The NOVICE MASTER|Welcome to Uncle Che’s NOVICE MASTER. This blog is all about Science and Technology, Business and Economy, Home and Family, Personality and Self Improvement as well as personal opinions, reviews and lifestream

Third world countries, especially those of Africa, usually take a “very long” time to pick up with recent developments in science and technology. The Internet as a whole and blogging in particular is part of this immortal tradition. Blogging, though an old concept that commenced before the start of this century has not yet fully established its roots in Africa. However, one can’t deny the fact that the Afro-Blogosphere (presence and influence of African bloggers and blogs) is gaining breadth and depth at an always-increasing rate.

When I started blogging about a year ago I scarcely heard the word blog mentioned around me (although I was not very sure of what I was getting myself into). Recently, I realized that Africans are more into blogging than I ever thought.. After a quick search on Google, I was very surprised by how many African blogs I found, most of which were listed on www.geoblogdirectory.com and www.afrigator.com. I also found www.afrikeo.com, a site that features feeds from African blogs and news sites. Pay a visit to Afrikeo, and you won’t believe how many blogs’ feeds are fed into it.

Africa, just like the west, is full of talented and skilled individuals in various walks of life. This includes writing as well. Writing is an art that can be easily transformed into blogging. The afro-blogosphere has a very great potential of tippling in just a few months if more Africans are sensitized about blogging and given some basic training.

Below are 3 (out of a thousand) reasons I think Africa does not have as many bloggers and blogs as it is supposed to.

1. A majority of Africans are still new to the Internet. They lack basic knowledge on various web related stuff. As a matter of fact, most can barely check their emails, chat and do simple searches on Google. Networking on Myspace, Hi5 and Facebook is an extra plus. Most Africans are still to hear the words blog, blogging and blogger. Sensitization can help a lot in this aspect.
2. A typical African, relative to the westerner, works harder to earn a living and therefore lacks time for items placed low in the scale of preference. Most Africans will do very hard work during the day and just manage to have enough time to rest and sleep at night. So, Africans who have heard about blogging and have the potential to blog may be held back by time constrains. This is hardly the case with the West where majorities of people have enough time to stay online for several hours a day.
3. Blogging is “expensive” in Africa. Though certain platforms like Blogger (by Google) take care of domain and hosting costs, most Africans who are ready to blog still find it a very great deal paying for surfing time in cyber cafes. This, of course, is a problem because a computer at home connected to the Internet is still considered a luxury in most parts of Africa.

There are many problems standing on the way of potential African bloggers, but instead of pondering much on those problems, I think the experienced bloggers have a responsibility of encouraging others to blog, especially in the domain of sensitization. If bloggers in Africa reach out to their fellow mates and colleagues and educate them on the subject of blogging, I believe blogging in Africa will experience an exponential rise.

Personally, I started a blog (www.azblogging.com) with some lessons that I think can help newbies start blogging. AZ Blogging hosts a form that can be used to ask personal questions related to blogging and get customized lessons tailored to fit the skill level of the inquirer.

Long Live Blogging in Africa!