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Armenians blog their way to 2007 elections

by Actual News Geezer | February 13, 2007 at 10:45 am

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Thanks to Global Voices I have discovered a significant project called the Election Blogging Guide. Armenia of course was part of the Soviet bloc which discouraged corrupt forms of bourgeois democracy such as blogging.* The elections are schedulesd for May 12, 2007.

You can imagine what power is now available to Armenian citizens who, in the words of the document's author, are now equipped with tools that...

"...form an important alternative space for people to talk about politics. Although traditional media such as television, radio, and the newspapers are often biased or are afraid to publish certain news, blogs offer an opportunity for free speech. Through anonymous blogging as described in the Guide, both bloggers and commentators can even speak more freely than the traditional media. In addition, bloggers can act as citizen journalists, reporting news on election irregularities and fraud which the traditional media might not be doing."

The audience for blogging in Armenia is growing. Internet use has increased significantly in the past few years. In 2000, only 1.3 percent of Armenians were internet users. Now approximately 7.5 percent of Armenians use the internet. In addition, blogging is a great way for the Armenian Diaspora to keep up with local news. With so many Armenians living abroad, it is difficult for them to see an Armenian television broadcast or read an Armenian newspaper.

But, with high internet penetration rates in most of Europe, it is fairly easy for them to get online. Reading Armenian blogs can help members of the Diaspora keep in touch with what is going on in Armenia, and for those written in an international language like English, blogs can be read by people around the world. For them, your blog could be a window into Armenian life.

I am very excited about Armenia’s blogging possibilities and wish the very best of luck to Armenia’s first blogging generation!

* OK, so there was no blogging available to anybody during the Cold War. That's a minor quibble.

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flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 12:03 on February 13th, 2007

At NowPublic, this is high praise from NowPublic editors! Your story is now on the home page for awhile, and everywhere else the “good stuff” box shows up. The Armenian path is fascinating, as is the role of blogs in elections.