions
1. In one sentence what is blogging to you?
Blogging is how I make sense of the world around me. It is my way of processing…and ranting.
2. What is the content or the essence of your blog?
I answered your question before you even asked! I try to focus on the issues that affect African women, wherever they are found. I’m as likely to be talking about race relations in the US as I am to be talking about gender politics in Cameroon.
3. What do you think of blogging in Africa in general and Cameroon in particular? (Is it Afropolitan or reflective of the masses or…?
This is a good one. I spent a lot of time thinking about this question when I write I realize that there are two levels to Africa: the Afropolitan level which consists of people like you and me who straddle western and traditional African/Cameroonian cultures and the purely traditional level which is women who operate fully within the context of local norms. Blogging by default is oriented towards the first group because the average woman living in Ndop or Ekona likely doesn’t wake up in the morning thinking about what the latest blog post on Monique’s Musings is about. However, there is a chance for the two worlds to help each other where we use the blogging platform to discuss the issues that affect us and also, try to build community initiatives to transfer these discussions from the theory to practice…much like how you do with Better Breed Cameroon. I think the connection between blogging and the issues that are discussed can be made stronger. There’s a blog I love called “No Mami Pikin Left Behind.” It seems to target young African mothers, many of whom likely are urban and/or in the diaspora. The blogger Eurykah Fon does a fantastic job discussing the issues that young mothers face and offering humorous and sage insights on how she is handling her motherhood journey. But there are Mami Pikins being left behind in Tombel and Tiko too. Their issues may not be the same as those of a young mother in Dallas, Texas but they are issues all the same. Post partum depression doesn’t discriminate by geographical location, mothers feeling like they lost themselves in the rhythms of family life and child care is not a uniquely American phenomenon. We have to find a way to bridge that gap. Of course we can’t buy all mothers in Tiko computers and teach them how to use the internet and follow blogs, but bloggers can organize workshops via churches, local women’s groups, Njangi’s etc. to talk about these issues.
4. What in your opinion is the importance or blogging? How has it changed the game?
Blogging is very important and has changed the game because it gives us Africans a platform from which to tell our stories. We have the chance now to present ours, however I find that the story is still largely one sided as the majority of bloggers seem to be either urban and in the diaspora (for understandable reasons). The whole story is not being told.
5. What about blogging (particularly about Cameroonian blogging) do you wish would change?
I am still familiarizing myself with the Cameroonian blogosphere so I am not sure I can comment on that yet. I am pretty impressed with what I see so far especially with blogs like I Rep Camer, De Braun Hill, Art Becomes You (the very first blog I started following…Lydie has saved me from many a fashion disaster!) and of course yours. We have a diversity of voices and we cover many issues.
6. How frequently do you blog and how many follow you?
I write when inspired…and when I have time. I haven’t made an official follower count just yet but I average between 50 – 100 hits a week, which I think is not bad for one who only started a couple of months ago. My audience is pretty narrow. Mostly friends and acquaintances.
7. What is your highest ambition for your blog?
More than anything else, I hope each post I write gives the people who read it a chance to look at an issue from another perspective, to laugh, roll their eyes, to nod thinking “I know exactly what she means” or to shake their heads and go “Nope, I do not agree with that.” Ultimately I hope it makes people think.
Africally Speaking
We saved the most popular for last. Some PR company needs to hire this lady! Ngum Ngafor may be a new player in the game but she has gained a following in no time at all launching her blog with a Twitter party with participants tweeting from all over the globe! Africally Speaking is in one sentence: A cool new hub focusing on Africa’s innovators and thought leaders. 34 year old Ngum Ngafor is a London based nurse who has freelanced to other blogs and Magazine’s such as MIMI since 2007 till she decided to set up Africally Speaking earlier this year. Africally Speaking has invested a lot in the field on interaction and for that it stands out. With regular Twitter debates and presenting local heroes and international innovators for question and answer sessions, following Africally Speaking serves viewing and participating in a TED talk. You always leave with your mind stretched a little more. We lured Ngum into answering the following questions for us:
1. What was the idea behind the naming of your blog?
Africally Speaking is really a website. Its name was inspired by a rap tune. Remember Fabolous’ ‘holla back’? I was in love with that song! There’s a part of it (just before he says ‘holla back’) where the beats arrange into a beeping sound. Somehow it managed to form the words “Africally Speaking” in my head. I also love word play so it was an easy thing to accept. We say technically speaking about technical stuff or statistically speaking about stats. So why not Africally speaking if we are talking about Africa?
2. What is blogging to you, and what is the essence of you blog?
A blog to me is a fantastic platform which allows me to tell stories creatively and connect with great minds.
I write about innovators and pioneers in various fields both in Africa and the diaspora. The world needs to see that Africa is the cradle of innovation and that the concept still bubbles through our veins. It drives the continent forward and should be encouraged as a major ingredient of development. Aid, which is still championed by many traditionalists, has proved to be inefficient and beneficial only to vested interests.
3. What do you think of blogging in Africa in general and Cameroon in particular? (Is it Afropolitan or reflective of the masses or?)
Blogging has given us the opportunity to engage with different perspectives from Africa and I love that. I think the fashion and entertainment scenes are particularly vibrant. Some blogs are more Afropolitan than others. Africa is a Country, for instance, is a fantastically stylish blog that touches on everything from politics to music; the writing is exquisite. Others like Kenyan Pundit showed that any citizen could hold their politicians to account. TMS Ruge always has an interesting take on international development. Then there’s Mina Salami, who blogs brilliantly on feminism at Ms Afropolitan. Belinda Otas is a wonderful womanist and social commentator who chronicles art beautifully. Recently, I’ve come across fantastic sites that publish stories about sex and relationships. This gives you a sense of how liberating blogging has been for many. In some ways, Cameroon seems to be catching up with the rest. That said, I love the stuff that is coming from veteran bloggers like Dibussi Tande (Scribbles from the Den) and (relatively) newer kids on the block like Dzekashu McViban of Bakwa Magazine http://bakwamagazine.wordpress.com. Viola Allo is also another exquisite mind; she blogs at Letters to Cameroon and Viola Heart Yoga. Mah Mekolle’s Pearls of Our Lives http://pearlsofourlives.com is full of great soul food. For my entertainment fix, I check Dulce Camer (my previous blogging home) and I Rep Camer.
9. What, in your opinion, is the importance or blogging? How has it changed the game?
Blogging matters because everyone has a voice. By by-passing the traditional media gatekeepers, African bloggers have changed popular discourse about the continent. They have arguably forced the world to look beyond the usual tragic stories associated with the continent, to discover a world that is lyrical, musical, colorful, and diverse and in many ways just like theirs.
10. What about blogging (particularly about Cameroonian blogging) do you wish would change?
Hmmm. [Laughs]. I think blogging has become by far more sophisticated than it was once perceived to be. One could argue it is a proper journalistic discipline. I just wish more bloggers would catch up with this and write more professionally. This includes using press releases to direct one’s writing as opposed to just cutting and pasting their content.
11. How frequently do you blog and how many follow you?
I update interviews with African innovators and thought leaders fortnightly and add news picks between features. Visitors to our site are in the thousands…
12. What is your highest ambition for your blog?
I aim for AS to be a reference point for African innovation and thought leadership. A major goal is for us to be a spot where the continent’s greatest thinkers connect and embark on breakthrough projects.
Hope this piece has made for insightful reading! Lets support our Cameroonian bloggers who are shining the light on the good the bad and their effort is laudable.
Next on the Laudable Series, we’ll highlight the Returnees! See you next month, till then…
