WITH approximately 50,000 new blogs registered every day around the world, it’s no surprise that the phenomenon has reached our shores, with around 25 Cyprus-based blogs currently in operation.
Before we go on, I can almost hear many of you asking, “what on earth is a blog?”
Well, it’s a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and are usually displayed in reverse chronological order.
Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs.
The term is derived from ‘Web log’.
Stravara Mas is one of the Cypriot sites, featuring random commentary from or about the island.
Its founder, known simply as Noullis, this week told the Sunday Mail that the site, which was launched in November 2005, “started off with us blowing off some steam and we’ve kept a tongue-in-cheek style ever since. Our main nemesis is Tassos [Papadopulos] as he’s a new ethnarch and we need to have some dissent. We are waiting for him to do something right and have had it with the Cyprus problem as it’s the same old stuff repackaged.”
The site features contributions from seven writers who post material up to five times a week. One of them, named Illantros, describes himself as a wannabe dictator and displays a photograph of Fidel Castro.
“We like to comment on themes that people are conditioned to ignore,” said Noullis, describing blogs as, “a social bookmarking phenomenon where people can speak out and not be slaves to the mass media. We get a kick out of the thought of being sued as we would receive great publicity.”
According to the 45-year-old, the site’s main readership (50 per cent) comes from people living on the island, followed by Cypriots living in the UK and US. There are around 1,400 visits to the site every month, with people commenting and starting discussions with others on various topics.
One of the oldest sites on the island is Ombion, which describes itself as, “kind of a dangerous supplement, marked, scarred on a body, post-orgasmically, always, already in anticipation of (a) crisis OR for a desert avec ‘agape’. Mindb(l)ogg(l)ing Noise.
‘Avalanche, would you share my last pursuit?’ (Baudelaire)” (sic.).
The site’s administrator, who is called Mastros, said it was set up in December 2003 with no aims. “It is simply a platform for people to carry on talking and brainstorming with each other,” he said. “Many of us couldn’t personally meet up due to study or work commitments, so the site is a great idea.”
He said people that use the site “have a common interest in critical thinking and perverse cultural practices, for example the presence of Makarios everywhere.”
Speaking on the phenomenon’s popularity on the island, Mastros said Cyprus has caught up later than other countries, who have since moved on to other forms of technology, such as YouTube, the popular free video sharing website which lets users upload, view, and share video clips.
He also wondered why no newspapers in Cyprus offer a section on their website where people can post blogs.
When we logged onto Ombion, perhaps the strangest post was a picture of a Saddam Hussein doll, noose around its head, wearing a t-shirt with the slogan, Dope on a Rope, emblazoned across the front. Underneath, a caption read: “Toy-maker hopes to profit from Saddam doll.”
Many of the 25 Cyprus-based blogs are Greek-language only and one of the most popular is the intriguingly-titled drakouna.
The blog’s slogan is a Greek saying, which translates as: “Everything is fabricated by the mind and marriage happens by luck.”
We spoke with the founder/keeper/cleaner/cook/grand master of the site, “until Blogger.com crashes or I am kicked out,” she says. “Since I have limited knowledge of computers, I say my prayers regularly and hope that none of the above takes place.”
Drakouna started blogging about a year ago, “just to see if I could keep it up and find something new to write every day. Apparently it worked, because I am still here and I still have fun writing my posts. I write mainly to get what I’m thinking out of my head, like my personal commentary of my own reality. I watch what is happening around me and if nobody interprets it like I do, I write my view in my blog and É feel good. Plus I can finally stop writing on napkins and other loose bits of paper.
“There is no aim for me. I don’t write a blog to change the world or pass on any messages. I write because I like it. It is a way for me to relax and have fun. I have no intention to start a revolution from my sofa, we have had enough unsuccessful attempts, people can rest in peace.
When asked what subject matters are discussed, Drakouna said: “Everything, really everything. News, hilarious statements made by other people, the political situation (great topic as usual), how to make a Cypriot wedding and other horror stories, pregnancy, how to kill your in-laws and make it look like an accident, food, other family matters, relationships, philosophy, where to find the perfect pair of jeans etc.”
Drakouna writes in Greek, “but like most Cypriots I use a lot of English words when I speak. You can blame my education and television for this. I admit it, I don’t try to use proper Greek or proper Cypriot dialect. I basically write as I think and speak. A bit of everything.”
THE WORLD OF BLOGS
As of November 2006, blog search engine Technorati was tracking nearly 60 million blogs.
According to online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, the modern blog evolved from the online diary, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives.
By 2001, blogging was enough of a phenomenon that how-to manuals began to appear, primarily focusing on technique. The importance of the blogging community (and its relationship to larger society) increased rapidly. Established schools of journalism began researching blogging and noting the differences between journalism and blogging.
In 2004, the role of blogs became increasingly mainstream, as political consultants, news services and candidates began using them as tools for outreach and opinion forming.
Even politicians not actively campaigning began to blog to bond with constituents.
The emergence of blogging has brought a range of legal liabilities. Employers have fired employees who maintain personal blogs that discuss their employers. The major areas of concern are the issues of proprietary or confidential information, and defamation. Several cases have been brought before the national courts against bloggers and the courts have returned with mixed verdicts.
http://stravara.blogspot.com
http://ombion.blogspot.com
http://drakouna.blogspot.com
