HANDBOOK FOR

BLOGGERS

AND

CYBER-DISSIDENTS

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS

SEPTEMBER 2005

ISBN : 2-915536-36-8

© 2005 Reporters Without Borders

 

 




 
BLOGGERS, THE NEW HERALDS OF FREE EXPRESSION
   Top   Contents   Expanded Contents
Personal Accounts


"And behold I have found that which is greater than wisdom. It is a flame spirit in you ever gathering more of itself..." -Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet ; image: "Connection" - The Act of Blogging is the Act of Independent Thought and Expression, the synaptic expressions between Human Neurons amid the mass consciousness We are. - David Manchester - connexions.gif, (GPL) 2005
   "You have been told that, even like a chain,  you are as weak as the weakest link.

  "This is but half  the truth. You are also as strong as your strongest link...
 
  "And behold I have found that which is greater than wisdom.

  "It is a flame spirit in you ever gathering more of itself,...
 
  "...And in this lies my honour and my reward, -That whenever I come to the fountain to drink I find the living water itself thirsty;

  "And It Drinks Me While I Drink It."
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet



BLOGGERS, THE NEW HERALDS OF FREE EXPRESSION
   Top   Contents   Expanded Contents
Personal Accounts

"One of Us"CONTENTS
 



pendulum-like mouse and cord
FRONTISPIECE  - "Connection"

04           BLOGGERS, THE NEW HERALDS OF FREE EXPRESSION
Julien Pain

07           WHAT’S A BLOG ?
 
08           THE LANGUAGE OF BLOGGING
  
10           CHOOSING THE BEST TOOL
  
16           HOW TO SET UP AND RUN A BLOG
  
22           WHAT ETHICS SHOULD BLOGGERS HAVE ?
  
26           GETTING YOUR BLOG PICKED UP BY SEARCH-ENGINES
  
32           WHAT REALLY MAKES A BLOG SHINE ?
  
36           PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
 
37                • GERMANY:
                                 Markus Beckedahl
 
40                • BAHRAIN:
                                 Chan'ad Bahraini
 
43                • USA:
                                 Jay Rosen
 
46                • HONG KONG:
                                 Yan Sham-Shackleton
 
49                • IRAN:
                                 Arash Sigarchi
 
52                • NEPAL:
                                 Radio Free Nepal
• EARTH:
                                David C. Manchester 


54           HOW TO BLOG ANONYMOUSLY
                                Ethan Zuckerman
 
63           TECHNICAL WAYS TO GET ROUND CENSORSHIP
                                Nart Villeneuve
 
79           ENSURING YOUR E-MAIL IS TRULY PRIVATE
                                Ludovic Pierrat
 
83           INTERNET-CENSOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
                                Julien Pain


CREDITS

APPENDICES
LINKS IN THIS DOCUMENT

RELEASE NOTES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

THIRTY






CONTENTS

   Top   Contents   Expanded Contents
Personal Accounts

"One of Us"

E X P A N D E D

  C O N T E N T S

pendulum-like mouse and cord
FRONTISPIECE  - "Connection"

07           WHAT’S A BLOG ?

08           THE LANGUAGE OF BLOGGING


36           PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
 
37                • GERMANY:
                                 Markus Beckedahl
  
40                • BAHRAIN:
                                 Chan'ad Bahraini
43                • USA:
                                 Jay Rosen
46                • HONG KONG:
                                 Yan Sham-Shackleton
49                • IRAN:
                                Arash Sigarchi
52                • NEPAL:
                                 Radio Free Nepal
• EARTH:
                                David C. Manchester 



54           HOW TO BLOG ANONYMOUSLY
                                Ethan Zuckerman
  


63           TECHNICAL WAYS TO GET ROUND CENSORSHIP
                                Nart Villeneuve

79           ENSURING YOUR E-MAIL IS TRULY PRIVATE
                                Ludovic Pierrat

83           INTERNET-CENSOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
                                Julien Pain



CREDITS

APPENDICES
APPENDIX I  
 
[snapshot taken 09-30-2005]
[snapshot taken 09-30-2005]
[snapshot taken 09-15-2005]

List of All CyberDissidents Currently in Jail

LINKS IN THIS DOCUMENT



Expanded Contents

"mine" i.e. "le mien" pic of man standing on hands



BLOGGERS,
THE NEW HERALDS OF
FREE EXPRESSION

By Julien Pain
Blogs get people excited. Or else they disturb and worry them. Some people distrust them. Others see them as the vanguard of a new information revolution.  One thing’s for sure: they’re rocking the foundations of the media in countries as different as the United States, China and Iran.

It’s too soon to really know what to think of blogs. We’ve been reading newspapers, watching TV and listening to the radio for decades now and we’ve learned how to immediately tell what’s news and what’s comment, to distinguish a tabloid “human interest” magazine from a serious one and an entertainment programme from a documentary.

We don’t have such antennae to figure out blogs. These “online diaries” are even more varied than the mainstream media and it’s hard to know which of them is a news site, which a personal forum or one that does serious investigation or one that’s presenting junk evidence. It’s difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Some bloggers will gradually develop their own ethical standards, to become more credible and win public confidence. But the Internet is still full of unreliable information and people exchanging insults. A blog gives everyone, regardless of education or technical skill, the chance to publish material. This means boring or disgusting blogs will spring up as fast as good and interesting ones.

But blogging is a powerful tool of freedom of expression that has enthused millions of ordinary people. Passive consumers of information have become energetic participants in a new kind of journalism – what US blog pioneer Dan Gillmor calls “grassroots journalism … by the people, for the people” (see chapter on “What ethics should bloggers have?”).

Bloggers are often the only real journalists in countries where the mainstream media is censored or under pressure. Only they provide independent news, at the risk of displeasing the government and sometimes courting arrest. Plenty of bloggers have been hounded or thrown in prison. One of the contributors to this handbook, Arash Sigarchi, was sentenced to 14 years in jail for posting several messages online that criticised the Iranian regime. His story illustrates how some bloggers see what they do as a duty and a necessity, not just a hobby. They feel they are the eyes and ears of thousands of other Internet users.



BLOGGERS, THE NEW HERALDS OF FREE EXPRESSION