CU Liveblog

Celebration!

2008-04-05T09:13:00.001-07:00

After a weekend of hard work we presented the certificates and “t” shirts welcoming our participants to the world of blogging. We also had each of the participants vote on their favorite blogs. The winners were:

A first place tie:

Suzanne Zaid, “Yowmiyat Akhbar Beni Suef” (Back Stage at the Newspaper)

www.benisuefnews.blogsopt.com

Tarek Dawa, “Reesha Fil Hawa” “Interesting Questions.” (Poses questions to the readers and waits for them to respond)

www.Tarek-resha-tarek.blogspot.com

Second Place

Samir Fawzy, “Al Atlal (The Ruins” A blog on Public Health, one issue was unsterile razors at the barber shop spreading hepatitis C )

www.Elatlaal.blogspot.com

Third Place Tie

Mohammad Boseila, “Akbhar Beni Suef”. (Interesting news from Beni Suef)

www.Newsbenisuef.blogsopt.com

Ashraf Mohamad Sayed, “Ahfad Abdel Rahim Al-Qenaw” (grandsons of Qena, History of Qena, a blog of local history and heritage.)

www.Abnaakena.blogspot.com

But everyone was a winner, all the participants now have their own blogs, certificates and “t” shirts welcoming them into the blogging community.

The Last Lecture

2008-04-05T09:05:00.001-07:00

Aymah Salah from MDP gave the last lecture on marketing your blog to make it more attractive to surfers and to help make sure that people come back to your page.

The Presentations

2008-04-05T04:55:00.000-07:00

Showtime happens when the blogger clicks the “post” button. Or perhaps the first time someone clicks on your blog. Everyone in the class is getting at least one click when they present their blogs to the group.

Many of the blogs document very local issues and cultures which don’t make it onto national TV or into the national press. Several journalist bloggers a using her blog to document the steps they take in creating a news story, giving readers the inside story, especially discussing problems getting information for a story. One of the reporter’s blogs is called “Looking for Trouble.” Here are a few of the other blogs that caught my interest:

· “I witnessed What Happened” posts unconventional stories and pictures, including a picture of a man riding a camel trying to get into a bread queue.

· “Laugh” chronicles the adventure of a woman making a first post. She wants to discuss local stories from a humorous or satirical approach.

· “The Southern” is a blog chronicling a theater troop as they travel around the region including schedules and reactions to the shows.

· “The Grandchildren of Abdul Rahim al-Qenawi” refers to the citizens of Qena. The blog talks about history and has a poll asking “would you rather live in the Capital or Upper Egypt?”

· “Egypt in Other’s Eyes” discusses Egyptian ethics, morality and civilization.

· “Mouda” chronicles the stories of people who meet on breadlines and form friendships.

· “The Land of Pottery” talks about the pottery industry in a local community.

· “BS” (I don’t understand the reference, but that’s the title.) is a blog for herbalists and people who use natural medicines.

· “Feather in the Wind” talks about opportunities for youth.

· “Cinderella’s Orchard” where poems grow, features a poet asking for comments on her writing.

· “I want to be a president” the blog of a young woman who wants to be president.
· “The Fans of Ahli” is a football blog.

· “The Diary of an Angry Husband” is self explanatory, except that the blogger is not married.

During the presentation bloggers got tips from the experts on how to make their blogs more attractive. Tarek Atia stressed that a journalist blogger must not abandon his or her journalists’ instincts and training when posting. Many of the trainer’s comments were aimed at improving the bloggers’ focus. The bloggers also got tips on blogging etiquette for their blogs.

The URLs

2008-04-05T04:53:00.000-07:00

We Are Spammed!

2008-04-05T02:33:00.001-07:00

The bloggers are coming in to the auditorium to present their blogs now. One of my favorite titles is “life is a plate of vegetables which I am told means “Life is Chaos.” Another title I liked is “Finally I’m here.” And that’s what the course is about, giving everyone a voice.

In the meantime our “CU Live Blog” has gotten its first spam. Vogue Cigarettes commented that they loved the blog. When you click on the responder you get an ad for a smoke. This afternoon Ayman will make a presentation on how to market your blog. I wonder if this is what he has in mind.

15 minutes to showtime

2008-04-05T01:55:00.000-07:00

With 15 minutes until showing off their blogs to the group the bloggers put last minute touches on their blogs.

Against the Clock

2008-04-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

The third day of the Cairo University blogging course “How to become a famous blogger,” is kicking off with bloggers sitting at their computers trying to beat an 11 AM deadline. At 11 they display their blogs to their colleagues. This afternoon they will learn how to drive more readers to their postings.

Wait until Tomorrow!

2008-04-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

The second day of the blogging course at Cairo University is over. Tomorrow the participants will have more time to work on their blogs and then, at 11 in the morning, we will see the product of their work as each participant makes a brief presentation of their blog before the group.

Does Blogging Have Impact on the Mainstream Press?

2008-04-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

We had an interesting discussion this afternoon on the impact of blogs on mainstream media. Media Development Program consultant Robb Montgomery sent a video message from a newspaper conference in Poland. He said that said that the main impact of blogs is that they have given a voice to the voiceless and forced newspapers to be more transparent. Our lead instructor Ehab El-Zelaky from Al Masry Al Youm, an independent paper in Cairo, agreed and added that blogs in Egypt have made it more difficult for newspapers to hide the truth but it the change has more to do with the personal efforts of journalists to respond to blogs rather than any institutional response by the papers themselves to the blogs.

Ehab El-Zelaky and Robb Montgomery

Our Faculty

2008-04-04T09:54:00.001-07:00

Here is our Faculty

Mariam El-Moatassem

Ehab El-Zelaky

Mohammed Ezzeldin

Doha Shawki

More Pictures

2008-04-04T09:42:00.001-07:00

Our instructor, Mohamed Ezzeldin (standing) helps bloggers get started.

We're Blogging Now!

2008-04-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

The participants at Cairo University are on line and creating their blogs. One of our themes is “not just politics.” And the bloggers are proving that. I walked around the computer lab and asked what people were blogging about. They’re blogging poetry and pottery. There are also blogs on Egyptian history, tourist places, short stories, and lots of features about life outside Cairo. And, oh yes. There are blogs about politics as well, at least two. Miriam reports that one new blog is called “looking for trouble.” Here are some pictures of the action.

Good Morning

2008-04-04T00:30:00.001-07:00

Bloggers are assembling again at Cairo University for another day of "How to Become a Famous Blogger." Above is a scene from the University, below the view from the Mass Communications building where the course is running and the entrance to that building.

Getting Ready to Blog

2008-04-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

After the opening session the group will be divided. Experienced bloggers will go right on line and start making their blogs. The less experienced will have one more session in the lecture hall and tomorrow morning they will start their blogs.

First Pictures

2008-04-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

Our Flag

Registration

Tarek Presents the Blog "Mighty Goods" in the opening session.

We're Off!

2008-04-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Cairo University is the center of Egypt’s blogging universe this (Thursday) afternoon with the course "How to Become a Famous Blogger." Sponsored by the Cairo University’s Media Centers with the help of the USAID Media Development Program (MDP) the course has gone through several different working titles. “Become an expert in a weekend,” “Blogging, not just politics” were two early working ideas before we settled on being famous.

The course is running right now in spite some teething problems including of one of our staffers’ car being rear ended in Cairo traffic earlier this afternoon and a controversy about the course that hit Egypt’s blogosphere. (More on that below.)

So now 40 bloggers from Aswan to Alexandria are spending a hands-on blogging weekend under the guidance of Doha Shawki, who blogs about careers and consumerism; Mariam El Moatassem, who blogs on cooking and being a wife; Mohamed Ezzeldin, who hosts a weekly internet radio shop about blogging and lead trainer Ehab El-Zelaky, managing editor of Al-Masry Al Youm, who is credited with being the first to introduce blogs to print media. MDP Media Advisor Tarek Atia is host (ringmaster? He runs the website “Cairo Live”) and MDP marketing guru Ayman Salah is giving the bloggers tips on marketing their blogs.

Thank you to Wael Abbas, one of Egypt's foremost bloggers, for attacking us in his blog. We contend that blogging is about life, food, love, kids and, oh yes, activism. He holds that you have to be an activist to be a blogger. Thanks for the publicity! Are we having fun yet?

We’ve invited the participants to participate in this live blog. You should be seeing offerings in both English and Arabic throughout the weekend.

Rich McClear