Blogs and culture

This Egyptian blogosphere is having a wild ride. Just in a few months the number of blogs have more than doubled, its growing at an exponential rate. I wish someone could summarize each blog in order to be able to pick and choose who to read. But its really great to have the number of Egyptian blogs on the rise like that. The larger the blogosphere the better reflection it is of our society, and it sure is reflecting many aspects of our society.

I for example insist that I am an ordinary Egyptian. When Eric from NPR was telling me that a number of the Egyptian bloggers are too Americanized and asked how Egyptian I am, I told him that "I am too Egyptian." I tend to be very objective and critical of myself, and then of everything surrounding me and affecting me. So it comes very natural for me to express that objective criticism on my blog. Being too Egyptian, I naturally have many of the characteristics that I criticize so harshly. People think that if you're criticising something than you're alienating yourself from it. Not me, I criticize myself to objectively see my faults and try to fix them.

Back to our beloved blogosphere. The great thing about the Egyptian blogosphere is that its being able to present our culture as a diverse and multi-dimensional one, which is usually considered a monolithic one. I tend to think that we are pretty diverse, Egyptians that is, but we don't like that, so we work very hard on aligning everyone else to our thought, which has to be the mainstream line of though of our culture. Happens everywhere in Egypt, even on the blogs. But blogs have a tendency to sustain their individuality, and thus stressing our diversity. Attempts to lure others into one line of thought still persist ofcourse.

That is the most interesting thing I find about that blogosphere, its diversity and individuality, and that is a main benefit I see that is not as easy to have on the ground. Once you delve into that blogsphere, you really can tell that its an Egyptian one. Its a reflection of our society, a reflection of real people who have the opportunity to be themselves, which is why our diversity shows in such a striking manner.

But even on the blogosphere people try to maintain a certain image of themselves. Not necessarily the same image they present in real life, probably even a different image intentionally in order to complement that missing part of their beings. I for example am usually called crazy by close ones in real life, but I seem very well composed over here presenting an image of a mature and wise being. I for example am a classic example of the Egyptian apathy in real life, but over here an image is presented of me of a wild activist who is into everything trying to change the world. Actually, I like myself in real life. I like my crazy moments, and I love being apathetic. I think apathy is a good thing. God save us from stupid activism and maintain the sanity of our people. The most non-apathetic people here are the extremists, on both ends of the spectrum.

In real life its healthy to interact with different people in the society. The blogopshere makes that much easier to do, you can sit infront of your computer and interact with the world. Interaction comes in various forms, and fighting is sure one of them. In Egypt, they'd tell you never to argue with low people in the street no matter how big the wrong they did, because calling names is their game, so you don't want to stoop to their level. Don't mix with the dirty, lest you catch the dirt, and don't hang with the sick, lest you catch the virus.

Being the crazy being that I am, I do talk to them, and its worth the experience. Isn't it useful to know how they think? Sure they can think. Doesn't matter how screwed their thinking is, but it gives you exposure to the underworld. I once went into an argument (aka fight) in the street with two of the goon delivery guys on motorcycles. And after stooping to their level to get a feel of how they think and function, I went the following day to the McDonald's branch they work at to expediate their firing. I don't think they were fired, but it was the right thing to do.