Comments on: Not a Patch on China

By: Ask what the Internet can do for Kazakhstan | KZBlog

Ask what the Internet can do for Kazakhstan | KZBlog — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:18:50 +0000

[...] has an interesting post up at Neweurasia on the number of bloggers in Kazakhstan: 3450 blogs registered in Kazakhstan. Compared to China, [...]

By: KZblog :: Ask what the Internet can do for Kazakhstan :: February :: 2007

KZblog :: Ask what the Internet can do for Kazakhstan :: February :: 2007 — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 11:11:28 +0000

[...] has an interesting post up at Neweurasia on the number of bloggers in Kazakhstan: 3450 blogs registered in Kazakhstan. Compared to China, [...]

By: Isaac

Isaac — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 06:18:39 +0000

Hi ben and Nathan, I was on skype to talk with Irene on that. Happy to see you here.

By: Irene

Irene — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 11:28:25 +0000

My point is the following: development of blogosphere in Kazakhstan will catch on this year (especially whe one knows how many activities are planned in order to promote it. And there are quite many people – mostly not journos- who (I am sure!) will make great bloggers as they have got what to say.
However, one cannot absolutely ignore the global tendencies :) – it was about the report.

By: KZBlog

KZBlog — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 11:25:13 +0000

I think Nathan is on the right track. We can’t assume that just because something exists it will catch on, or even that it should catch on. One possible factor: If you look at commentary on news sites–gazeta.kz or zonak.kz, 90% of comments are anonymous. Possibly people are afraid of being arrested or fired for criticizing or joking about the powers that be (the content of some comments shows that the commentors are people in power). Other people may feel they have no right to comment on news or politics. Possibly people feel the official news reports exist. Also, many people assume all forms of news are biased and reading a blog where the bias may be unclear–especially if the blog is anonymous–may make them distrust everything. I can’t speak to China, but in general compared to the US where blogging thrives, it seems to me Kazakhstani are less willing to be outspoken (out of fear or shyness), and possibly less interested in having their comments reach a huge anonymous audience, two key factors in blogging. Some other forms of web or tech usage will likely take off in KZ–text messaging is way more popular here, for example.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 08:55:02 +0000

Don’t take that report for more than what it’s worth. I think he’s saying a few things that don’t mean too much for places like Kazakhstan.

First, he says that the growth is leveling off. I am not too shocked. “Real” growth was never as high as it seemed considering how many people don’t stick with blogging once they start. I think some people — especially those who used blogs as a journal or diary of sorts — might not be starting in the first place and instead turning to social networking sites (some of which have basic blogging tools built in).

Second, the novelty is wearing off. Blogging has been around a while now, and it’s proven its mettle and its limitations. It isn’t so exotic anymore, and our (American) fickle media won’t go slumming it so much as they used to. (They won’t be treating it like slumming it, anyway.)

Personal publishing and the blog format of doing so will carry on, and there’s no reason why it still can’t catch on in Kazakhstan. It’s important to remember how different parts of the world develop certain types of preferences for certain tools on the net. The Russosphere loves LiveJournal. Apparently there’s a social networking site that only ever caught on in Brazil, where it’s huge. I would never have expected Kazakhstan’s online community to develop too much like the West’s, and I think that personal publishing will continue to catch on as it has in 2006.

By: Irene

Irene — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 05:50:54 +0000

Ben, comparing it to 2005, it was a real boom.
However, some people in the USA predict the end of the blogging boom in 2007 (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/ideas/bal-id.blog31dec31,0,6234140.column). Aren’t we a bit too late here?

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:08:01 +0000

Isaac, good to see you here! I hope that there will be a tipping point one day. Although, looking back, 2006 has been a fairly good year with regards to new blogs from Kazakhstan.

By: Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Kazakhstan: A Long Way to Go

Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Kazakhstan: A Long Way to Go — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 17:41:45 +0000

[...] Kazakhstan blogged, there would still be far more Chinese bloggers. She looks at possible reasons why Kazakhstan’s blogging community is as small as it is. Nathan [...]

By: Irene

Irene — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 14:09:24 +0000

I do agree that “the online history” of Kazakhstan is very young and modest, so it would be illogical to expect it to achieve the same level of development as it is in other, more IT-developed, countries. However, I regard people’s active life position and their willing (including to share, link, communicate and draw attention) as the crucial factor whenever we talk about any initiatives and chances to state one’s point of view.