An Incomplete guide to Ethiopian Blogs

It seems that since the social media motivated Arab uprisings Ethiopians turned their face to digital media for alternative voices as Ethiopia’s traditional media landscape is subjugated by pro-government and government media. Ethiopians’ hopes for relatively better freedom of expression have never been higher, at least since all exiled media can be accessed through internet.

Against this backdrop every time I logged in to my facebook or twitter account I observe new Ethiopian blog url’s shared by Ethiopian bloggers and social media aficionado. Then I decided to share the list with my readers but the challenge is where can I get a complete list of Ethiopian blogs? No problem it can be a partial list but my readers and fellow bloggers can recommend and make it inclusive. If I may start with news blogs ….

News blogs

The control of government grip on traditional media in the country is far above the ground, but it is being challenged, and sporadically supplanted, by an embryonic Ethiopian blogs and social media enthusiasts reversing time-honored notions of the contours of informational flows between diasporas and homelands. For your Ethiopian related contents that are blocked in Ethiopia are available in one of the following Ethiopian blogs. Have a look at one of the following blogs and of course these are not the only ones

http://ethioandinet.wordpress.com
http://jontambek.wordpress.com
http://danielberhane.wordpress.com
http://andthree.wordpress.com

Reflective Blogs

If you are looking for opinions be it on politics, religion, education, or homosexuality the following blogs will let you know or direct you at least to what is being said on the issues by Ethiopians. Please complete the list.

http://abelawinet.blogspot.com
http://afroaddis.wordpress.com
http://arefe.wordpress.com/
http://afterride.wordpress.com
http://www.debirhan.com
http://www.danielkibret.com
http://fasiledes.posterous.com
http://sukersays.com/
http://eweket.wordpress.com
http://antigaye.wordpress.com/
http://zeelittletes.wordpress.com/

Philosophy blogs
Here is a confession-“I was baptized and brought up in the Orthodox Christian faith. I was taught it in childhood and throughout my boyhood and youth. But when I abandoned the second course of the university at the age of eighteen I no longer believed any of the things I had been taught” This actually is Tolstoy’s confession of the late 19th century but if you are interested to read similar confessions by other bloggers or philosophers I bet Zelalem’s blog worth clicks. I wish many bloggers will join this list of bloggers here and Zelalem, you will “never walk alone”.

http://zelalemkibret.wordpress.com

Literary Blogs

You love literary touch pieces, the following blogs are a good staring place.

http://freemanpoets.wordpress.com
http://tgindex.blogspot.com Tesfaye Gebreab’s blog

Academic Blogs dominated by law blogs

http://www.abyssinialaw.com
http://www.ethiopian-law.com
http://abookmedhin.wordpress.com
http://chilot.me

Programming geek’s blog

http://livetocodedotnet.wordpress.com

As conclusion
These blogs are increasing in number and influencing those who have access to technology to recognize information in their own context. Delicious developmental information is no longer entirely determined by pro-government media. Besides these blogs are presenting information that is inaccessible in a traditional mainstream media .After all do we have a mainstream media in Ethiopia? Anyway try them all.Now, anyone with access to the Internet can consume whatever information individuals have put up in the form of blog posts, whether it is direct reporting of an experience, or a personal translation of the experience. Keep up the good work and bloggers!

One final point

Two of the following fast budding facebook groups of Ethiopian bloggers are commendable options to go through Ethiopian blogs both inside and outside Ethiopia. The links are here and here