A look back

The year 2013 has been the year when Bangla bloggers initiated the largest people uprising seen in Bangladesh for several decades.  2013 has been the year when the word "blogger" was used by near about 160 million people in Bangladesh. 2013 was also the year when bloggers were targeted in massive hate campaigns, jailed and even killed.  
Do you want to know how bloggers and online activists became so influential and powerful? They are not superheroes; they are just regular folks like you and me.  What makes them so special is that they are passionate about some topics, they love writing about these and sharing with the community, and they enjoy staying engaged in the debates that follow.  An open and curious mind is all what it takes to become a good blogger.  Respect in the blog community grows by writing with good reasoning and logic on meaningful and important issues, influence comes through active networking and engaging through multiple online and offline channels.
A blogger publishes his/her thoughts and views through a blog, or web log, on the Internet. Most bloggers invite readers to comment and participate in discussions around the posted content and as such encourages engagement.  Bloggers are independent and express themselves freely; bloggers analyze and reflect upon issues.  Most importantly, bloggers write with passion, they earn nothing but a network of blog readers.  Imagine how active, exhilarating and powerful blogging could be if bloggers get united.  That is what bloggers in Bangladesh has done since the first Bangla (Bengali) Blog community came to life 8 years ago in  a cold morning of December 2005.  And the result?  A unique blogosphere unlike anywhere in the world; a blogosphere that even rejoices a dedicated Bangla Blog Day every 19th December, with their slogan: " Bangla blog: freedom of expression for social and national issues!” 
My humble pride is that I have seen the birth and growth of Bangla blog uprising since 2005. It also delights me in seeing most bloggers of Bangladesh started their blog voyage through our platform: somewhereinblog.net.
Did you know that Bangladesh is the country in the world where most bloggers belong and blog in blog communities?  If you have seen somewhereinblog.net the first thing you see is a front-page where you can see all recently submitted blog posts from different Bangla bloggers coming in every minute.  Any blogger that gets the headline and first few sentences right will have hundreds of readers available from the moment he/she submit his/her blog post.  Little did we know in 2005 that our innovative concepts of Bangla writing and a dynamic front-page would move the nation 7 years later? 
To maintain the position as the biggest and most popular Bangla blogging site, preserving a high tolerance for opinions and strictly restraining political or religious agenda has been important.  In a polarized country like Bangladesh, that is no easy business.  Other and equally important ingredients for success were: living and breathing with the blog 24 hours a day every day of the year, cool headedness during heated times and personal engagement with the blog community both online and offline. It is not difficult for others to replicate our concepts, designs and technology, but it's hard to copy the passion and vision we have had from the beginning while building our community.
Blogging and online activism has a very strong potential in Bangladesh for the upcoming generation.  The young people who just now are starting to use Internet will be used to higher speed and richer content than ever before.  For them, blogs and social media will be the venues for their engagement.  I have seen so many fantastic talents doing so many great campaigns and stories on our blog that I am very hopeful for our future.  I firmly believe that the youth today who grow up with social networks will expect their voices to be heard and be respected & respectful, perhaps even more than us.  They should, because the freedom of expression; the freedom to question and to criticize, would be the core of our future democracy.
I highly encourage every concerned citizen to become a blogger.  It amplifies your concerns & improves your skills and confidence in writing, as well as makes you a part of a greater network.  To be part of lots of colorful moments which you are sure to enjoy, all it takes is just a short registration and setup of your blog page.  
On the eve of the 5th annual Bangla Blog Day on December 19, we are both humble and proud that Bangla bloggers in countries abroad, as well as in cities and towns around Bangladesh, are organizing local celebrations of the day, a day to celebrate empowerment and freedom of expression, in Bangla.  We are proud that Professor Emeritus of Dhaka University, Dr. Anisuzzaman, inaugurated the first Bangla blog day in 2009 and have participated every year since then in amazement of the empowered youth.

The writer is the co-founder and editor of www.somewhereinblog.net, the first and largest Bangla blog community in the world with 160,000 bloggers. 
Email: jana@somewherein.net

Words: Syeda Gulshan Ferdous Illustration: Ehsanur Raza Ronny