Who is @FarrukhSiddiqui ?
An event manager, with over 28,000 followers, Farrukh Siddiqui is not new to the Twittersphere. He is one of a few Pakistanis who command such a huge following in this form of social media, and is often seen making use of it to further causes deserving attention as well as to patriotism. It may not mean a lot to some people but his immense following grants him power to propagate ideas, and discourse far beyond a normal social media user. Here are his answers to the questions we asked him. 1) Why did you join Twitter? I really joined twitter accidentally; one of ...
Read Full PostWho is @Tazeen Javed?
Tazeen Javed is what you call an experiment junkie. She is game for everything which she has not done before; she has worked at a gay bar and tinkered with a grenade (with its pin out!) because she had to get it under her belt. However along the way, she has managed to get some expertise in the field of communications and that’s how she earns her living. She also writes for various newspapers and news weeklies. Why did you join Twitter? Because you asked me to. Really, you said that I should join twitter to spread the word about my blog ...
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The effects of the social media
The ongoing debate regarding the impact of social media is part of a greater construct in relation to the progression of democratic systems across the world. It cannot be denied that social media has played a unique role in gathering people to topple dictators and tyrants but the question remains whether this is necessarily healthy for the public sphere in which a functioning democracy runs. So when we talk about the ‘Arab Spring’, it is a unique set of events that have been launched through what many analysts call “the political awakening of Arab youth.” To start out, the new Muslim ...
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Dear liberals, speak up!
In my two and a half years in the US, I haven’t met a single Republican. An overwhelming majority of the Americans I have spoken to are apologetic about the drone attacks in Pakistan, were appalled by the “Ground Zero” mosque crisis, despise the Tea Party movement and don’t understand Republicans’ repeated attacks against health care reform. This category of opinion is in large part echoed by liberal columnists and pundits that we even follow back home. I, therefore, find it interesting to reconcile what I witnessed in the November 2 elections with what I know of my personal experience ...
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Pak Tea House vs Let Us Build Pakistan: Just another talk show?
A debate recently ensued between Pak Tea House (PTH) and Let Us Rebuild Pakistan (LUBP), two eminent blogzines of the Pakistani blogosphere. It started when the former criticised Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) over its handling of the disciplinary violation of party regulations by Sherry Rehman. LUBP accused PTH authors of wrongly exaggerating the facts and giving PPP a bad name without a valid reason. Hot words were exchanged and name-calling was indulged in from both sides, making it quite a spectacle for the readers. Eventually, after a number of fierce posts, from both ends, the matter came to end ...
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10 things Pakistani blog readers should know
Blogs can be casual, formal or anything in between. So while writing, the blogger can interrupt the readers with an “akhhh thoo” if he wants to, without having to suffer tons of meaningless comments. It’s a blog, not a featured article in Foreign Policy magazine. Blogs are opinion-oriented. They may or may not be backed by hard facts. A blog or ‘web log’ does not necessarily have in-depth analysis that will ...
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The keyboard mafia
Over the past few months I have been paying close attention to the comment mafia. Mind you, they do not attack regular newspaper reports, but the pistols come roaring out for blogs and op-ed pieces. In blogs there is a bit of professional rivalry. If a certain popular blogger has received a high number of comments then others bloggers will start commenting tearing his/her piece apart. One would find something like this: Frustrated201: What crap! KhiGurl: I agree with Frustrated! L@ggard: I concur…with Frustrated and KhiGurl. They are so right. These hate commenter’s travel in packs. They will leave derogatory (but not abusive) comments on each ...
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The more opinion the better: A blogger’s defence
Blogging is a good democratic avenue for self expression. Some find a blogger’s desire to write offensive, and that is fine. I’d like to turn their attention to their computer’s ‘Shutdown’ setting. If one doesn’t like what my blog or any particular message board they stumble across says, then by all means, don’t participate. Because it is the ability to participate in the debate that makes the blogosphere democratic and unique. Blogging, is a right. If I or any other member of the blogosphere decides to express an opinion then that should be lauded (I laud myself all the time!). It is ...
Read Full PostFloods and selective silence in the blogosphere
As I write these lines, the latest reports put the death toll from floods at some 1,100 with 1.5 million affectees and some 100,000 plagued by diseases like cholera. Most of those affected are stranded at remote areas, away from safety, with no food or shelter or clean water and with no access to medical facilities. The waters still rage on and more villages are vulnerable to disaster, risking yet many more thousands of lives. However, I am appalled by the utterly careless, stolid response of the Pakistan media in general and the blogosphere in particular towards this issue. While ...
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