I don’t know about the blogs being in danger, but I know that the people who run the blogs are!

I predict that the Bajan blogs will grow to play a much larger role than they do now. The blogs cannot be stopped, because if one is shut down, the outrage will cause two to arise in its place.

I was not sure what Global Voices was, but now that I know, I have added you to my blogroll.

K

But still make a great conversation to follow..

Colin Joss
East Lothian, Haddington, United Kingdom

Just don’t forget all these are personal perspective. We shouldn’t get burnt because of these differences. It’s not my way of going, but it seems the direction is everyone is like going to light the discussion fireworks similar to those blogs did.

Your errant and detracting racial slurs in and of themselves are not worth my time of day, I certainly brought no race into it, and I would love for you to point out where I have made comments against myself as I am mixed – but what is more interesting is I believe you have exposed your true calling!

I also forgot to mention that BFP heavily promotes the minority of WHITE and LIGHTER-SKINNED people who live in Barbados (like YOU and that British guy Adrian Loveridge) while constantly making snide remarks about black Barbadians.

People like you need to understand that slavery and colonialism are long dead and those days will NEVER come back, no matter how much filth and lies BFP pumps out.

BFP is nothing but a cyber-cesspool for racist minded whites and whitish people in Barbados to come and spill their guts.

Colin Joss
Colin.Joss@gmail.com
East Lothian, Haddington
United Kingdom

Diehard BLP-Users like “royalrumble” were almost given Colums on BFP for God’s sake! They balanced it with contributor “Wishing In Vain” but when the shoe is not on their foot, that’s a problem… I wrote about my view on James Brown and BFPO did not use it this is not to say they support the dark side of the late soul singer (at least, I hope so)!

But because you Michelle Proverbs gives a comment does not mean it MUST be published – get over it!

Are you aware that Barbados Free Press routinely DELETES comments which speak positively about Barbados or the former BLP government? And that it made a call for Barbadians to vote for the then opposition DLP?

As one of the few bloggers here who is not anonymous, and a Govt employee, I walk a very thin tightrope. I usually keep to arts, entertainment and sports as those are safe topics – when I attempted to run an expose on a business mistreating its denizens I was threatened with a lawsuit despite photographic evidence and scanned records of fatalities within its services! Yet later on, the same entity sought to correct the very wrongs brought to light my now removed article!

So if there were no anonymous bloggers, Barbados would probably be like Antigua under the Birds up ’til the early 2000s.

Faces of The Bajan Blogosphere

Fear of change can cripple the scholarly
And this is not uncommon with changing technology
Clocks went digital many years ago
Every since then the digital world started to grow
Sending some academics in a tale spin
Only comfortable with their circle and to stay within
Fax machine, copier, camcorder and DVD
The revolutionary ghouls of digital technology
Have taken over the world and now the Internet
Enables users to usurp a greatness in the global market
Blogging emerged from special interest groups
Administered by authors who can censor the oops
Journalists, politicians and many other heads
Author their thoughts to stimulate comment threads
Now other professionals and hobbyists too
Blog their expertise and creations to you
Life through their eyes and experiences they had
Organized chronologically by the magic of a keypad
Growth comes when we can freely express
Our deepest concerns without any redress
Some may also choose to blog anonymously
People have their rights to protect their privacy
However you look at it blogging is a welcome tool
Entertaining and educating but there’s a golden rule
Resist immorality, illegality and other social no nos
Exercise these and be assured where the Blogosphere grows

I didn’t say that Bajan bloggers were more vocal than other Caribbean territories, just that they were “some of the most outspoken” – and they are certainly one of the territories with the highest number of blogs regularly following political developments.

Higher internet penetration may have something to do with it, but I can’t speak to any other push factors without adequate research. I will say, though, that judging from the number of active Barbadian blogs and the high levels of comments/hits they enjoy, citizen media is obviously a platform many Bajans have got on board with.

Janine.

I’m wondering why you think Barbados bloggers are more vocal than others in the Caribbean. Is it cultural, computer access, something else?

Maya