Part of the Africa 2.0 series.

“The night vigil went off successfully. About 250 people attended, speeches made, songs sung.”
* Flower Power will take place on Wednesday 30th January at 10am with flowers being placed at Freedom Corner, Uhuru Park
* Received advice, information and expertise from religious leaders in Sierra Leone, Sudan and elsewhere on how to find a way out. Want faith based leaders to help find solutions
* Patients at Kenyatta Hospital are being discriminated against. A women’s delegation meeting today at Silver Springs Hotel at 3pm will discuss, fact find and report back
— Kenyan Pundit

The above statements are excerpts from three highly regarded Kenyan Bloggers who have kept the world in tune with the on-the-ground activities and experiences in their homeland. These previously mentioned bloggers were “broadcasting live” even before the current situation hit boiling point and the rest of the world began to make Kenya front-page news. The above group of bloggers and others has been a key connection for those in Africa and the Diaspora interested in getting to the root of the matter, connecting with loved ones on the ground, and those wanted to sift through images of a sometimes-removed newscaster. To many, these bloggers represent “the real story,” as well as the heart and soul of a Nation.

So, in this post we will explore the impact of bloggers during the recent Kenyan crisis and how they have helped to democratize the newsgathering and dissemination process.

Kobia Interactive, shut down the message board, on Mashada.com twice during the height of the Post Election violence because the discussions just seemed to be adding fuel to a very volatile and deadly situation. Mashada.com is arguably one of the most popular sites accessed by Kenyans in the Diaspora as well as Kenya itself.

The Kenyan Blog Webring, which gave out awards last year to their extensive network of bloggers that share, disseminate and focus in on a subject matter, is a great example of the crowd sourcing phenomenon, rapidly becoming a part of new media reporting.

Finally, as the violence continued to ensue in Kenya, this same network of “digital activists,” has given birth to the Ushahidi website. The group’s purpose is further described on related sites;

“One major concern in the aftermath of Kenya’s disputed elections has been the possibility that the media is undercounting the dead and injured in incidents of election violence. Ory Okolloh (Kenyan Pundit) suggested a project to document incidents of violence and place them on a web-based map. The idea was quickly picked up by Kenyans in the country and in the Diaspora, and over the weekend, Kenyan developer David Kobia put together the Ushahidi website, based on a design sketch from White African blogger Erik “Hash” Hersman and input from a wide range of Kenyan bloggers and activists.”

So, as we examine the blogging phenomenon facilitated through the use of technology and its effect on the current Kenyan Crisis, we see an evolution that unlike mainstream media, is more than just sound bites, sensationalism and ratings. There is a human component that allows groups of people to gather, disseminate information and then ultimately take action to inspire CHANGE. The network of Kenyan Bloggers is an illustration of how everyday people are coming together through technology and across continents, not to just report information but to take action and quite possibly play a role as global leaders meet to write and implement policy decisions.

One of the best summaries I have read on the effect of Bloggers on the Kenyan situation comes from the blog Mental Acrobatics, where in we found this statement “I would argue that it is stories like this that rather than showing the danger of blogs, HIGHLIGHT the importance of blogs and other citizen media. While the MSM was stuck in its procedures, bloggers wrote about what they had heard, seen or were told. There is nothing wrong with quoting primary sources. The historians amongst us can confirm the importance with which primary sources are regarded on any historical event. The eyewitness account, the man on the street as it were. If you wanted to know what Kenyans were thinking and feeling at the time the blogs were a very good place to start.”

Crowdsourcing Kenyan News …..what an interesting concept and challenge to mainstream media!