Image Text:

FLOURISHING: Writer Christiana Mbakwe

IT IS hard to imagine life today without the internet. Back in the day, when you went out to meet friends for dinner, nobody ‘checked you in’ on Facebook before you had the time to take your coat off. Nor were pictures of your first course posted on Instagram.

They were simpler and more private times all-round.

But the digital revolution has brought with it other benefits. Thanks to social media and sites like Twitter, YouTube, Wordpress, Blogspot and Tumblr – there is more information at your fingertips than ever.

The dissemination of information is no longer in the hands of a privileged few. Now anyone with something to say and access to an internet connection can make their mark.

The internet has given rise to a new wave of creative types who are using online tools to make their voices heard, filling gaps in the market overlooked or not even understood by mainstream media.

Some of the most popular online communities centre on issues around the so-called natural hair movement, underground music scenes, beauty blogs for African and Caribbean women and general themes of balancing cultural identities and the battle of the sexes.

POPULARITY

Though blogs – a portmanteau of ‘web logs’ – have been around since the late Nineties, it is only over the past few years that their popularity has exploded.

In the US, it is believed that 57million adults read blogs on a regular basis.

Black and ethnic minority bloggers make up at least 40 per cent of the entire community.

Not as much is known about the UK blogging scene, and even far less is known about blogs written by those of African and Caribbean heritage.

Academic Deborah Gabriel, who specialises in journalism and media, is hoping to put that right.
In 2011, she founded the website Black Bloggers UK Network as a platform for the community and is now undertaking a PhD research project at the University of Salford on African Caribbean bloggers in the UK.

It will be the first study of its kind in the UK.

Gabriel said she hoped the explorative study based on the experiences of bloggers would fill an academic gap.

She told The Voice: “I’m looking at why they blog; what they blog about; what gratification they get from blogging and whether their blogs address issues of representation in the mainstream media.

As we know, there’s a history of people of African and Caribbean heritage being excluded or misrepresented.”

In 2012, it was estimated that there were more than 77 million Tumblr and 56.5 million Wordpress blogs in existence.

What has become clear from her research, explained the former journalist and author, was that the vast majority of bloggers wanted to have their voices heard in the public domain or were simply passionate about something that they couldn’t read elsewhere.

RESEARCH: Deborah Gabriel

Marsha Gosho Oakes founded her blog Soul Culture in 2007 when she was in second year of university. It has since grown into a successful international online magazine which she runs full-time with business partner Eddie Smith who previously worked at Def Jam.

The site – nominated for a Soul Train Award in 2010 – caters to culture-savvy music lovers and offers the latest news about music, in-depth features and interviews.

PASSION

“I think part of our appeal is that even though we have transitioned into a business, that wasn’t necessarily what motivated me to start the blog,” said Gosho Oakes.

“Firstly, I wanted to write. And I wasn’t just interested in music; I was interested in the history of music and looking at things like the impact of the Civil Rights movement on soul music. There wasn’t one place that did all that so I decided to create it myself.”

Oakes said with blogging or self-publishing comes a certain degree of freedom to write from an honest place rather than writing simply to attract web hits.

Gabriel said that was the key ingredient of any successful blog.

She said: “In the beginning, the news media were highly critical of bloggers and making comparisons to professional journalists until they came to understand that the personalised aspect is what attracts readers to blogs.

“Blogs are open and honest and don’t pretend to be objective and people like that. In terms of popularity, bloggers who write on a topic they are genuinely interested in and passionate about, readers will come back again and again.”

CELEBRITY

Christiana Mbakwe, better known by her online moniker Christiana Rants, has used Blogspot, complementing it with social media - Twitter, YouTube and Tumblr to build an online presence and develop her passion for writing.

She is a full-time digital marketer but is also a freelance writer and columnist for the website xoJane. Mbakwe has consistently build her online presence and now has more than 6,000 followers on Twitter who flock to her blog for her straight-talking but humorous approach to a variety of issues.

In 2011, her blog Growing Up African, earned cult status as she explored the nuances of being a child of immigrants. The personal perspective struck a chord.

“The response was quite touching. People from different backgrounds would say how much it reminded them of their own parents,” said Mbakwe.

“I started blogging because I’m opinionated and I come from an opinionated family. I got a good response from notes posted on Facebook and decided to collate my thoughts on a blog.

“Style-wise, I used to be much more polemic but I’m less so now. I am still saying what I think whether it’s about [TV Show] Love and Hip Hop, hair or current affairs.

“I just feel so privileged to be a part of this space that is emerging. It has meant new opportunities, like being headhunted via my blog which made my mind boggle. But I don’t think any blogger does it for any other reason than because they love it. If you do it for any other reason, you will fail.”

Gabriel said that many writers were choosing blogging rather than pursuing full-time careers in journalism.

PASSIONATE: Ronke Adeyemi

She explained: “I started my research project thinking that perhaps black writers were using blogging as an outlet in reaction to the difficulties and barriers of entering a career in journalism.

“I now realise that would be totally missing the other reasons. But I can tell you that while most bloggers publish content on more than one topic, news and current affairs is very popular.

“News media has changed so much. Employment has become casualised; journalism is no longer a life job or even a safe career choice. There are other jobs that are better paid but blogging still offers an avenue to pursue a passion.”

Award-winning blogger Ronke Adeyemi launched Musings of Ondo Lady in 2007. Through her style and culture blog for cosmopolitan women, she has been invited to cover London Fashion Week and is courted by public relations professionals when new fashion products are launched.

She said: “You find with some beauty writing there is not much personality. Blogging has changed all that.

“People write about the things that they like in a very personal way and there’s a greater degree of honesty. A lot of effort goes into it, and through that enthusiasm for a particular subject comes knowledge. PRs (public relations professionals) have woken up to that. An endorsement from a blogger (now) carries a lot of weight.

“It’s also a great way to meet like-minded people and there are lots of different communities. It’s fascinating.”

Changing the game is a hallmark of the blogger, said Gabriel.

“Bloggers may not be interviewed by the mainstream news media but when they blog people will take notice. They can make an issue last longer or push it into the mainstream. For example, when LSE professor Satoshi Kanazawa made comments about black women being the least attractive. It was a defining moment. Anger turned into discussion and a subsequent campaign came out of that which went worldwide.

“It built pressure for the mainstream to act and showed that bloggers have significant impact.”