Hand gestures, smoke signals, tablets, scrolls, books then blogs –this has been the evolution of humankind’s mode of communication. And Nairobi has not been left behind. It is currently hooked to the digital media and has seen the emergence of a crop of “artist” called bloggers. The bold and the creative. Hand gestures, smoke signals, tablets, scrolls, books then blogs –this has been the evolution of humankind’s mode of communication. And Nairobi has not been left behind. It is currently hooked to the digital media and has seen the emergence of a crop of “artist” called bloggers. More and more blogs are opening daily. Pages of our diaries are no longer in the form of paper. Today, we paste personal journals online for the world to see. Our political protests are less about taking to the streets, than they are about organised online dissention.

One unique aspect to the Nairobi blog scene is the number of blogs devoted to social and lifestyle issues. The talk about marriage, fashion, weekend drinking escapades, and politics is rampant in these online alleys.

But why the sudden growth in blogging? Archer, a writer at one of the sites that stands as the voice of men in Nairobi, says that man has many needs and the need to be heard is one of them The stereotype surrounding the Kenyan man is one of the reasons that pushed him and a couple of other writers to open up a site that would “redefine the Kenyan man.”

“We started Wanaume after noticing that the Kenyan man is bashed in every forum available. Wanaume was born to save the situation.” The same sentiments are closely echoed by Mrs. Mwiti, a blogger who shares her journey through motherhood, marriage and family. For her, blogging is a hobby first, then a platform to tell her story.

Another driving force for local bloggers is the need to share knowledge—seemingly owing to the proverbial aphorism that giving is receiving. Rogers for instance, who has built a musically-correct fort at Knoxnation.com says: “It’s an alternative avenue for music lovers like me to keep up to date with latest music that does not get airplay on radio and TV.”

For the artistic crowd, it is an exhibition for their work. Mutua Matheka , a renowned photographer, looks at blogging as a way of sharing his work and experiences to the world. “I want people to know who I am and what I think through my blog.” James Wamathai who runs Wamathai.com , a stronghold for creative writers, says that considering the expense of publishing in Kenya, a blog is one of the easiest and fastest ways for a writer to get readership. “The media is not telling our stories!” He emphasizes.

Now that the Internet seems to have provided freedom of speech, albeit online, one wonders if the clamor of it is loud enough to be called the emerging voice. Icon, a blogger at Diasporadical, which runs social and political commentaries every week believes that a blogger’s voice has proven to be the loudest whisper that one can ever hear. But are bloggers powerful enough to create social change?

Even though he agrees, Mrs. Mwiti disagrees: “Yes awareness is created but is it usually sufficient enough to make people act?” Rogers believes that transparency is an enemy to governments. A good example was the Kenya28thFeb. Organized by Alison Ngibuini, AL Kags and a collective body dubbed Wanjiku Revolt, the initiative called for bloggers to spread the word in their blogs in an attempt to get people to sing the National Anthem on 28th February, at exactly 1 pm. This successfully took place, making headlines in local and international news.

Most bloggers feel an unvoiced conflict between themselves and the mainstream media. However, there are blogs that are said to misuse the freedom that the Internet affords them, crossing the line and going rogue. An anonymous commenter says that some bloggers use it as a tool for slander, “Sometimes they use these blogs to settle scores, publishing

classified information about a person that they dislike or even nude photos,” Questions are also raised as to how reliable they are in getting the facts right.

However, James Wamathai insists on the power of blogs, adding that most media houses have incorporated blogs into their systems.A good example in this case is Capital FM, which has for some time now kept an undefeated online presence. Laura Walubengo, an online editor, says that they have incorporated blogging on their site and adds that blogging is fundamental for any media house that wants to keep up with the online trend.

A source at Nation Media Group agrees that the online community stands as a menacing competitor to the mainstream media, given their instantaneous and timely delivery of news.

However, he says that the mainstream is coping with this by keeping their online sites active and going beyond the ‘what’ of breaking the news and moving on to the ‘why’.

But is someone reading? The page views and the comments seem to be an intrinsic motivator. Currently, most of the bloggers we interviewed fetch between 200-4000 views per post.