Comments on: On Being a White Blogging Techie from Africa

By: Nino

Nino — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 09:22:32 +0000

Hello,

I’m trying to set up a blogging platform for africain people.
I am looking for swahili translator to adapt the platform into african langages.

Do you have any contact ? If not, you can however visit my website at http://www.akopo.com/summary.php

Sorry for my english, I better write in French 😉

Nino

By: Carrie

Carrie — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 16:45:51 +0000

Hash, I appreciate what you have done with this site. It is clear that no matter the color of your skin, you have a heart and passion for Africa and long to see it advance in a way that is healthy and beneficial to the people of Africa. Well done!
Swoosh, good points and well-spoken.

By: Swoosh

Swoosh — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 13:53:21 +0000

eh, KenyaSpeaks, are you speaking for all of kenya? i hope not!
you say all white people have a nature that 7/8ths of the world say is bad. why do you generalize white people like so? surely you would not allow white people to generalize non-whites in the same way, so why do you do so yourself?
second, do you claim to speak for 7/8ths of the world? you are very bold to do so; if you claim to see the world through “your” eyes only, then do not pretend to see the world through everyone else’s eyes.
third, this gentleman has opened up communication and dialogue on a very sensitive issue, and has done a good job of getting people to talk things out; so why are you abusing him like this? you attack the very thing that will help to get past these racial issues, and in doing so become only a roadblock yourself, stuck in a certain rut on the road.
if whites are not good neighbors to you, i wonder if the reasons are not because of them, but rather someone else…..

By: HASH

HASH — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 01:39:00 +0000

KenyaSpeaks, thanks for your thoughts. It is somewhat ironic (maybe hypocritical?) that what I’m saying is that skin color shouldn’t matter, yet I named my blog “White African”. In my defense, I will say that I didn’t quite know what this blog would turn into when I first started writing it over a year ago.

Either way, I understand that my lens on life will never be the same as yours. However, I believe that that fact doesn’t mean we can’t work together, and make our world a better place. I do that through my understanding and knowledge of technology – is it completely colorblind? No, but it does give all of us a chance to operate on a platform that itself doesn’t know or care if we’re black or white.

Again, thanks for your thoughts, I appreciate hearing your opinion.

By: KenyaSpeaks

KenyaSpeaks — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 23:19:53 +0000

Dear Sir,
It’s interesting how you talk about how race is not an issue, yet your blog is titled WHITE AFRICAN.

For anyone and everyone to consider. Race will be an issue so long as the situation exists where white men enter countries and CONTINENTS as conquerors rather than explorers and participants.

It’s in your nature. Is it bad. Well 7/8ths of the world’s population that is not white would say yes it is bad. And honestly, no other group of people has ever used the atomic bomb but white people.

So it’s really hard to deny color as an issue when it is so obvious that much of the world’s destruction and lack of peace was caused by white men. At least it’s true over here in the USA, South Africa, Japan, South America, Australia, India, and more.

I just wish that white men could learn how to be friendly neighbors.

For the record, I am married to a handsome Napoli, Italian man.

I thank you for allowing me the chance to be honest with you. And also hope that you recognize that a white man and a black woman (myself) will disagree on racial issues because you are seeing things through your African eyes and I am seeing them through my African eyes.

By: Max The IT pro

Max The IT pro — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 07:42:18 +0000

Great blog entry Eric.
Okay with regards to MySpace et al, those sites are used predominantly in societies with el CHEAPO bandwidth. Right? Lets see what transpires in another year or 2 and revisit this. I’m sure once bandwidth goes down by 70% next year here in Kenya that there’ll be more diversity in the Net’s makeup in these parts. But honestly, a lot of people over here are also unfamiliar with how truly POWERFUL the Internet is aside from a Yahoo or Hotmail email account – seriously.
—

“Funny enough, the one everyone is pointing to is the one I was at last week, â€œThe Future of Web Appsâ€ (speaker list image attached).”

Wow!!! I would’ve LOVED to be at that conference to rub elbows with those legendary web gurus. Who gives a “flock” that they’re WHITE?? I find that people who are in the Tech industry are some of the most forward thinnking peeps on the planet – regardless of race.

Once again, I say lets revisit this whole topic in another year or 2 when EVERYBODY over here adapts and learns to take advantage of the Net.

By: HASH

HASH — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 00:18:45 +0000

Sokari, that was very eloquently spoken. I agree that the fact that more than one topic is trying to be debated at one time makes it difficult to follow. Their interrelation makes it both a hot and complicated area to discuss, and the platform on which it is happening makes it easy to misread.

Technology, though I agree it does have cultural undertones to it, is the easiest to separate from cultural issues. For instance, that monstrocity of a social network called Myspace is a very western invention. However, the technology behind creating way for people to interact on a macro level is not. In fact, you could argue that Africans are more socially connected than westerners and that a technology like that would be better utilized in Africa than the US.

Now that takes us directly into the mire that you so nicely spoke of – that very platform that makes Myspace a success is not even available to 90% of Africans. 🙂 You’re right, that’s the problem I’m trying to address. If it can be figured out, it’ll be a huge boon to everyone Africa-wide.

By: sokari

sokari — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 23:08:55 +0000

One of the issues here is that to use a pun – these are not black and white issues and frankly it is very difficult to have a discussion that is really meaningful in the blogosphere as opposed to being in a face to face forum. Things get muddled and lost, some comments dont get responded to whilst others do. There is so much more I feel I could say or could have said but you get side tracked. Also here you are talking about the Indaba and also about who is African and then racism – i think these are all inter connected but huge areas. I had issues with the conference as you know and have nothing more to add on that. However on this thing about who is African – I think the answer lies in removing colour from the equation and looking at how people live their lives, how they approach their fellow Africans, how they relate to the continent and witin their own national boundaries and the political and social aspects of those national boundaries.

The bottom line I believe is that majority of people in Africa are black people. As such it is reasonable to expect anything to do with the continent to be proportionally represented but it isnt. We need to acknowledge why that is so and only by doing that can we then begin to address that issue. I dont agree that technology is neutral. It is embedded with the social, political and cultural mores of the dominant world ideology. That is why the work you are doing in terms of developing technology for Africa is so important because you are trying to take it and shape it to the specific needs of Africa and Africans – not just the elite but everyone.

By: Moving on from the Digital Indaba | Check Out Ethiopia.Com

Moving on from the Digital Indaba | Check Out Ethiopia.Com — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 23:38:21 +0000

[…] UPDATE: White African challenges everyone to "be proactive and think about what would the makeup would be of the perfect web technology conference" in his post On Being a White Blogging Techie from Africa. […]

By: HASH

HASH — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 22:27:10 +0000

Hey Mike, thanks for the feedback on the Indaba. I think this event, if it becomes an annual thing, will become quite the place to be in the future. It would be great to see them hold it in some other African nation and invite some more people like AB&H, Sokari and such.

I really appreciate your candid response – I know others will too.