Echoes from the Tunisian blogosphere

The 9th Tunisian Blogger Meetup will be taking place on Sunday, December 25th at Café 112 in downtown Tunis, at the end of Palestine Avenue. The results of the Tunisian Blog Awards will be announced in the meetup.

Building upon Mochekes‘ post about the situation of Tunisian IT engineers and programmers (in French), Slaim suggests the building of a website which will be kind of an IT company stock market where all Tunisian engineers can assess the companies they're working or worked for, and exchange invaluable information for better personal development and career management in Tunisia. He thinks it could become the perfect dashboard where companies and bosses are evaluated each day each hour constraining them and pushing them to do/behave better and give more.

Zizou covers the assassination of Gebran Toueni from Beirut, posting about the assassination, the feelings and reaction to it in the Lebanese street and the huge funeral (in French).

Tom writes about the work environment and how it is a micro system of its own in which a number of different people, who were put together without their choosing, co-exist and interact, building different types of relationships here and there, and all working for their own goals and in their own directions. (in French)

Nothing just illusion writes about how famous Lebanese singer Marcel Khalifa is now banned in Tunisia because of a dedication he made in a concert he held in Tunisia to all the Arab prisoners in Israeli prisons and in Arab prisons (in French).

Sup'Comian boy thinks that ADSL prices in Tunisia are too high. He compares the prices in Tunisia, where a miserable 128K connection goes for 50 Tunisian dinars to the prices in Europe, where the average personal income is double that in Tunisia. Tunisie Telecom makes huge benefits every year, he thinks they could reduce internet communication costs and make it more accessible (in French).

Sami criticizes the Tunisian blog aggregator for not including blogs of Tunisian cyber-dissidents, which is not entirely true nor entirely false, and thinks that the Tunisian bloggers in the aggregator now discuss every issue in the world but the important issues for Tunisia, and that all they do is reflect this perfected touristic vision of Tunisia (in French).

Mochekes writes about how Tunisiana, the first private mobile phone operator in Tunisia, will be launching a 300 kb/s internet service in February, building on the EDGE platform which is 2.75G technology. (in French).

Tarek tries to answer the longstanding controversy: what exact discipline does Astrology fall under? With it definitely not being a Science, nor a branch of Humanities, he uses the definition of Business in an online etymology dictionary to conclude that Astrology can rightly fall under the business category.

Zied wishes Tunisia was more like Singapore. He wishes we could build a technology and worldwide services based economy, that one of Tunisia’s University could make the Top 20 of the world’s best universities and that Tunisian bloggers could become a dominant force in the global blogosphere.

Chouchitou talks about all the pamphlets and offers we receive in our mailboxes and how they never offer anything new or of value, just the same stuff everywhere. The special offers aren’t special at all and the marketing stops halfway (in French).

12 comments

  • The Tunisian blogosphere is expanding in an amazing way I can’t just keep up with all the interesting issues being discussed.

    Glad you’re having these round-ups :)

  • Sami is absolutely right, since his blog was not the only one refused for subscription on the Tunisian blog aggregator. Mine and others were also refused without any explanation. I suppose the reason is that our blogs are political ones. So when they talk about “THE” Tunisian blog aggregator or about “THE” blog award, their childish attitude makes me smile.

    I smile more sadly when I see that even Global Voices changed its original goal of giving voice to those who haven’t any in their own countries because of censorship, and became itself a touristic weblog for colorfull pictures and common conversations from around the world.

    The funniest remains when Tunisian bloggers comment on human rights in other countries and are unable to see the abuses in their own country.

  • Gordianus

    Once again THE TUNISIAN BLOGOSPHERE IS UNDER ATTACK ! and I find this really shameful and irresponsible. The Tunisian blogosphere which some, unfortunately, describe as immature or politically brainwashed deeply regrets that it is not able to accept “grown ups” like them. Tn-blogs is the propriety of one aggregator who is free to add or delete whom ever he likes without any prejudice, bias or discrimination. So please and for God’s sake stop playing the victim and spare us your sterile lectures on democracy and human rights. This World Wide Web is full of websites that will be more than willing to welcome you.

  • Attack !
    I am only giving my opinion on real and concrete facts.

    Of course democracy will be much more diffuclt to get when educated people think that it is sterile to talk about it or about Human rights.

    Indeed the World Wide Web is full of websites that do not ban any one whatever might be his nationality, his convictions or beleifs. This is why we need their support to make our voices more audible since our voices are censored in our own country by our own compatriots.

    This is the real shame.

  • TN Blogs is “A” Tunisian blog aggregator, not “THE” Tunisian blog aggregator. There’s nothing official about it, it’s just a project on its own, for its own goals and purposes, in its own way.
    Everyone is free to start their own aggregator and put all the blogs they want into it.

    TN Blogs’ main goal is to spread blogging in Tunisia, and to try and create a sense of support and community between Tunisian bloggers. Certain policies and choices were made so that this project can go on functioning and doing its job well.
    To cut straight to the point, a blocked Tunisian blog aggregator will do nothing at all for Tunisian bloggers, and you know what I mean.

    As for what you said about Tunisian bloggers not writing about politics in Tunisia, that’s not true, but even if it was, everyone is free to write about whatever they want to write, however they want to write about it. Just because they’re not interested in politics or don’t write about it as bluntly as others, that doesn’t make them any less Tunisian.

  • Gordianus

    I never said that talking about democracy or human rights is a unproductive or sterile issue I am referring here to a actegory of people who in the name of democracy and human rights engage in a sterile and byzantine discussion that lead to nowhere and to nothing and even more they dare to speak in foreign foras and attack other fellow country people accusing them of being the puppys of one regime or another for the simple fact that they felt ostracised or unwelcomed. You won’t please everybody you know and one should respect others’ point view as you expect others to respect yours.Is it possible that it is a wide campaign against some for the reason that they are talking politics and thus they are not welcomed, I am sorry I don’t buy this approach, we are not less tunisians or unaware of the stakes ahead, we all strive for a better life in our country and we are proud for the tremendous achievements we reached compared to other countries. Democracy is not an instant coffee or a one size fits all, let the people express their point of views and choose which path they would like to take without prior judgements.Unfortuantely,we Tunisians, tend to make from “El habba 9obba” that’s not the way democracy has to be it’s all about responsible, wise and objective dialogue that we will be able to reach what all of us cherish and long for. Period.

  • Gordianus and MMM, I absolutely undertand your choices and your concerns.

    Of course you are Tunisians exactly as I am Tunisian and our differences on political issues shouldn’t make us ennemies. Our differences should enrich both of us for the sake of ourselves first but also for the sake of our country.

    I just wanted to underline to GV readers that Tunisia is not only the touristic post card every one can see or want to show. It is also a dictatorship. And this must be said either you like it or not.

    Of course a private Aggregator is not an official aggregator. But just imagine that we cannot have our phone numbers registered on any Tunisian yellow page, just because we want democracy for our country.

    Cheers

  • tout a fait d’accord avec toi gordianus!

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