How will blogs change development thinking?
Tim and I have written a short editorial at id21 venturing some guesses as to what the impact of blogs on development might be. We are optimists. What do you think? Can blogs inform and energise the development debate, or is this blog part of a passing fad? Are there creative ways in which blogging can be used to maximize the results of development dialogues and efforts? Do you know of a blog that is having an impact on development?
Update: New Development Gateway special on blogs and wikis.
Comments (14)
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First of all, hats off to Pablo and Tim for laying it right out there that blogging has quickly become an accepted format. Is it a fad? It could be - but are folks with important messages willing to take that risk? That the World Bank has a blog about Private Sector Development is hugely important, because it helps open up the Bank to a wider range of people who wouldn't normally browse to the Bank site and read through hundreds of pages of reports. From my perspective as a blogger, its been a great tool. We combined research and news tracking with blog and community tools to turn a blog into a portal. But it wouldn't be what it is without the interactive interface. (Check it out at NextBillion.net). Blogging levels the playing field, engaging people from all countries, backgrounds, etc. as long as they have a computer (and English-language skills, in most cases). There's a lot yet to do to democratize the blogosphere - but blogs' ability to make information available will only enhance development thinking.
Posted by: Rob Katz | Oct 25, 2005 5:31:08 PM
What if the World Bank and other donors provided a free blogging platform so that developing country entrepreurs and youth could share their ideas and experiences?
Posted by: Feliiche Cruz | Oct 25, 2005 6:31:59 PM
Of course it could have an impact -- especially when used at a local level. The more feedback loops there are locally, the more likely any given development program will be run efficiently. (That said, the one caveat is that this would obviously be more effective in underdeveloped urban areas with greater access to the internet.)
On sites like this, meanwhile, blogging could also have an obvious impact -- particularly so if it makes institutions such as the world bank more transparent. In that sense the potential for success is contingent on how seriously a given ngo or development fund takes the idea of a blog.
Posted by: Chris Meserole | Oct 26, 2005 1:46:07 AM
Felice,
Why would anyone want to do that? There is already a free one, Blogger.com.
Posted by: Tim Worstall | Oct 26, 2005 6:35:10 AM
I'm a big fan of Kiva.org, http://www.nextbillion.net/activitycapsule/1547 , which takes the idea of charitable donations to the next step. Although not a blog, it shares many of its characteristics: it's targeted to the web-savvy, gives you control of and information about the entrepreneur you lend to, and encourages interaction between you the loaner and your loan-ee.
Blogs definitely have the capacity to affect development for the better. I did a paper two years ago on blogging in Iran and was surprised by the phenomenon. People who would normally be marginalized post anonymously (there is no gender divide among Iranian bloggers); people who often feel intimidated can become experts on the topic at hand with a few clicks, and blogging is FREE--all these things invite true participation and diversity. Despite attempts to censor the web in Iran, people find many ways to curtail the firewalls and thus reach a global audience much more easily and quickly than through other media.
That said, part of why blogs have an impact is that they are still somewhat new, so people do pay attention. I hope this doesn't disappear as blogs lose their novelty.
Posted by: Alex Bloom | Oct 26, 2005 2:10:09 PM
I'm completely sold on the notion that blogs open up the conversation on development. It allows in a whole new set of players and offers at least the potential for new ideas and opinions. What I still don't see is how those conversations link to public policy... which, at the end of the day, is how change in development and everywhere else is made. Any thoughts on this?
Posted by: Jeannie | Oct 26, 2005 4:21:46 PM
Blogs and wikis certainly are being taken seriously. Google just bought Blogger, and now they have launched Google Base. See a snapshot from Steve Rubel, http://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/10/google_base_as_.html , who hints that such an entry might have an impact on us bloggers. Seems to me that Development Gateway might be getting worried?
Regarding Feliche's comment - I agree. Something like Global Voices but just "development" geared would be useful.
Posted by: Tarek | Oct 26, 2005 6:14:53 PM
Jeannie hits it on the nail. Are blogs preaching to the choir? I.e. is everyone who is going to read this post a "blog reader
" and hence optimistic? The challenge will be getting the messages of blogs to reach the ears of the policy makers - many of who certainly have no idea what a "blog" or "wiki" is - many of them can barely handle email!
I wonder how many of those who don't know about blogs even read the ID21 article (online journals also appeal to a "niche" email-subscription savy group)? And of those that did, how many actually felt it was worth their while to click on the links? Hopefully they did!
Maybe if someone reads this who came in through the ID21 article they will let you know?
Posted by: DevEconGuy | Oct 27, 2005 12:21:31 AM
Two British development blogs:
http://www.global-growth.org/blog/
http://www.globalizationinstitute.org/blog/
Posted by: Guido Fawkes | Oct 28, 2005 12:16:18 PM
Just want to compliment you on your site – its very impressive and informative. I’ll definitely keep returning to it to see what’s new.
At the same time, I would also like to invite you to have a look at my new website: http://acceleration.bravehost.com/index.html and read my ideas about accelerating development using information technology. Feel free to comment, link and refer it.
Posted by: Ashfaq Tunio | Oct 31, 2005 7:31:25 PM
I am copying pasting this post on the "blogging revolution" that i wrote up a few months ago and is relevant to this discussion:
From G-8 to Live-8 to online blogs it seems the focus is, and maybe has been for a while on Africa. The blogging revolution is unleashing its true potential. Emeka Okafor is just one of the many individuals who is using the world of blogs as an avenue to inspire thought and promote awareness around contemporary issues that the continent faces. Definitely, the same can be said for other parts of the world (Middle East, Asia, South America etc), but I wish to discuss the blogging revolution and and its immediate impact on Africa.
If you google search "Africa blogs" one of the the first things that results is Blog Africa, an open webspace to list African related blogs. The first thing I noticed was the diversity in the type of blogs listed-porn,sports, economics, sustainable alternative development, digital aid, NGOs, random bloggers, music and so much more. Five years ago, am sure none of them existed. With the ushering in of this blogging era (and internet age) you have now a melting pot of really random, eclectic, unsorted bits of information that holds the key to Africa's future. How, you ask?
Well, certainly the the fate of Africa's future lies in the hands of this next generation of dreamers, entrepreneurs and young and upcoming social scientists who quite obviously realize the urgency in rescuing the continent from being completely marginalized in the globalization race. Quoting Wafula Okuma, "these leaders will be dissimilar to the present crop that desperately seeks to feel intellectually superior to the masses, believe that they alone have access to ideas that will make the world a perfect place for the masses if they sheepishly follow their ideas, yearn to be makers of history, and have a tendency to substitute their ambitions for leadership, their wishes for ideas and their ideas for truths which others must live by. " Fluffy ideals and big words yes, but there is truth to be drawn from that statement. The blogsphere (and the internet ofcourse), I like to think, has afforded individuals, organizations, entrepreneurs, mothers, fathers and random nobody's a platform to not just express their ideas and views globally but also exchange and coordinate these "unsorted" bits of information openly, giving each of them a stake in mapping the road to the future.
If you delve deeper you will be staggered by the number of such blogs and websites that are working towards such ideals. Take digital africa for instance, a blogger reporting live from Gleneagles, sharing his perspective not just within his capacity as a reporter, but as a human being for the world to read. And then there are blogs like ink revolution and genesis that throw light on myriad issues and topics pertaining to the continent that have a sublime effect on you, the reader. To drive home my point, books have been written and speaches have been given but never in the history of man has there ever been such large bits of information being exchanged by anybody and everybody daily. Sort these bits together and the revolution will have taken shape. Food for thought.
I am no authority on this subject, rather just another one of them nobody's who gives a damn. In my humble opinion this is an unprecedented phenomenon and should not be underestimated. I guess it remains to be seen what effect this will have. I look to the future with folded arms and a twinkle in my eye. Shanti!
Posted by: Surya | Nov 1, 2005 12:11:08 PM
Hi all,
FYI: EADI (European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes) has launched a weblog on issues of insecurity and development. Insecurityforum (http://www.insecurityforum.org) brings together the community of development workers, activists, policy makers, and researchers who want to explore the link between insecurity and development in its different forms.
I will write some comments on how & why we are investing in weblogs. Thanks for your time,
Can
Posted by: Can Akdeniz | Nov 4, 2005 8:03:01 AM
I like the way blogging can create links between people and ideas, but I think it's a very reflective medium which favours people who like reflective writing. That's more a habit. Not many people may yet be in that habit in the south?? And it is time consuming!!
I blogged it at my own blog as well
http://joitskehulsebosch.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Joitske Hulsebosch | Nov 15, 2005 3:21:52 PM
http://demrepubnepal.blogspot.com/
This blog is playing a key role in the Nepal democracy movement. I believe.
Posted by: Paramendra Bhagat | Dec 7, 2005 12:43:34 AM